Winter Story

We had such a nice open winter until after we brought the cattle home. We thought spring was near at hand. They had only a straw stack for food and shelter where they were and we planned on their eating the buffalo grass which was all round our place where it had grown fast after the grasshoppers left. And [there was] a small corn stalk field near to help out. But one night we heard the wind begin to howl in a cold piercing note and J.T. got up to see what was going on. He reported a regular blizzard was starting and we must try to get the cattle in the house or they would drift away and perhaps freeze to death. I hurried to dress and he made me put on his overcoat as he said the wind would blow right through me and I went out into the storm to help him. We opened the south door and drove them to the south side of the house and by considerable running and shouting urging them into the house, all but one stubborn steer. We had him to the door time and again but he always bolted by so as the storm was increasing and we were nearly frozen ourselves we left him go and went back to bed to get warm. I was afraid our carpet partition would not keep them out of our end of the house but J.T. laid on that side of the bed and then they crowded up into the other end of the room and let us go to sleep.

The next day the blizzard was still on and as fuel so scarce J.T. said Willie and I must stay in bed while he rustled a fire and something to eat. So he got a good fire and hot water and coffee. I am quite sure we still had some oatmeal though no milk. Anyway he put a coat around me and I sat up in bed and as the stove was right beside I could reach over and see to things and we had quite a lot of fun out of it. J.T. would dance around to keep warm and sing funny songs and as of course Willie wanted to get up he would take him back to bed. He went out to try to get the wild steer in but it only made him run further from the shelter of the house so he gave it up. There was nothing we could do for the cattle in the house so J.T. soon came back to bed as we could not burn up all the fuel trying to warm the house and we put in the day telling stories and singing songs until it was time for the other meal ("only 2 meals when the man cooks") which was about the same as breakfast and then to bed again and listen to the blizzard.

The next morning it was still cold but the sun shone bright so we turned the cattle [out] as the wind had died out and the snow which had seemed to come for a night and a day so fast and furious had nearly all, as J.T. said, blown into gopher holes or down into Kansas, so the cattle could get their feed all right and even the steer who stayed outdoors, as he had sheltered himself in the lee of the doorway, seemed not the worse for the storm.

A Prairie Populist: The Memoirs of Luna Kellie, edited by Jane Taylor Nelsen