human
Behind the sled there stirred the snow anew, an' in a moment or two another column threw itself at the sky, and behind us an' around, other of these columns rose an' moved like spectral dancers under the slate-green clouds of the snow-filled sky. No wind, no sound but the lone leader of the team howlin' in utter fear.
gpt
A dancing blizzard!
human
If there had been anythin' to do, it would have been easier, the Alaskan continued,
gpt
Was he hurt?
human
Not a bit, for there was nothin' to fall on but snow. He picked himself up, looked carefully at his snow-shoes to see that they had not been damaged, an' resumed his place at the head of the dogs. What would have become of him if he had been plucked into the middle of the whirlwind is hard to say. I wouldn't have counted on seein' him again anyway.
gpt
But you never really got caught by any?
human
Wouldn't be here talkin', if I had, was the reply.
gpt
But when we come to the track of that whirlwind column, it was a puzzle how to get across. The column, goin' like a railroad train, had cut a gully in the hard snow full ten feet deep,--the sides as clean cut as though done with a knife, or rather with a scoop, because the edge was slightly scolloped all the way along.
human
How did you get across?
gpt
Axes, was the brief reply.
human
We cut through the snow crust and beat down a steep path on both sides of the gully an' made the dogs take it. Dog harness is strong, but I was afraid of the strain on it that time.
gpt
How long did the blizzard last?
human
You mean the whirlwinds?
gpt
Yes, sir,
human
Not very long,--quarter of an hour, perhaps. Then I felt a slight breeze, an' at the same moment the columns, bendin' their heads like grass before the wind, swept to the right of us, an' were out of sight in a moment. The Indian yelled and pointed to the left, throwin' himself on the ground as he did so.
gpt
What was it?
human
It looked like a solid wall of snow, an' before I realized it was comin', the storm struck, hurled me to the ground, an' rolled me over an' over in the snow. I wasn't hurt, of course, but it took me so long to get my breath that I thought it was never goin' to come, an' that I should suffocate. But after that first burst, the blizzard settled down to the regular variety, an' we all felt more at home. But even at that, it was the worst one I ever saw in the North, an' I've been there nine winters.
gpt
What did you do? Go back?
human
No use tryin' to go back, the traveler said,
gpt
Why?