Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1888-01-21
A TERRIBLE STORM.
Nearly 200 Lives Lost--Inci-
dents Of the Storm.
DEATH ON THE PRAIRIE.
A Brave Little Teacher-How
She Faced tho Storm.

DEATH ON TIE fRAlHlG.
A Brave Little Teacher-How
She Faced tho Storm.
ST. PAUL, January 1G.--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 l'cing counted. The pitiful list Is
growing almost every hour. II Is no,
improbable when the record Is complete,
Il will show almost two hundred lives
sacrificed TO the awful fury Of the blizzard.
Next 10 this the worst blizzard that the
Northwest ever experienced occurred Jan.
Z, 8 and o, 1873. In that storm Sc, ,iy
people were frozen 10 death and thous-
aud dollars worth of property destroyed.
The present. storm promises to he even
more terrible in its results. II came with
out warning. Al 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 decided tliaw
had set In.
THE BLIZZARD STARTS.
Farmers took advantage of the bcauti-
full weather TO go 10 town, TO draw wood
and hay About noon a cloud was seen
along the northwestern horizon, lying
close 10 the ground, but stretched from
the west 10 the north in dark semi.cir-
Gle. Little attention was paid TO II, but
in an hour the cloud had swept over the
country, the sun was obscured and the
snow was falling fast and u gale was
sweeping from the northwest with terri
BILE fury. The blizzard had begun. The
mercury fell rapidly and by ) o'clock IL
was fifteen degrees below zero and the
next morning IL registered thirty degrees
below. All the while the wind Increased
/ in fury, the snow fell thicker and the
large amount Of snow that was already
on the ground was blown into powder
and hurled along by the wind.
On the prairie nm object forty feet dis.
| tant could not he seen. i mans voice
could not bc heard six feet. The mir was
Ihll Of snow us fine rs flower and the roar
| ing Of the wind and the darkness caused
by so much snow IN the air made the
scene the most dismal, drcar and f0rsakcn
that man ever looked upon. Every rail
road in Dakota, Minnesota and many
Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin railroads
were blocked. Telegraph wires every
where were down and il was not until
Saturday that the full extent and awful
results of the storm became apparent.
The telegraph hourly brings the most pitt
full stories Of suffering, terrible struggles
for life aud heroic deeds by the brave men
and women of the siorinstrickcn scc-
tons that have never been equalcd.
DEATH ~ THE PRAIRIE.
Mary Conncll, II little school teacher
near Cuvour, started home with two Of
her pupils. a boy and girl The boy left
them and persisted. Miss Council put
her dress folds about the little girl and
made her walk all night. shcl'cring her
charge with her body. They were found
the next morning. alive. hut horribly fro
zen. Another teacher, Miss jacobson,
near Siolnir. .iaricd home with little
girl and bath persisted. When found Miss
jacobson was crouchc,l in little hollow
lin1hc ground with her arms about the
little girl while her dress skirt was wrap.
ned around her. Her own bonnet wa.
oil her head aud her hands clutched her
dress Mt her throat, hut there was smile
on her face. Q
Two children, hoy and u girl, of Jo'
scph Hutchinson. near Garry, were lbs,
going home from school Twenty-Five
men nj once started on the search for them
and the mother could not he kept from
going along. The poor woman was with
the party who found them. They wer,
lying close together and the boy had his
sisters hands between his own. Thurs
day forenoon just before the blizzard
struck ihi. point Il party of seven farmers
about twenty-five miles northeast of her,
started for their homes, having been her,
with wheat. The report comes that the
bodies Of four of them have been found
dead. Searching parties ARE out looking
for the Others. Mrs. Knuison, Of Rush
more, was found frozen To death within
forty feet of her door. Her husband wal
absent and becoming uneasy, she started
in search ol him. losing her life in the net
TERRIBLE DEATH LIST.
William Morrill,. .ycarold farm Ia
borcr, went out of the house Thurs'la,
evening To 20 n few rods to the barn. Ill
became confused and was found dead 1--WE
miles away II. :. Chaplin, Of Minncapo
lis, collector for ilircshing machine firm
len Worthwhile, near Aberdeen, Thurs'la,
morning with n liveryman to visit farm
crs near by. They have not been hear
from aud ARE probably dead. q. T. Owen
and wife, of Wentworth, Dakota. wcr
lost an the prairie Friday night. The.
were ou, eighteen and n half hours an'
: = hen found Mrs. Owens was dead and he
ladly frozen. was travelling In circle
will survive
These are but few Of the many terri
, bic stories which have come Ia, the ma
joriiy Of which have been briefly mention
al before in the dispatches. \ numbc
of the dead had the appearance Of having
, died frnm suiIocaiion. Some had tori