The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-27
Incidents of the Dry Spell Of 1854,
With Its Accompaniment OF
"Black Terror"
DEATH ROLL WAS ENORMOUS.
Scarcity of Water, Destruction OF
Crops and List of Fatalities
Made the Year Mem
Orable.

Another famous drousht-one that nav.
aged Missouri two months-swept over 81.
Louis In 1854 and brought the Asiatic chol-
era as its pestilential companion.
Old residents still shudder when they r.
call tho "black terror of July and August
long before the Civil War. Yellowed news
paper files OF that time tell the story Of the
longest dry season since Missouri assumed
Statehood.
August was carnival for the king Of
terrors While the temperature scared TO
1G4 degrees in the shade between the hours
of noon and 8 o'clock. people were dropping
dead on the streets and the hospitals over
flowed with victims. Earlier In the dry
period, on July "a. eighty-fve persons per-
ished from cholera. while the Thermometer
registered 100 degrees The statistics OF the
period give this death roll as decrease OF
fifty-three over the proceeding week
Half the corn crop of Missouri was DE-
stroyed, and the pasturages OF the State
were consumed. 50 that the farmer cut his
half-grown corn before the heat could M
ish its devastation and fed the young shoots
to his stock. Kline and swine grew as lean
az the beasts that Pharaoh beheld in his
dream Of a famine. The price OF corn
jumped from SO and 40 cents bushel to ID
and 30 cents, and other cereals advanced IN
proportion. Farmers. whose fields had been
burned by the fierce sun. went across tho
river into Illinois and brought cheap corn
for their hogs and cattle. st. Louis ner-
chants experienced a decided drop in their
trade with the country districts. and gen
eral paralysis settled upon the people.
One evening. at O'Clock. In August. four
oxen, hauling cart dr1ppedd dea 1e ssTsets
They were being driven out into the coun-
try by a man and his small son. A few
and expired in neighboring house. At
o'clock in the evening of July g. after
light sprinkle OF rain, the Temperature
scared to 81 degrees and many deaths fol-
lowed.
The river evaporated so fast that on July
q the gauge showed a channel depth OF not
Louis and Cairo. The earth cracked in sew
eral parts OF the State. where the SOIL was
full Of clay. Sunstrokes followed thick ano
fast in the city and not a drop Oh iA'.
July 20 was celebrated by the papers Of
time because sna Hean h late week. prsy
Gus the roll had been sos most Of which was
| the dreaded shifting Of the cholera The
Thermometer ranged at that time from W
Forty deaths from cholera were reported
for the week ending August L The tner-
that period. On August 3 news arrived in
st. Louis that cholera had broken out IN
Mo- and -s sshteen Victims had 9sso
visitation.
On August Paris, Mo-, communicated the
been parched there under steady glare OF
101 degrees for week. All the mills on The
water courses had been stopped because the
water courses were that in name only. Stock
had begun to suffer for lack Of water.
The afternoon Of September the same
| at sea from the throats Of the ship
wrecked: Rain at lastr' II fell IN torrents
and saturated the earth and cooled the
/ overheated atmosphere.
| At the summing up Of the effects Il was
discovered that conditions were not 20 dis
astrous as the fears of the people had
, painted them. Nearly half the average corn
| crop was harvested, and fields thought to
| be worthless took on life and maturity with
| the coming Of frequent showers.