Book 6 21. THE HARD WINTER Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder
the hard winter
the sun shone again next morning and the
winds were still
the day seemed warmer than it was
because the sunshine was so bright
this is a beautiful day ma said at
breakfast
but paul shook his head the sun is too
bright
he said i’ll get a load of hay as soon
as i can for we’ll need plenty on hand
if another storm comes
and he hurried away anxiously from time
to time
ma or laura or carrie peeped out through
the frosty window to see the
northwestern sky
the sun still was shining when paul came
safely back
and after the day’s second meal of brown
bread and potatoes he went across the
street to hear the news
in a little while he came gaily
whistling through the front room
and burst into the kitchen singing out
guess what i got
grace and carrie ran to feel the package
he carried
it feels like it feels like carrie said
but she did not quite dare to say what
it felt like for fear she was mistaken
it’s beef paw said four pounds of beef
to go with our bread and potatoes
he handed the package to ma charles
however did you get
beef ma asked as if she could not
believe it
foster butchered his oxen paw answered
i got there just in time every last bit
to bones and gristle sold 25 cents a
pound
but i got four pounds and here it is now
we’ll live like kings
mark quickly took the paper off the meat
i’ll sear it all over well and pot
roasted she
said looking at it made laura’s mouth
water
she swallowed and asked can you make a
gravy maul with water and brown flour
indeed i can ma smiled we can make this
last a week for flavoring at least and
by that time the train will surely come
won’t it
she looked smiling at paw then she
stopped smiling and quietly asked
what is it charles well
paul answered reluctantly i hate to tell
you
he cleared his throat the train isn’t
coming
they all stood looking at him he went on
the railroad has stopped running trains
till spring
ma threw up her hands and dropped into a
chair
how can it charles it can’t it can’t do
that
till spring this is only the first of
january
they can’t get the trains through said
paw
they no sooner get a train through a cut
than a blizzard comes and snows it in
again
they’ve got two trains between here and
tracy snowed under between cuts
every time they cleared a cut they threw
up the snow on both sides and now all
the cuts are packed full of snow to the
top of the snow banks
and at tracy the superintendent ran out
of patience
patience mark exclaimed patience
what’s his patience got to do with it
i’d like to know he knows we were out
here without supplies how does he think
we’re going to live till spring
it isn’t his business to be patient it’s
his business to run the trains
now caroline paul said he put his hand
on her shoulder and she stopped rocking
and rolling her hands in her apron
we haven’t had a train for more than a
month
and we are getting along all right he
told her
yes ma said there’s only this month
then february is a short month and march
will be spring
paul encouraged her laura looked at the
four pounds of beef
she thought of the few potatoes left and
she saw the partly filled sack of wheat
standing in the corner
is there any more wheat paw she asked in
a low voice
i don’t know laura paul said strangely
but don’t worry i bought a full bushel
and it’s by no means gone
laura could not help asking paw
you couldn’t shoot a rabbit paw sat down
before the open oven and settled
grace on his knee come here half pint he
said and you too
carrie i’m going to tell you a story
he did not answer laura’s question she
knew what the answer was
there was not a rabbit left in all that
country they must have gone south when
the birds went
paul never took his gun with him when he
was hauling hay and he would have taken
it if he had ever seen so much as one
rabbit’s track
he put his arm around her as she stood
close against carrie on his knee
grace cuddled in his other arm and
laughed when his brown beard tickled her
face
as it used to tickle laura’s when she
was little
they were all cozy in paw’s arms with
the warmth from the oven
coming out pleasantly now listen grace
and carrie and laura said paw
and you too mary and ma this is a funny
story
and he told them the story of the
superintendent
the superintendent was an eastern man he
sat in his offices in the east and
ordered the train dispatchers to keep
the trains running
but the engineers reported that storms
and snow stopped the trains snowstorms
don’t stop us from running trains in the
east
the superintendent said keep the trains
running in the western end of the
division
that’s orders but in the west the trains
kept stopping
he had reports that the cuts were full
of snow
clear the cuts he ordered put on extra
men keep the trains running
hang the costs they put on extra men
the costs were enormous but still the
trains did not run
then the superintendent said i’ll go out
there and clear those tracks myself
what those men need is someone to show
them how we do things in the east
so we came out to tracy in his special
car
and he got off there in his city clothes
and his gloves and his fur line
coat and this is what he said i’ve come
out to take charge myself he said
i’ll show you how to keep these trains
running
in spite of that he was not a bad fellow
when you knew him
he rode out on the work train to the big
cut west of tracy
and he piled out in the snow with the
work crew and gave his orders like any
good foreman
he moved that snow up and out of the cut
in double quick time and in a couple of
days the track was clear
that shows you how to do it he said now
run the train through tomorrow and keep
it running
but that night a blizzard hit tracy his
special train couldn’t run in that
blizzard
and when it stopped blowing the cup was
packed full of snow to the top of the
snow banks he had thrown up on both
sides
he got right out there with the men
again and again they cleared the cut
it took longer that time because they
had to move more snow
but he got the work train through just
in time to be snowed under by the next
blizzard
you had to admit that the superintendent
had stick-to-itiveness
he tackled the cut again and got it
cleared again
and then he sat in tracy through another
blizzard this time he ordered out two
fresh work crews and two locomotives
with a snow plow
he rode out to the tracy cut on the
first locomotive
the cut rose up like a hill now between
the snow banks that he had had thrown up
on both sides of them
the blizzard had packed earth and snow
frozen
solid 100 feet deep and tapering off for
a quarter of a mile
all right boys he said we’ll clear her
out with picks and shovels till we can
run the snowplows through
he kept them at it double quick and
double pay for
two days there was still about 12 feet
of snow on the tracks
but he had learned something he knew he
would be lucky to get three clear days
between blizzards
so on the third morning he was going to
run the snowplows through
he gave his orders to the two locomotive
engineers they coupled the locomotives
together with
snow plow in front and ran the work
train out to the cut
the two work crews piled out in a couple
of hours of fast work they had moved
another couple of feet of snow
then the superintendent stopped the work
now he ordered the engineers
you boys back down the track a full two
miles and come ahead from there with all
the steam pressure you’ve got
with two miles to get up speed you ought
to hit this cut at 40 miles an hour and
go through her clean as a whistle
the engineers climbed into their
locomotives then the man on the front
engine got down again
the men of the work crews were standing
around in the snow stamping their feet
beating their hands to keep warm they
crowded in to hear what the engineer was
going to say but
he walked up to the superintendent and
said it just the same
i quit he said i’ve been driving a
locomotive for 15 years and no man can
call me a coward
but i’m not taking any orders to commit
suicide you want to send a locomotive up
against 10 foot of frozen snow at 40
miles an hour mr superintendent you can
get some other man to drive it
i quit right here and now
paul paused and carrie said i don’t
blame him
i do said laura he ought to quit he
ought to figure out some other way to
get through if he thinks that way won’t
work i think he was scared
even if he was scared mary said he ought
to do as he was
told the superintendent must know best
what to do or how would he be the
superintendent
he doesn’t know past laura contradicted
or he’d be keeping the train running
go on pac go on grace begged
please grace mark said please said grace
go on paul what happened next
yes paul what did the superintendent do
then mary asked
he fired him said laura didn’t he paw
paul went on
the superintendent looked at that
engineer and he looked at the men
standing around listening and he said
i’ve driven a locomotive in my time and
i don’t order any man to do anything i
won’t do myself
i’ll take that throttle he climbed up
into the locomotive
and he set her in reverse and the two
locomotives backed off down the track
the superintendent kept them backing for
a good long two miles
till they look smaller than your thumb
far off down the track
then he signaled with the whistle to the
engineer behind
and they both put on the steam power
those locomotives came charging down
that two miles of straight track with
wide open throttles
full speed ahead and coming faster every
second
black plumes of coal smoke rolling away
far behind them headlights glaring
bigger in the sunshine wheels blurring
faster faster
roaring up to 50 miles an hour they hit
that frozen
snow what what happened
then paw kerry asked breathless
then up rose a fountain of flying snow
that fell in chunks for 40 yards around
for a minute or two no one saw anything
clear
nobody knew what had happened but when
the men came running to find out
there was the second locomotive buried
halfway in the snow
and the engineer crawling out of his
hind inn
he was considerably shaken up but not
hurt badly enough to mention
where’s the superintendent what happened
to him they asked the engineer
all he said was how the dickens do i
know all i know
is i’m not killed i wouldn’t do that
again he said not for a million dollars
in gold
the foreman was shouting to the men to
come on with their picks and shovels
they dug the snow loose from around the
second engine and shoveled it away
the engineer backed it out and down the
track out of the way while the men dug
furiously into the snow ahead to come at
the first engine in the superintendent
and hardly any time at all they struck
solid ice
that first locomotive had run full speed
head-on
into that snow its full length it was
hot with speed and steam
it melted the snow all around it and the
snow water froze solid
in the frozen snow there set the
superintendent
madder than a hornet inside the
locomotive frozen
solid in a cake of ice
grace and carrie and laura laughed out
loud even mo
smiled the poor man mary said i don’t
think it’s funny
i do said laura i guess now he doesn’t
think he knows so
much pride goes before a fall said ma
go on pop please carrie begged did they
dig him out
yes they dug down and cracked the ice
and broke a hole through it to the
engine
and they hauled him out he was not hurt
and neither was the locomotive
the snowplow had taken the brunt
the superintendent climbed out of the
cut and walked back to the second
engineer and said
can you back her out the engineer said
he thought so
all right do it the superintendent said
he stood watching till they got the
engine out then he said to the men
pal in we’re going back to tracy work
shut down till spring
you see girls said paw the trouble is
he didn’t have enough patience nor
perseverance
said ma nor perseverance paul agreed
just because he couldn’t get through
with shovels or snow plows he figured he
couldn’t get through at all and he quit
trying
well he’s an easterner it takes patience
and perseverance to contend with things
out here in the west
when did he quit pau laura asked this
morning the news was on the electric
telegraph and the operator of tracy told
woodworth how it happened paul answered
and now i must hustle to do the chores
before it’s too dark
his arm tightened and gave laura a
little hugging shake
before he set carry and grace down from
his knees
laura knew what he meant she was old
enough now to stand by him and ma in
hard times
she must not worry she must be cheerful
and help to keep up all their spirits
so when ma began to sing softly to grace
while she undressed her for bed
laura joined in the
on song cane and i
am bound for the seeing carrie laura
said hurriedly
so carrie began to sing then mary’s
sweet soprano came in
on jordan’s stormy banks
i stand and cast a
wishful lie
on canaan’s bright and shining strand
where my possessions lie
oh cain on bright
canaan i am bound for the happy land of
kay
none the sun was setting so red
that it colored frosted window panes it
gave a faintly rosy light to the kitchen
where they all sat
undressing and singing by the warm stove
but laura thought there was a change in
the sound of the wind
a wild and frightening note
after ma had seen them all tucked in bed
and had gone downstairs
they heard and felt the blizzard strike
the house
huddled close together and shivering
under the covers they listened to it
lara thought of the lost and lonely
houses each one alone
and blind and cowering in the fury of
the storm
there were houses in town but not even a
light from one of them could reach
another
and the town was all alone on the frozen
endless prairie where snow drifted and
winds howled and the whirling blizzard
put out the stars
and the sun laura tried to think of the
good brown smell
and taste of the beef for dinner
tomorrow
but she could not forget that now the
houses in the town would be all alone
till spring
there was half a bushel of wheat that
they could grind to make flour
and there were the few potatoes but
nothing more to eat
until the train came the wheat
and the potatoes were not enough