THE OOLOQIST 



881 



holding 1 per cent or more of total 

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R. M. Barnes, Lacon, 111. 



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 other security holders, holding 1 per 

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Average number of copies of each 

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 R. M. BARNES. 



Sworn to and subscribed before me 

 this 30th day of September, 1912. 

 Erna Thiedohr, 

 Notary Public. 



-»~c- • 



A Western Minnesota Early Blizzard. 



On the afternoon of October 28, 

 1912, Ye Editor rode on one of the 

 "Soo Line" overland passenger trains 

 from St. Paul, northwesterly one hun- 

 dred seventy-one miles to the little 

 village of Elbow Lake, in Grant Coun- 

 ty The day was an ideal Indian Sum- 

 mer day. Clear, warm, and with slight 

 blue haze so dear to the autumn wor- 

 shipper's heart. Most of the way was 

 spent in a folding chair on the rear 

 platform of the Observation car at the 

 end of the train. 



As we rolled out of the twin sister 

 of St. Paul, Minneapolis, our train en- 

 tered a rolling semi-timber country 

 studded with many lakes and ponds. 

 Our eyes of course were open for 

 birds, but if there is any place more 

 unsuited for ornithological observa- 

 tion than a moving railroad train, we 

 have never discovered it. The roar 

 of the train seems to scare the small- 

 er birds into hiding and the larger 

 ones fly at such a distance as makes 

 identification very unsatisfactory in 

 many instances. 



After passing this rolling country 

 we entered the wide level prairie 

 where wheat is king. Here were like- 

 wise many small ponds and sloughs. 



From the train we saw large flocks 

 of Blackbirds and Long Spurs, some 

 Juncoes, Crows and many small spar- 

 rows, the species of which were un- 

 dermined. Also some hawks, but the 

 scarcity of the latter was a matter of 

 astonishment to us, scarcely a half 

 dozen being seen in the whole dist- 

 ance. Occasionally a few Coots, 

 Grebes and Ducks floating on the 

 ponds likewise relieved the monotony. 



The morning of October 29th at El- 

 bow Lake broke with a leaden gray 

 sky, drifting clouds, a high cold North- 

 west wind and spitting snow. This 

 continued with increasing vigor all 

 day, and telegraphic reports gave de- 

 tails of a regular blizzard to the North 

 and West, and three feet of snow cov- 

 ered the ground. 



This little town takes its name from 

 a shallow irregular lake that sur- 

 rounds the place on the North, West 

 and South sides, in some places a third 

 of a mile or more in width and in other 

 places less than half that distance. 

 The business taking us to this town 

 was law, and we got to the Court 

 House by 9 a. m. This building is on 

 a high knoll overlooking the North 

 arm of the lake, and not over a block 

 from the lake shore. Our case not be- 

 ing called, we had nothing to do but 

 wait and look out of the windows 

 which gave a splendid view of this 

 part of the lake, lashed as it was into 

 white caps by the fury of the storm. 



The sights seen that day will be 

 long remembered, reminding the writ- 

 er of similar days thirty years or more 

 ago on the Illinois river. The sudden 

 change of weather had started the 

 northern feathered hosts moving with 

 a vengeance. Thousands upon thous- 

 ands of wild fowl passed on this day, 



