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