, 1923-01-11

Difficulty Notes

lag. but here we are talking about II
the first thing - and no wonder. II
has been 30 conspicuous that 1t seems
impossible not to notice It. Al.
though the thermometer has never
been down to zero here as yet, w
have had snow and lots Of 1t, drift.
ing. driving, sitting, cutting winds,
which lifted the loose snow high into
the air and drove 1t along ct q ter
rifle rate for, miles and miles over
hills and gullies alike. Well, to
make a long story short and use q
little common slang, this npeli OF
1t has been hard on all kinds OF
stock, and q good many little wool
lies unable to Withstand the cruel
blasts have given up in disgust and
rome along with the blizzard, only to
be picked up later and taken back
where they belonged. Not only stock
suffered but also human beings -
especially mail carriers.
Edwin C~ruickshank has spent sew
eral nights at some farmers cabin at
which he sought refuge from the
snow and storm, making him days
behind delivering the Little Medicine
mail. He always came to light safe
ly, however, and no one complained
at the delay in the mail service, con-
sidering the fact that Edwin was
safe. The Leo mail carrier tried to
make it from Hanna with a four
horse team, but the snow was SO
deep his horses couldn't stand 1t, and
ne resorted to a sled. and got in last
Wednesday, making him four days
late. He, like the Little Medicine
carrier, has a trip of almost fifty
miles one way. Both these routes
are nice in summer, but o, you Win
g r The Pedro carrier got lost in
the storm last week, and spent about
rorty-eight hours on the prairie and
among the hills. On the second day
OF his absence he got to the Coen
ranch, where he was fed and shelf
cred. He is Mr.. Trout, the govern
ment trapper. Stevenson has the
mail contract, but owing to y o
there being unable to make the trip
this particular time. Mr.. Trout, who
Is staying at the Stevenson ranch,
volunteered to go. and this was the
result. Dean Nickerson, the Mar
shall mail carrier, was also among
the unfortunate, for he managed to
get as far as Sheep Creek bridge, and
there 1t stormed SO fiercely he was
unable to go any further until the
' III 0CkICS Auu OH
Sunday he arrived In the Bow with
the mail, after being counted among
the missing for three days. Emil
Nelson started out for Difficulty on
Monday morning. joyously carrying
the mail In his tin Lizzie, and think
Ing what a lucky man he was, when
about seven miles from the postoffice
he run into misery. The drifts were
deep. wide and high, and the high
wind was still adding to their pro-
pensities. The first n he en-
countered he lithely hoped from his
car n selling his shovel he tackled
II in a wholly business-like manner.
He shed his surplus clothing and
still sweat like a butcher. This done,
Lizzie tore on up the road, throwing
snow and dirt sky high. Within q
few hundred yards she rammed her
nose n another dris. hat covered
b radiator - and again Emil
aiishted, shovel in hand, and went
to work. After nc Fad shovele6 nine
hundred and ninety-nine drifts Of
this caliber. he rolled over the hill
to the Beer Mug. Here he gathered
the sacks. and proceeded q little
farther. and got stuck again. He
struggled and painted. backed off and
hit 'er again. but NO. he had to
shovel some more The shovel had
become SO saturated by this time
that It weighed . ton. but Emil man.
aged to shovel ten more drifts with
It. and thought he was getting along
nicely. when Lizzie Just wheexed .
couple Of times. gave q few feeble
kicks and sunk back into the snow.
quietly and peacefully. Emil got
out. felt her pulse looked the poor,
over-worked car all over. and found
that the radiator was dry us . bone.
and hot As fire. or hotter. He put
snow in II with his hands. There
was . way to ket rid OF = little Of 1t.
at least.) Still II wouldn't pull a
bit. He tried for half an hour to
crank II - but nothing doing. He
got under Il and looked up, and stood
over the engine and looked down,
but IL case was ono he was unable
to diagnose. Pretty soon Emil was
Joined BY John Ellis, who had come
10 his assistance, and the two boys
were both At sea - to what the ex-
act trouble was. but for another hour
they worked at the stubborn automo-
bile. No use. Chns. Ellis. knowing
there was something wrong when the
boys failed to show up. took the team
and went 70 the rescue. That was
the heroism that saved father. and
sooa the Ford was towed in. Tho
rest Of the day ri spent in repairing
Il, for the carburetor was knocked
out OF adjustment. the gas line was
demoralised and . few other things
we're out Of whsck. The next day
Emil started back with the mail. and
aside from missing . bridge over the
creek with one wheel Of the car. and
later scooting the sIoor poles Of the
same bridge Ill ~ In . pile. and
having TO lift the car back onto
stuck ace or twice. he arrived safe
~ In the Bow with the mail. This
Sn.e> 1. t~..t,-nn. M. ~ -.