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Show I ' ? 4 : R.aay Raay : . . . % FAMOUS FAMOUSC C UD FAMOUSHEADLINE 1 w wITEADLINE ITEADLINE HEADLINE HUNTER HUNTER.w HU HU"The . .w w .wr r iti : III . b ' fi [ ! ] [ H'Jl HJl H'Jl"The ' 4,16oc9 416oc9 , , "The The " Blanket of Death " By FLOYD GIBBONSYOU GIBBONS GmBONS GIBBONSV7'OU you V7'OU V7OU ' know , boys and girls , out in our prairie states we we-1- we 1 - we1have wehave - have blizzards that are corkers . The people out in that thatsection thatsection thatsection section know the dangers of those blinding driving , snow snow- snowstorms snowstorms snowstorms - storms , and take all possible precautions . Even so , you hear youhear tiagic hagic tragic tales , every once in a while , of individuals , and andeven andeven andeven even whole bus loads of who people have been lost or orstaUed orstalled orstalled staUed stalled in blizzards for long hours and finally finaJIy have died of ofcold ofcold ofcold cold and exposure . betweenTho betweenThe In Baltimore , down dOt'm dOtm dorm ' in Maryland , . buzzards blizzards are ilre few feVl and far between The people down there don't dont ' expect them-and them and them - and don't dont ' realize their thel1 ' clan dan Baltimoreblizzard gers dangers clangers when they do come We've Weve ' got a yam yarn today about a Baltimore blizzard And it's its ' a story that would have had a tragic ending endmg If it itweren't itweren't itweren't itwerent weren't werent ' tor for the grit gnt and heroism of a young boy . . The boy is a man now HIS nowHis name is John Hornberger , and he lives m in New York city . It n was in the year 1904 , . to be exact c"Cact cCact eeact " . . John's Johns ' mother ran a agrocery agrocery agrocery grocery store store- storein - in Baltimore to help hclp take care of John and his hls two twoyounger twoyounger twoyounger younger sisters . . It was along about the tbe middle of December , and anda anda nda greatdrifts greatdrdts a heavy snow was falling Callmg . A high I11gh wind was blowing blowmg it into mto great drdts drifts , , and there were few people on the streets all day . . Blizzard Was Too Much fo toi . , ' . John . By afternoon the snow was so deep that walking was next to im- im impossible Im tin- tin Impossible tinpossible - possible Night came and nnd it was still snowing Along about dinner dmner tuneJohn's tuneJohns tune time , John's Johns ' mother discovered that they were out of bread , and told Johnto John Johnto Johnto to go to a bakery a few blocks away to get some . John started out , , battling battlmg the high drifts drilts The snow was like quick qwck- qwck quick- quicksand qwcksand quicksand - alongfor sand and the drifts drilts didn't didnt dldn't dldnt ' seem to have any bottom He struggled along for half hall a block , and by that time he was completely worn out It Itwasn't Itwasn't Itwasn't Itwasnt wasn't wasnt ' worth all that struggle just for a little bread He turned around aroundwent , tent , \ ent back to the store , and told his hls mother he couldn't couldnt ' make it it itMother . . seriously.If seriouslyIf Mother said all right , but she didn't didnt dum't dumt ' take that snow storm serIously . If she'd shed ' been brought up in , say , the Dakotas , she'd shed ' have known that thatsnow thatsnow thatsnow snow can be a tough proposition . . . But she didn't didnt ' know anything anythmg about aboutbllzzards aboutblizzards aboutblizzards bllzzards blizzards and-well-1 and well 1 and-well-I I and - well - I suppose she just lust took it for granted that John was wastoo wastoo wastoo too small to get through the drifts She said she'd shed ' go to the bakery her her- herself herself herself - self , put on her coat coat , , , threw a shawl over her head , and left the store . Ten minutes mmutes went by-twenty by twenty by - - twenty . Still mother hadn't hadnt ' come back back.John backJohn . John and his sisters began to get worried worrJed . John was more wor wor- worried wor- wor worried worried - ried than his sisters . He lie had been out ont in those dr drifts ts . . He knew knewwhat knewwhat knewwhat what they were . , He lie hoped his mother had managed managcd to get as faras far faras faras as the bakery and decided to stay there . Still , he " , wasn't wasnt asn't asnt ' sure . Started Out to Find His Mother . Half an hour passed Still no sign of mother . The girls had begun begunto begunto begunto to cry , and John couldn't couldnt ' stand it any longer . He put on his lus hat and coat coatand coatand coatand and started out to look for Mother . The snow was still falling An angry wind wmd was blowing blowmg icy partIcles partIclesInto particlesinto particlesinto Into his face , bunding blmdmg blinding him hun He started pushing pushmg his lus way through theV the theSomething V r \ Something Sometlung Black Showing Showmg : Against Agamst the White Snow . - dr drifts ts , calling loudly to his lus mother . He got no answer . Squinting Squmtmg his hiseyes hiseyes hiseyes eyes and sheltering them with his bands hands as best he could . , , he tried to peer peerthrough peerthrough peerthrough through the stinging stmgmg curtain curtam of flying flymg snow . He could see no sign of her her.Even herEven . Even her footprints footprmts had been obliterated by the driving drlvmg blast . . . For half halt a block block-a block a - a block block-he block he - he strueeled struggled on . He came to thepoint the thepoint thepoint point where he bad had given up before-bnt before bnt before-but but before - - but he didn't didnt ' ciw glve give up now now.This nowThis . . This time he had somcthine something more to strucele struggle for than a D . couple coupleloaves coupleloaves coupleloaves loaves of bread breuI : . . This time he was fighting figbtmg for Cor his I11s mother . For- For Forher Forher Forher - her safety-possibly safety possibly safety - possibly for her very l life e ! He pushed and stumbled on for another zmother half block He was tiredand bred tired bredand tiredand and his breath was coming commg in m gasps . . How could his mother survive in m a astorm astorm astorm storm like thiS this7 ? ' Then , all of a sudden , something somethmg black showing against againstthe againstthe againstthe the white snow caught his attention attentlon . A 1oot-a 1oot a foot-a foot : foot - a woman's womans ' foot-shc1.mg footshc1.mg foot shc1.mg shc1mg foot-sticking sticking footshc1.mgout footstickingout foot - stickingout . out of one great driftShe drift . . She Was Unconscious in the Snow . In an instant mstant , John was on his knees , scooping scoopmg away the snow around aroundthat aroundthat aroundthat that foot Says John . * "I I " worked as I never worked before , getting the thesnow thesnow thesnow snow out from around that body . I didn't didnt ' know who It was . . I suspected suspectedbut , but I couldn't couldnt ' be sure And when , , at last , I had the snow all 0111 scraped a\\ay a ay away aaythere awaythere avaythere \ \ , there lay my mother . " Even then , John was ail all but exhausted exhaustcd . , Ho He lie tried tricd to lift Wt hit hIsmother hismother his hismother mother , but her weight was too much for him hml hunt . . So he grabbed herunder herunder her herunder under the rmpits armpIts and started dragging draggmg her back toward the store . If that trip trJp out had been hard , the one back was a nightmare rughtmare Half Halfa Hala ! a dozen times tunes the tired boy was ready to give up-but up but up - but be he couldn't couldnt ' gIve gIveup giveup giveup up Not when his mother's mothers ' life We depended on it And mother herselfcould herself herselfcould herselfcould could be of o ( no help Time Tune and again agam John had depended on her , but butnow butnow butnow now she was depending dependmg on him 1um hull She was unconscIousDraggmg unconscious unconsciousDragging unconsciousDragging Dragging Draggmg the dead weight of his mother's mothers ' body , he fought and nnd strug strug- struggled strug- strug struggled struggled - - gled on He was halt hat half ! a block from the store now-now now now - now only a quarter quarterof of a block It was a long block , but never had it seemed so long to JohnAt John JohnAt JohnAt At last last , , gasping gasplJ1g for breath he dragged her up in front of the store But Butthat Butthat Butthat that last effort had been too much for him lum Laying his mother's mothers ' body bodydown bodydown bodydown down in m the snow , he staggered inside mSlde and called for ( or his sIStersHIs sistersHis sisters sistersHis His sisters came , , and together they got mother inside John got out outa outa outa a bottle botlIe of whisky and forced somp somE " of it down her throat They wrapped wrappedher wrappedher wrappedher her m in blankets-rubbed blankets rubbed blankets - rubbed her arms nrms to start her blood circulating cIrculatmg agalJ1 again agalJ1After againAfter againAfter After a while she opened her eyes , and that was the happiest moment momentof momentof of John's Johns ' life We . Long afterward . , Mother Lked liked to tcU tell that story . And time lime and nnd again againshe againshe againshe she has said that she shc ov/ed ov ed owed / her life hfe to her boy . For if Lf John hadn't hadnt ' found foundherfought foundherfought foundher her-fought her fought - fought for her l1fc.she l1fcshe life-she life she life . - she would Could \ ouId most certainly certamIy have frozen to deathin death deathin deathin in that snowdnft snowdrIft snowdrIftWNU . -WNU WNU e-.wNU e.wNU e .wNU - - . WNU Service |