Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1873-08-20
A Dakota Hail Storm.
ATough Time for the Soldiers.

n I1ulc AOA AhiS '7NA~'
The Yellowstone expedition party re-
port their experience in hail storm as
follows:
The storm occurred about four O'Clock
in the afternoon. It came on with such
force and rapidly that the surveying
party were taken by surprise. The
party had already become well-famillar-
lied with rain and wind and thunder,
but hail was an unlooked-for accession.
Mules and horses can stand thunder and
lightning, wind and rain, with reasona-
BILE composure But when volleys of
icy bullets come rafting thick and fast
on their hide it is not strange that their
composure should forsake them, and
sometimes give place to the greatest ter
ror. The only safe way is to unh1tch
the teams and tie them by their heads
to the wagons. This storm found the
surveyors and Major Townsend on the
march, with portion OF the 9th In
fantry and company of cavalry. The
storm is represented as most terrific.
Many of the animals broke away from
the wagons and stampeded. Others
we're overturned and tumbled on top Of
each other into gulley,l the animals
only escaping through the breaking OF
the harness. The cavalry horses became
manageable and ran away with their
riders. The whole company was com
pletely delnorahzed. Major Townsend
had rather doleful experience. My
horse" be said, ''became piinic-strlckenl
and utterly Interchangeable, and at last
started off and ran away with me. How
long he ran with me on his back L can
not now say it seemed a good while
but the first I knew, I was going over
his head and blowing the ground on all
fours. Then he started off into the
storm and was gone. scrambled to
my feet, but had no sooner got up than
( was knocked down as if had been
struck with club. Three times was l
struck down before could Keep my
feet. My hat is q sight to behold, the
crown being actually torn to rags.
When I got back to the command I
found that many of the wagons were
disabled, and one entirely wrecked.
We went into camp on the spot, and
sent out after the missing, and by dark,
to my great satisfaction, every animal
belonging to the command was i'll camp,
my horse among the first Scarcely a
man among us but received severe
bruises my hands are black and blue
from the blows of the hail-stones. 9th
ers had their heads cut and bodies bad
ly bruised. "a A large yellow dog was
literally beaten to death, and number
of ungantelope were found dead from
the same cause. When the storm
ceased the hail was from two to, three
inches deep on alevel and a foot or more
in drifts. .''''' ''s ''''l'a ,.p
Gen. Roster corroborates the state
ment of Major Townsend as to the vio-
lence of the storm and the unusual
depth of the hail, and further as to the
dog and the antelope which were found
dead. When old Clemmo heard about
the unfortunate dog, he shook his head
and expressed the opinion that the dog
had been run over by one Of the wagons
in the stampede. The officers of the
9th are somewhat unwilling to leave the
dead dog out of the catalogue OF effects
directly produced by the hail, and in
the absence of post-mortem l submit
the statement to the credulity of your
readers. There is no Doubt that young
antelope was killed, and the marks on
the bodies of some of the men showed
what tremendous pelting they received.
Lieut.. Powell's head was badly cut.
Lieut.. Lynch showed me his leg. 1t
was black and blue from knee to knee.
His back had been pounded to the
same color. Major Townsend's hat is
q sight to behold. If it had gone
through hundred campaigns, it could
hardly have been more thoroughly used
up. The storm did not last over fifteen
minutes, but it lasted long enough to
punish four companies of infantry and
twenty-five cavalrymen pretty badly, to
demolish mule train, destroy wagon
and six days rations for thirty-five men,
The hail fell about four o'clock in the
afternoon. The next morning, at ten
o'clock, it was still to be gathered in
the ravine. The stones were a. large az
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