Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1900-10-05

could not get it open. Then we
knocked out a large window and I went
out, but just as l got half way out the
house broke over us. Something struck
me on the head and I went under water
on the outside. When . came up l
caught hold Of some wreckage and got
on top of it. was close to the house
on the other side, the second floor was
nearly down but the door was broke
in. managed to get back and could
see in, part of the side of the house
seemed to be gone and l could not get
a sight of any person, except two men
that were on some w%reckage. never
got a sight of one of them after we
went down and it is quite a mystery
just how that was; of course they all
went down on the inside, but l was
practically back in again and the water
could not have been more than five
feet deep on the floor. The only way
that l can account for it is that when
the house broke over the side of the
house broke away from the floor and
with the lurch to one side they were
all sent down through the break and
the big veranda steps on the outside
kept them down. l had to leave there;
the wreckage carried me a little ways
and the boards We're flying and hit
ting me. ran on the wreckage and
swan and made about a block when it
got dark, the houses were breaking
down on both sides of me and l was
afraid of getting killed that way. I
got hold OF a box big enough for my
head and shoulders. 1t was a tool
chest. l laid it down on it's side on a
side of a house and got my head and
shoulders into it. This saved my life
from flying debris. l was in the shell
ter of two or three houses but they
were fast breaking up and l could see
the people getting out. Then the
wind changed and l started down the
street with a fearful wind. l could
not get up without being blowed away.
Then l did not know which way l was
going and was afraid that was going
to sea. However, finally, it seemed
that l was damned into a lot of debris
into trees and telegraph poles. At
3 in the morning the water went down
almost Immediately and I was about
six blocks from where l started from
and there was about 10 feet of debris
under me. l got into a grocery where
there were a number just like myself.
At that time each one that lost rela-
tives seemed to think he was the only
one. AS soon as it was daylight I
went to the location of the house and
not a vestige could be found and for
about two blocks not a board. l saw
about a dozen corpses lear there. I
went to the police station nearly a
mile away and it was full of people
just like me, every person wanted help
to get out their dead, and hundreds
that had taken refuge there, while
nearly half of the building (city hall)
was wrecked. That was Sunday. Part
of the police and all of the fire depart
ment started gathering corpses, and
brought in about 200 t the morgues
to be identified. l went all over the
places where l might find them and
then concluded that they were either
in the debris or washed out to sea- I
then watched them as they came in.
On Monday afternoon they were so
badly ~decomposed that they could not
leave them in the morgue so they were
loaded on fat boats and tugged. out to
sea where they were sunk, but I am
satisfied that ours are not any of them.
The next day some of them had washed
back on the beach and since then they
have been burning them. have got
a permit to save ours if l find them and
have an undertaken with ready with
metallic collins.