In “A History of Foster County,” there’s a story of how three friends survived the big blizzard of 1886. Their wagon was only 12 feet from their tarpaper shack, but the next morning a blizzard completely blocked it from sight. Toward evening, they headed for the stable to feed the animals.

“The storm came from the northwest,” one of them said, “and going with the wind we made the stable all right, but coming back was a different thing...we walked until we struck a bare spot and discovered it was the fire break north of the house. We had completely missed the house... I happened to stand facing in a straight line toward the house and all at once I noticed a small black spot, then it disappeared. I did not dare turn my head. I started to run and yelled at Olaus and John to follow me. We all bumped up against the house before we saw it.”

This text and audio may not be copied without securing prior permission from North Dakota Public Radio.