Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1888-01-18
The Great Storm.
TRAVEL BLOCKED AND LIVES sACRI-
FICED IN THE BLIZZARD.

ST. PAUL, January 16.-The terrible
storm which has swept over the North
west, blockading railroads in five States
is now over, and the victims of its fury
are being counted. The pitiful list is
growing almost every hour. 1t is not
improbable, when the record is com
plete, it will show almost two hundred
lives sacrificed to the awful fury of the
blizzard. Next to this the worst biz
Zard that the Northwest ever expert
enced occurred Jan. z, and 9, 1873.
In that storm seventy people were
frozen to death and thousands of dol
lars worth ofprOperty destroyed. The
present storm promises to be even
more terrible in it's results. 1t came
without warning. At sunrise last
Wednesday Dakota never had more
lovely winter weather. The air was
clear as crystal and every object about
the horizon was distinctly visible.
The wind was from the south, warm
and balmy, and before the sun was
high in the sky a decided thaw had
set in.
Farmers took advantage of the beau
tiful weather to go to town, to draw
wood and hay. About noon a cloud
was seen along the northwestern horiz-
on, lying close to the ground, but
stretching from the west to the north
in dark semi-circle. Little attention
was paid to it, but in an hour the cloud
had swept over the country, the sun
was Obscured and the snow was falling
fast and gale was sweeping from the
northwest with terrible fury. The
| nv1 Io1 f,l
rapidly and by 5 o'clock it was fifteen.
degrees below zero and the next morn
ing it registered thirty degrees below
All the while the wind increased il
fury, the snow fell thicker and the larg,
amount of snow that was already OF
the ground was blown into powder anC
hurled along by the wind.
On the prairie an object forty fee
J distant could not be seen. A man
voice could not be heard six feet. Tn
air was full of snow as fine as -four ant
the roaring of the wind and the dark
1 ness caused by so much snow in tn
air made the scene the most dismal
2 drear and forsaken that man eve
r looked upon. Every railroad in DakC
+ ia, Minnesota and many Iowa, Nebras
/ ka, and Wisconsin railroads wer
: blocked. Telegraph wires everywher
t were down and it was not until Satul
o day that the full extent and awful II
suits of the storm became apparen
! The telegraph hourly brings the mos
g pitiful stories of suffering, terribl
: struggles for life and heroic deeds b
8 the brave men and women of ii
v storm stricken sections that have neve
t been equaled.
n CHICAGO, Jan. 16.-Sixteen degre,
e below zero was recorded on the GO
l. eminent thermometer here at midnigh
is Four below was the highest temper
Y ture reached during the day.
Is The casualties among stock ha7
N been greater than ever known in Il
le State of Kansas. Horses and Gait
ID have persisted in their stalls and Il
is owners have been badly frozen viii
it attempting to care for them.
le On the Missouri Pacific railroad tV
ID train loads of cattle coming in from t
le west were caught in the blizzard al
Id every animal was frozen to death.
s. most of the cattle on the western ran
lie of the Indian Territory are new Tex
e. stock the loss will be very great, tn
H. being unused to such low temperatur
Sc PINE BLUFF, ARK, Jan. 16.-T
ad blizzard struck this section Saturd
"a night. 1t began with spring-like sho
he ers in which there was terrific thunC
rk and vivid flashes oflightning then 81
raj and snow followed by a genuine b
zard. The temperature dropped at
. rate of 20o to 250 an hour.