or it may appear violently and blow a gale. 

 Its duration is from a few hours to several days. 

 There are numerous instances on record of a 

 Chinook greatly raising the temperature, re- 

 moving several inches of snow, and drying the 

 earth in an unbelievably short time. An ex- 

 treme case of this kind took place in northern 

 Montana in December, 1896. Thirty inches of 

 snow lay over everything ; and the quicksilver- 

 tip in thermometers was many lines below zero. 

 In this polar scene the Chinook appeared. 

 Twelve hours later the snow had entirely van- 

 ished! The Blackfoot Indians have a graphic 

 term for this wind, — "the snow-eater." 

 ^ In most respects this wind is climatically 

 beneficial. A thorough warming and drying a 

 few times each winter renders many localities 

 comfortably habitable that otherwise scarcely 

 would be usable. The occasional removal of 

 snow-excesses has its advantages to all users of 

 roads, both wagon and rail, as well as being help- 

 ful to stock interests. There are times when this 

 wind leaves the plains too dry, but far more 

 frequently it prevents terrible floods by reduc- 



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