Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (14 page)

“We’re glad you found us,” Man said.  “If you hadn’t you would have been frozen this morning.”

“I knew that when I escaped, but it would have been better than staying with those two
for the winter, which was what they planned for me
.”

“We’re going to eat breakfast,” Kate said.  “Do you want anything?”

“No, thanks, the doctor’s nurse brought me breakfast.  What are your plans?”

“I’
ll wire Chief Marshal Meek and get our orders.” Man said.

“We’ll be back later,” Kate said.

They stopped at the telegraph office and the agent handed an envelope to Man. 
“
This came early this morning.”

He opened it and Kate read with him.  “Due to the developing blizzard, continuing on the trail appears to be futile.  Return to Coeur d’Alene
by train
and wait for orders.
”

Man s
ent another
wire to Marshal Meek acknowledging receipt of the wire and
responding that
they would take Lucille
Shobert
and be on the next train north.

They ate and stopped at Constable Dasher’s office
.  They
found him in his usual p
l
ace close to the stove.  After the greeting, Man said, “We have orders to abandon the search for Engledow and Vasquez due to the snow.  We’re going back to Coeur d’Alene.  Do you know when the next train leaves?”

“In about
an hour.  T
hat is, if it leaves at all.  From reports coming in, the snow is blocking some passes and cuts.”

“We had better get moving just in case,” Kate said.  “Thanks for the use of your loft.  We appreciate it.”

“What about the woman?” Dasher asked.

“We’ll take her with us,” Man replied.  “We stopped to see her and she was seated in a chair.  Except for her feet, knees
,
and hand
s
, she’s fine.  I can carry her inside the train.”

“Good luck
, m
arshals,” he said.

Man and Kate hurried to the
barn, put the packs on the mules,
and saddled the
horses.  Kate kept out three blankets for Lucille.  They found her
still seated in the
chair.

“We’re going home on the train,” Kate said.  “We need to get you to the station.  I brought
blankets and Man will carry you.  You can ride my horse to the station and Man will carry you onboard.”

Lucille smiled.  “I’m glad.  Staying here wouldn’t
be
any good.  Have you heard anything new about
Cliff
?”

“No,” Kate said.  “But if all goes well, you can see him in a few hours.”

She didn’t want to worry her about the train not running due to the snow.

Man bought tickets with government vouchers and led the horses and mules to the loading pens.  The station manager said there were several empty cattle cars
on the train.  His only concern
was whether the
train
would
be authorized to depart.  So far, the line wasn’t officially closed.

Kate and Lucille waited inside the station seated by the big stove in the middle of the waiting room.  Only about ten others were there hoping the train could
get through to Coeur d’Alene.

The train arrived a few minutes
late, the station people quickly loaded the freight
,
and Man made sure their animals were onboard.  He hurri
ed inside and carried Lucille inside the train
to a seat.  Kate brought the extra blankets and they wrapped her in them to keep her warm.

A whistle sounded and the train began to move.  Man and Kate let o
ut a sigh of relief.  Had they closed the track
, they
might
have had to wait for days or
weeks before it opened
again
.  The sn
ow was still falling
and getting
heavier.

Man and Kate sat behind Lucille
and settled in for the long ride.  “Kind of makes you miss Texas, doesn’t it,” he said.  “They’re probably basking in the sun down in Austin today.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”  Kate
looked out the window at the beautiful scenery.  It was the typical winter wonderland with the white snow on the green leaves.  Icicles hung from branches along the rail line.
  “This is home.”

Man smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the temple.

The conductor came through taking tickets.  He stopped to talk to
the marshal
s.  Man stood and motioned for the conductor to move back away from Lucille so they could talk privately.

“How does it look ahead?” Man asked.

“So f
ar, we haven’t had any problems.  T
he train has been able to push thro
ugh the drifts
.  We have one big worry
,
though.  There’s a cut about fifteen miles this side of Coeur d’Alene
.  It’s
bad about avalanches covering the track too deep for us to plow through.  For some reason
,
snow gathers on the side
s
of the cut and when it slides down it can be as much as twenty feet deep.
 
We’
ll stop and examine it before he rams into it.  We can’t take the chance of a derailment or burying the engine under a mountain of snow.”

“If you can’t get through, what will you do?” Man asked.

“We back to Lewiston,
or Council.  It’s possible we’
ll go all the way back to Boise.  If the delay appears to be extensive, that has happened.”

“When will we know?” Man asked.

“About another hour and we’
ll be at the deep cut in a hill.  When this line was built, t
hat was the least expensive way.  G
oing around would have caused more problems due to the rough terrain.
”

“Should we be forced to stop, could we go around the hill on horseback?” Man asked.

“In this snowstorm, it would be
risky.  Y
ou could freeze or fall off a cliff
. 
Your horse
s
could be injured in a fall and you would be stranded in a blizzard. 
In the summer, there would be no sweat.  You
’
ll be about fifteen miles from Coeur d’Alene.  That is, by the track, but circling that hill, I have no
idea.  I
t might add f
ive to ten miles
.”

Man went back and sat beside Kate.  Sh
e glanced at Lucille and saw she was
asleep. 
“I heard most of that,” Kate whispered.
 
“
If the train can’t get through, are we going on?”

“
As I said, g
oing back to
Lewiston
is not appealing.  What abo
ut Lucille?  Where would she stay
?  There was no lodging available
and I can’t see her in the loft of that barn
.
What I’m saying, if the train can’t go through, I suggest we go on by horseback.”

“I agree with you,” she said.  “I want to get
back
to my
new home and
comfortable bed.”

The train began to slow
so
Man pulled on his heavy coat and went to the door
.  A
s soon as the train slowed enough, he jumped down and hurried to the front.  The engineer and conductor were looking at the mou
ntain of snow in front of them.

“What do you think?” Man asked.  “Can you get through it?”

The engineer turned
to face Man.  “If I backed up and hit it at top speed I might punch through.  However, if I tried and failed we could be stranded under snow.  It’s possible the train could be derailed.  If that happened, I expect the powers would be looking for another
engineer
to replace me.  The prudent thing for me to do is go back.”

“I understand,” Man said.
  “Before you start back, I’
d like to unload my horses and mules.  We’re going around the hill.”

“
If that’s your decision then
good luck.  You’ll have to jump them out of the car.”

“I know,” Man said.  “I’ve had to do that before.”

He hurried to the rear of the train.  As he passed the window where Kate was looking, he said, “I
’m going to get the horses and m
ules.  Get Lucille ready.”

She waved
acknowledgment.   He saw her
stand, bend over Lucille,
and touch the sleeping woman’s shoulder.  He
went on toward the cattle car.

He put the saddles on Arabian and Red Bird.  He led Arabian to the door first.   The big horse looked at the opening and then back at Man.  He tapped the horse on his rump and the horse jumped to the ground without a problem.  Red Bird was waiting and followed Arabian.

Man had to pull on the lead rope of the mules to get them to jump.  He put both packs on one mule and put the bearskin on for a saddle for Lucille. It would be uncomfortable, but it was the best he could do
since
he didn’t have a saddle for her.

He led the animals to the door where Kate waited.  He went
inside, lifted Lucille into his arms,
and carried her to the mule.  “I’m sorry you have to ride the mule, but Kate and I need our horses to take the lead.  The snow will be hard for them and we will alternate them forging a trail through drifts.”

“I understand,” she said. 
“I just want to go home to my boys.  However I have to get there.”

Kate brought the extra
blankets, wrapped them around Lucille,
and made sure her legs and feet were protected.

He mounted Arabian and Kate stepped up on Red Bird and followed him as the train began to move backward.  Man waved at the conductor and engineer as they pas
sed.

“Good luck,” they both yelled.

Neither Arabian nor Red Bird paid any attention to the train engine’s noise, but
the two mules tried to shy away. 
Kate
kept
a firm grip on the lead rope.

As soon as the noise died down, Man rode
close to Lucille.  “I hope you’
re up to this.  I
t may get rough before we get home.  The snow is getting deeper and deeper.  We need to move as fast as possible while we can.
”

“I’m ready,” she said.  “Take me home.”

He took the point with Kate riding behind holding the lead rope to both mules.  At the first
snowdrift
, Arabian looked at
it
a moment,
then gave a lunge and landed on top of the snow
.  He
pushed his way through.  Red Bird followed in his trail.  The big horse seemed to enjoy the
challenge and learned to take a few fast steps before jumping on the pile
s
of snow in front of them.

Man kept the point for about
thirty minutes,
then
dropped back for Kate and Red Bird to open the trail for them.  Red Bird was eager to have some fun.  He came to the first
drift
and jumped in the middle of it like a kid playing. 
As Man and Arabian had done, Kate and Red Bird forged a path for them.  When R
ed Bird began to pant and slow
down, Kate move
d back and let Arabian take
point again.

This continued until nightfall was approaching.  Man pulled his horse to a stop and gestured to the righ
t.  “See if you can spot a campsite.
I’ll go to the left.”

Kate
turned Red Bird away from their path and began making a circle looking for shelter from the falling snow.

Man did the same on the other side.   He located a rock overhang that would offer some protection from the wind and snow.  The ground was bare so they wouldn’t have to sleep on snow.

He rode to where Kate could see him and waved.  She turned toward him.  “Man found a place to bed down,” sh
e said.

Lucille nodded.  She hadn’t complained about riding the mule with a bearskin for a saddle.  Kate knew it was uncomfortable, but it was the best they had to
offer.  T
hey needed their horses to open the trail.

Man took the buffalo r
obe,
placed it near the rear of the overhang of rock
,
and covered it with two blankets.  He lifted Lucille from the back of the mule
,
carried her to the bed
,
and
gently placed her
on the blankets
.  He
handed her two more.