Twenty-four hours in a snow-drift.
Last week a train on the Northern Railroad, due at
Ogdensburg, New York, at one o'clock on Thursday, did not reach that place until four o'clock on Saturday.
The train left
Rouse's Point on Thursday morning with a baggage and passenger car, two locomotives, and about twenty-five passengers.
The train got along very well, though behind time, till it reached about half the distance between
Chateaugay and
Burke, when it stuck.
The men went to work shoveling out, and the train proceeded, but again stuck fast.--This operation was repeated several times, when it was found that both wood and water were getting short.
At this juncture it was determined to unhitch from the train and proceed to
Burke with the engines, replenish the stock of both, and return again for the passengers.
The engines, however, proceeded but a short distance, when they again stuck, and soon froze up.
The mercury had already sunken to twenty degrees below zero, and was still rapidly falling; the shades of evening had overtaken them, most of the passengers had eaten nothing since morning, the supply of wood was exhausted, the engines had given out, and altogether the prospect of suffering from hunger and cold was terrifying.
Messengers were dispatched to
Burke for assistance.
A survey of the baggage was made, and a cheese and quantity or oysters discovered.
The danger of suffering from starvation being removed, the next thing to be provided against was freezing.
This was done by stripping the fences at each side of the road.
So intense had become the cold that a man could barely stand long enough to go to the fence and pull off a board and bring it to the car.
During the night the men returned from
Burke with a bag of cakes and crackers, and the snow- bound train was provided with a tolerable meal.
Two other men now volunteered to return to Chateugay for the purpose of telegraphing to
Malone, which they succeeded in doing, and dispatched two men back to the train to tell of their safe arrival.
On this errand one of them gave out, and was only prevented from freezing to death by his companion, who carried him to a farm house.
His feet and hands were shockingly frozen.--The sound man then made his way to the cars.
In the morning some farmers came with their teams and took the lady passengers, the men footing it, to their dwellings, where warm food was provided, and everything made as comfortable as possible.
On the afternoon of Friday the
President of the road, with three engines, succeeded in reaching the delayed train and returned with it to
Malone, where it arrived in the evening, and put up for the night.
Next day; with a powerful driving force, the train reached Ogsdenburg, having been three days on the trip to
Rouse's Point.
This is the first time, since the opening of the road in 1849, that a day has passed without a train being able to make its way through.
