THE SUDDEN BLIZZARD
By:
Lynne G.
Hoss Cartwright and his six year old brother, Little Joe were on their way home from school. They had only been on the road for a few minutes when a very strong bitter cold wind started to blow.
" Hoss, I'm so c..c..cold," Little Joe told Hoss as he was shivering badly. " I know Punkin, I'm freezing too," Hoss said. Neither boy had their warm coats with them since it wasn't that cold when they had left for school that morning.
They continued to ride at a faster pace now, very much wanting to get home and get warm. Now to make matters worse, snow started to fall, and it was turning into a blizzard.
Ben Cartwright, who was sitting at his desk could hear the wind blowing, but didn't seemed to concerned by it. Ben's oldest son, Adam, had been busy in the barn, and when he walked towards the door, he was surprised to see the blizzard starting. From where he stood, he could barely see the house. So he held onto the barn door, turned to face the door, which he closed, and locked up. He stayed in that position long enough trying to stay calm, then he slowly turned back around knowing that the house was right in front of him. He walked fast towards the house, and he was so relieved when he reached the front porch. He quickly went inside the house, and shouted for Ben. " Pa, there's a blizzard out there !" Ben looked up and was shocked at seeing Adam covered in snow. " When did that start?" he asked Adam. " I don't know. All I know is that when I walked to the barn to door to come back to the house, I saw the blizzard," Adam told Ben.
Hop Sing had been down in the root cellar, and he too was very surprised at the fercious blizzard. By the time he made it back into the house, he too was covered in snow.
By now Ben, Adam and Hop Sing were very worried about Hoss and Little Joe, knowing that the boys would be on their way home from school and caught in the blizzard. " Hoss and Little Joe didn't even have their warm coats with when they left for school this morning," said a very concerned Ben. " I know they had their light jackets with them, but they won't keep them warm," Adam said, as he too was very concerned about his younger brothers. " I can't stand it. I' ve got to go look for them !" Ben suddenly said. " NO Pa, not in this blizzard. You can't see anything, and you'd get lost and freeze to death !" Adam told Ben. " Adam is right Mr. Cartlight. You can't help boys now," Hop Sing added.
Just as the snow started to come down sideways, Hoss remembered that less than a mile away there was a new line shack, even though it was a little out of their way. " Come on little brother follow me. I know where that new line shack is that Pa and Adam built during the summer," Hoss told his almost frozen little brother. " K..k..kay Hoss," the little boy said.
The boys rode for the next five minutes when they found the line shack. Little Joe was cold that he couldn't move. His tears had frozen to his face. Hoss got off his horse and tied him up, as he did Little Joe's horse. Hoss took his violently shivering little brother off his horse and he carried the child inside the shack. He quickly took the little boy's snow covered clothes off of him and wrapped the child in blankets. " It's OK Punkin. You'll feel warm soon," Hoss told the little boy. Hoss quickly got a fire going in the stove, hoping that the small shack would warm up fast.
" Little Joe, I gotta take care of the horses before the blizzard gets any worse. Also gotta lock the window boards to the windows so they dunt break. I'll be right back," Hoss told his little brother, who was still shivering and was now scared and crying.
Hoss unlocked the backdoor to the shack that led into a small enclosed barn area. He walked into the small enclosed barn area and unlocked the door that led back outside. He then went to get the horses and he led them into the barn, and closed the door. He got the horses unsaddled, rubbed down and he covered them with some blankets, then he fed them.
Once the horses were taken care of, Hoss went to fasten the window boards to the windows, so they wouldn't get broken if branches crashed down near the shack. Then he headed back into the shack, which was nice and warm. Then he got out of his wet clothes and wrapped himself in blankets too, and he sat next to his scared little brother.
Hoss had found some coffee and soon he had some heating on the stove. Neither boy drank coffee, but a warm cup of coffee sounded good to them. They would rather have had some hot chocolate instead, but coffee would have to do.
Hoss had set their wet clothes close to the stove so they could dry. He was trying to calm his very frighten little brother, " Dunt worry Punkin, were safe now. We have food, water and lots of wood for the stove for cooking and keeping us nice and warm too. Please dunt cry baby. I'll take good care of ya, I promise," Hoss told his little brother, who was snuggled up to the little boy on the cot.
Soon the coffee was finished and both brothers welcomed it's warmth, as it help warm them up even more. Once they had finished their coffee, Hoss checked on their clothes and he found them nice and dry and warm, so both boys got dressed, with Hoss helping Little Joe get dressed.
Hoss had lit all the lamps in shack, so it was light enough for them to check out the food storage area to see what kind of food was there. To their surprise, they had found several cans of beans, fresh corn and fresh potatoes. They also found a small smoked ham, smoked chicken, and some smoked bacon. Hoss also saw some popcorn too. The fresh corn and potatoes were all from Hop Sing's huge garden.
Soon Hoss had some dinner heating up on the stove. They could hear the savage bitter cold blizzard howling outside, but inside the small shack it was warm and cozy.
Both boys had red faces from exposure, but Little Joe's face under his eyes were very red and sore from where his tears had frozen to his little face. Hoss found the medical kit that was in the shack and he opened it to find some ointment for burns, so he thought it might help their faces. He put some on Little Joe's face, especially where the frozen tears had been. He very gently rubbed the ointment on the youngsters face, then he did his own face. By now their sore faces felt much better.
Even though Hoss was nervous about them being by themselves, he felt proud of himself for remembering this new shack, and being able to take care of his baby brother. He knew his little brother was very scared and that he wanted his Papa. " Punkin, as soon as this blizzard is over, we can go home, but we are safe, and I'm gonna take good care of ya Little Joe," Hoss said as he tried to reassure his little brother.
For dinner that night they had smoked chicken, beans and some corn. " Just think Little Joe, we still get Hop Sing's yummy chicken for dinner even though we ain't home," Hoss said as he smiled at his little brother, who seemed to be feeling better now. " Ya and it's good too," the little boy said.
When they finished their dinner, Hoss washed the dishes while Little Joe dried them. Hoss had rememberd to have water heating on the stove for washing the dishes. " Hoss, do ya fink the storm will be over by mornin'?" asked Little Joe. " I hope so, but if it ain't we will be just fine here," Hoss told the child.
Hoss saw that Little Joe was looking very sad again, so he started to tickle the little boy, and soon Little Joe began to giggle hard and he fell over and started to roll on the floor. Hoss got down on his knee's and he continued to tickle his little brother. By now both brother were giggling.
Soon both of the boys were tired, so Hoss got Little Joe all tucked into one of the beds, and the little boy watched as Hoss blew out all the lamps except for one lamp that he decided to leave on for his little brother. Hoss then got into his bed and he wished his baby brother ' good night '. " Night Hoss," Little Joe said. Hoss fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Little Joe closed his eyes, but he didn't sleep very well.
As the blizzard seemed to intensify during the night, Ben was worried sick about his two youngest boys. Neither Ben or Adam wanted to go to bed that just knowing that the youngsters were out there somewhere in the blizzard. They felt so helpless at not being able to do anything for the two missing Cartwrights. Silently they were both praying that the boys had found shelter of some kind. Even Hop Sing couldn't sleep, as he too was so worried about Hoss and Little Joe.
The night seemed to last forever, as the blizzard continued. By morning, the blizzard was still howling.
The first thing Hoss heard when he woke up was the howling wind, and he also noticed that the shack had grown cold. Hating to get out of his warm bed, he knew he needed to get the stove going again.
When he got up he looked over at Little Joe to make sure the child was still covered up, which he was. Then he got the fire going to warm up the shack, and so he could make some breakfast too.
Hoss walked over to the door, unlocked it and slowly opened it to look outside. He frownd when he saw the blizzard had not let up at all, so he closed the door again and locked it. He then walked over to the food storage area to see what he could find for breakfast. What he really wanted was eggs, ham or bacon, fried potatoes and toast.
He decided to make ham, fried potatoes and of course coffee. He cut up two potatoes like Hop Sing does, sliced off several slices of ham, which he set aside. He got out two frying pans and he put some lard in the pan for the potatoes. He already had the coffee heating, plus the water for the dishes and so he and Little Joe could get washed. Now that breakfast was cooking, he went to wake up his little brother.
" Hey Punkin, it's time to wake up," he said as he slowly rubbed the little boy's back. It took a couple of minutes for Little Joe to open his eyes. He looked up at Hoss, smiled, yawned and he slowly rubbed his eyes. " Mornin' Punkin. How'd ya sleep?" asked Hoss. " Mornin' Hoss. I didn't sleep very good. That wind was scarin' me. I thought it was gonna blow the shack over. Did the blizzard stop yet?" Little Joe asked. " Not yet Punkin. Dunt worry, cuz Pa and Adam built this shack strong. I got us some breakfast cookin'," Hoss told Little Joe. " I can smell it, and it smells good Hoss," the little boy said.
Hoss checked to see how breakfast was coming along, and it was now finished. Both boys sat down to eat their ham, fried potatoes and drink their coffee. " Hey, this ain't so bad. In fact it's good," said a surprised Hoss, feeling very proud of himself. " It is good Hoss. I didn't know ya could cook," Little Joe said as he put some potatoes in his mouth. " Neither did I Punkin," Hey Hoss, do ya think the horses will be OK?" asked Little Joe. " They're fine little brother. They have a nice enclosed area, with blankets on them and plenty of food to eat. They also have water too Tell ya what, after breakfast I'll wash the dishes, while you dry em, then we can go and check in on the horses. How does that sound little brother?" asked Hoss. " Fine Hoss," Little Joe said softly as he was really missing his Papa.
The horses were just fine which made both boys feel better. " Hoss now what can we do?" asked Little Joe. " I know, but it won't be fun, but let's get our homework done, then we can play some checkers," Hoss suggested. School work wasn't their favorite thing to do, but it made good sense to them to get it out of the way. They didn't have very much to do, so it didn't take them long to finish it. Hoss helped Little JOe the best he could. He loved to help his baby brother, which made him feel so grown up.
All the line shacks on the Ponderosa had a checker board, checkers and cards. Hoss and Little Joe played checkers for a few hours, with Little Joe winning most of the games, while the blizzard continued.
Ben and Adam knew that they needed to get to the barn to take care of the horses. In the large storeroom just off the ktichen they had several ropes which they would need to use between the house and barn. They put on their heavy coats and went out to the front porch. They couldn't see the barn at all in the blizzard, but they knew where it was. Ben tied one end of the rope to the post where the alarm bell was. Adam tied the other end around his waist, faced the direction of the barn. He told Ben that when he reached the barn door, he would tie his end of the rope to the handle on the barn door. Then he would tug on the rope to let Ben know that he was safely at the barn, and that would also let Ben know that he could now walk to the barn.
Once they were both in the barn, they kept busy doing the barn chores, but they were still very worried about Hoss and Little Joe. As soon as all barn chores were finished, the horses taken care of, and the cow milked, they both walked towards the door, and stepped outside while hanging onto the barn door. Ben locked up the barn, while Adam held onto the bucket of milk, and together they both headed to the house, each hanging onto the rope with one hand. When they reached the front porch, they were able to brush most of the snow off of each other. Once inside the house, Adam took the bucket of milk to the kitchen for Hop Sing.
They got some more rope from the storeroom, so they could put a rope from the back door to the root cellar, and more rope from the back door out to the chicken pen and hen house. They did this the same way they had done with the rope to the barn. Without this method, there would be no way they could find their way around in a blizzard. Once all the ropes were in place, the milk put in the root cellar, and the eggs all gathered up, Ben and Adam were glad to able to stay in the warm house now.
Back in the line shack, it was warm and toasty, but Little Joe was very homesick, and he wanted to go home so bad. Hoss tried everything he could think of to cheer up his little brother, but nothing seemed to help. Little Joe had just figured that the blizzard would have been over today, and now he thought it would never end. He also wanted to be able to play in the snow, which he loved to do. Hoss also loved to be out in the snow, but there was no way they could go out in this blizzard to play in the snow. Both boys were very thankful that this shack had a pump in it so they could have fresh water, just like at home.
For dinner that night smoked ham, beans, some corn and coffee. " I sure wish we had some milk ta drink with dinner," Hoss said. Little Joe agreed with his big brother, even though milk wasn't his favorite thing to drink, but he knew that he needed to drink it at breakfast, lunch and dinner. " Gee Hoss, I wish we had some cookies er cake er pie ta eat too," Little Joe told Hoss. " I know what ya mean Punkin. All those things sure sound good ta me too," Hoss said as he smiled at his little brother.
After they had cleaned up from dinner, they played some more checkers, when Little Joe suddenly began to cry. " Punkin, what's wrong boy?" asked a concerned Hoss as he got up and picked up his little brother and carried the little boy over to one of the beds, where he sat down and held the crying child in his arms. " Please baby, tell old Hoss whats wrong? Are ya sick er hurtin'?" asked Hoss. " I wanna go home Hoss. I dunt wanna stay here no more," Little Joe told Hoss as he continued to cry. " I know Punkin. I wanna go home too, but we just gotta wait till this blizzard is over, then we can go home. Tell ya what, I'll get up real early in the mornin' and if the blizzard is over, then we can go home, and have one of Hop Sing's yummy breakfasts. Does that sound alright with ya?" asked Hoss. " Kay," the child mumbled.
Hoss suddenly remembered that he had seen some popcorn in the food storage area. " Hey little brother, how bout if'n I make us some popcorn?" Hoss suggested. " There's popcorn here? I'd like some please," Little Joe said as he got a little smile on his tear stained face. " Yup, I found some with all the food," Hoss happily said. Soon the shack smelled like fresh popcorn, and both boys were enjoying eating it.
Hoss had made a lot of popcorn, since he and Little Joe loved it so much. As Hoss was eating some, he had an idea in his head, so he picked a piece of popcorn and threw it at his little brother. " Gotta Punkin," he said as he laughed. Little Joe threw some back at Hoss while he was giggling, and they started a popcorn fight, and soon the floor had popcorn all over it. " That was fun Hoss !" giggled Little Joe. " Sure was little brother.
After they had cleaned up the popcorn mess, they ate more of the popcorn. Little Joe had finally had his fill of popcorn, but Hoss continued to eat it. Hoss and Little Joe then decided to clean up the shack just in case they would be able to go home the next morning. Hoss put some more wood in the stove, just enough to keep them warm during the night, and they soon went to bed.
Hoss suddenly woke up and realized how quiet it was, so he got out of bed, walked over to the front door, unlocked it and opened the door. To his big surprise, the blizzard had stopped and there was a full moon brightly shinning. He felt like shouting, but decided against it. He closed the door and went to look at his pocket watch to see what time it was, and it was four in the morning. Hoss thought that with the full moon shinning on the snow, they would be able to see good enough to go home.
Hoss quickly packed up their saddle bags, went to the barn and got the horses saddled. He walked them outside and over to the front door, were he tied them up. He then went back inside the barn and quickly mucked out the stalls.
Then Hoss went back into the shack to wake up Little Joe and tell him it was time to go home. Little Joe was so excited, that he jumped out of bed, and waited for Hoss to check the stove, and the fire was almost out. Hoss then grabbed two blankets to wrap around both of them, and he then blew out the lamps. They walked outside, and Hoss closed the front door to the shack that had saved their lives. He whispered a big THANK YOU to God for the shelter of the shack. It was still bitter cold outside and there was a slight breeze blowing. Hoss decided to have Little Joe ride with him, so he tied the child's horse's reins to his saddle. Once the saddle bags were on the horses, Hoss double checked the door to the shack to make sure it was closed.
Hoss put Little Joe in the saddle and he climbed on behind him, and he got the two blankets wrapped around them, then they headed for home.
The full moon really helped light the way home for Hoss and Little Joe. The countryside was so beautiful covered in heavy snow that was sparkling in the moonlight. Hoss made sure they rode slow as it was easier for the horses. Both boys were almost warm in the blankets that Hoss had wrapped around them. Their faces were cold though. Hoss had one of his hands holding the reins, but it was wrapped in the blankets, so it would stay warm. His other arm and hand were around his little brother.
Ben suddenly woke up around six in the morning, and he was surprised that he had fallen asleep. He glanced over at Adam, and he noticed that his oldest son was sleeping.
Hoss and Little Joe got home about five thirty in the morning, and they headed into the barn to take care of their horses first. Both boys were very tired since neither of them had slept very well, espeically Little Joe. It took them around thirty minutes to tend to their horses, then they headed towards the house.
Ben got up from his chair where he had fallen asleep, and he stretched, and quickly woke up Adam. " Adam, the blizzard is over. We have to go and find your brothers," Ben told Adam. " OK Pa," Adam answered.
Suddenly the front door opened which startled Ben and Adam as Hoss and Little Joe walked in. " Papa !" cried Little Joe as he ran over to Ben. " THANK GOD !" Ben yelled as he picked up his baby son and held him tightly and kissed him. Little Joe was crying. " Hi Pa, Adam. It sure is great to be home again," Hoss said. " Hoss, thank God you two are alright. We have been worried sick about about you two. Where were you?" asked Ben as he hugged Hoss while still holding Little Joe. " Hey Hoss, Little Joe, it is so wonderful to have you both safely back home," Adam said as he too hugged Hoss and he ruffled up Little Joe's hair.
" Oh, boys home ! Hop Sing make big breakfast now !" Hop Sing shouted as he hurried out to the kitchen, very happy indeed. " Oh boy, one of Hop Sing's breakfasts!" Hoss excitedly said. " Oh boy !" Little Joe said.
As the family sat down for breakfast, which Hop Sing joined with them with his bowl of rice and tea, Hoss and Little Joe told everyone about where they had been. Ben was so proud of Hoss. " Hoss, I'm so proud of you for taking care of your little brother so well. I'm so glad that Adam and I built that line shack where we did, as it saved your lives," Ben thankfully said. " Pa, we need ta restock some of the food we ate, and return these blankets we brought home with us. Also the food the horses ate too," Hoss told Ben. " Don't worry about that now son. It will be a pleasure to do that," Ben told Hoss.
After Hoss and Little Joe had finished their breakfast, they were both yawning, especially Little Joe, who had actually fallen asleep at the table. " Hoss, why don't you go up to bed and get some sleep, while I take your little brother up to his room," Ben suggested. " Thanks Pa, I think I will for a while," Hoss said as he walked up the stairs to his room. Ben picked up Little Joe and carried the sleeping little boy up to his room. Adam went along to pull down the covers on Little Joe's bed, and to get out a nightshirt for the little boy. Once Ben and Adam had Little Joe undressed and into his nightshirt, Ben got him settled in his bed and he covered up his little son with quilts. Both Ben and Adam stod there looking down at the sleeping youngster and thanked God for keeping him and Hoss safe during the big blizzard.
Once out in the hall, they could hear Hoss snoring, so they looked in to have a look at him too. " Pa, Hoss certainally acted grown up didn't he?" Adam said as he felt so proud of his 'big' younger brother. " He sure did son, and I'm so proud of him," Ben said again.
This blizzard was a deadly one, as several people were lost, unable to find shelter when the sudden blizzard hit. Hoss and Little Joe were lucky indeed that Hoss remembered the new line shack, that Ben and Adam had built that summer, for it saved their lives.
THE END