Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-03-16
Correspondence ofthe st. Paul Press.l
Terrible Calamity in MinnesOta-
Three Young Girls Frozen -
Ubenbll.
CHAIN LAKE CFNTER, MARTIN Co.,l

Dehuns
CHAIN LAKE CFNTER, MARTIN Co.,l
February IL, 1866. :
Let me bring to your notice distressing
casualty that occurred In this place last
week:
On Tuesday evening, the 18th inst, seven
children-four boys and three girls-be-
tween the ages of ten and seventeen years.
belonging to the families of Messrs. Lam
daker and Prestler, attended singing
school two miles distant from their parents
residence. The scope of country around
is rolling prairie, thinly settled. Before the
school closed, the wind commenced to blow
hard and filled the atmosphere with snow
as fine as flour, that had fallen five inches
deep few days before. ...s .sal.H
Hearing the wind blow, the children coon
started for home, with their OK team. After
proceeding half a mile, they were bew1lder-
cd and lost their way. The wind now
became violent and the cold intense. After
wandering portion of the night, the oxen
stopped in a large snow drift. The children
now protected themselves as well as they
could in the open wagon-bOX on the sled.
One of the girls yielded to the intense cold
and froze to death. Morning came, but 1t
brought no relief to them, for the wind
blew as hard as ever, and the air was so
full of snow that an object could not be
seen the distance of rod. They passed
the day i'm and around the sled box. just
before ni2ht the wind partially subsided, so
that a building. / believe, could be seen
from their position; while another house
was not more than one hundred rods distant.
But the boys were probably asleep, and did
not take an observation. The second
night-the coolest night of the season,
thirty degrees below zero-overtook them.
Two girls froze to death that night.
Early Thursday morning the boys awoke
almost helpless. The one next to the old
stand the youngest ten years of age un-
| dertook to start the team. The Oldest boy
| begged OF them not TO halloo, as it would
be of no use, for they must all perish there.
"No," SAYS one of the boys, "we shall yet
be rescued" and he crawled to the front OF
the oxen. and, with his hands frozen stiff,
wiped off the ice from their eyes so that
they could see, and kicked their legs till
they bled, and then, by desperate halloo-
ing, the oxen put forth their strength and
moved the sled from the drift. Going hall
a mile they came upon a swell on the prai-
rie. The father saw them halting mile OIL
At once he flew to their relief.
The sled was brought to the door of the
parents, containing the frozen bodies OF thu
girls, one of the little boys insensible, ant
the others badly frozen. The limbs OF TIT
two older boys were frozen apparently
solid nearly to the knees, while the hands
and arms of one of them were more badly
frozen. The limbs of one of the little boy
were frozen above the knees. The other lit
: tie boy is not frozen much, though he wa
, more thinly clothed than the others. He hat
, no mittens for his HANDS, though he wore
blouse, the sleeves of which came over hi
hands. ..-..
have visited these suffering families.
was sad sight to see those three girls, lai
l on one bed, in the same condition as the
} were when taken from the sled. saw Lh
limbs of the surviving, nearly as black as
stove pipe. The sufferings of the olde
, bows are terrible when the doctor dresse
their limbs. The youngest lis quite cheer
full, and even heroic, assisting his mothe
to prick the blisters on his limbs. He per
sists in the belief that he could have drive
. his steers home the first night il the olde
bows had let him have his own way.
The doctor is sanguine that he can saw
! all the limbs except hand of one of tn
: older boys. 1t is my opinion that after
few days the flesh of the frozen parts wi
! slough off, and amputation will need to b
, resorted to extensively, if possible to sav
life. The doctor, however, says all th
limbs are doing as well as could be cN
9 pectcd.
! That any of them survived such tornS
; do of wind and snow for so long time, i
the coolest weather that has been this wir
: ter, is marvellous, not only to me, but ais
! to the crowd ofpeople who throng the abod
: OF the sufferers. Yours truly,
= : j. G. STRONG,
+, +, Minister Congregational Church, Chai
,, Lake Center.