Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-03-17
WORST STORM YEARS.
Blizzard Over this Section Of State
Lasted for Sixty Hours, End
ing Last Night.
Records Show the Storm to Have
:s. been the Worst Experienced on
the Slope in Many Years.
Famous Storm Of Thanksgiving Day,
1896, outdone in Duration and
Fury Of Wind.

~ rl 8.
The Missouri slope shivered Satur-
day and Sunday in the grip of the
worst blizzard that has visited this
section in fifteen years. For fury, the
storm has seldom been equalled and
probably never outdone in the memory
OF the oldest inhabitant. Forty eight
hours the wind and storm ragged with
unabated fury Not until after night
fall Sunday did the storm show signs
OF abating, and f1tfully through the
night the gusts of wind blew, as
though the storm king were 10th to
loose his grip upon the situation.
Beginning ait about 5 o'clock Friday
evening, the storm grew more severe,
increasing in violence during the night
and Saturday. Nightfall Saturday
saw the blizzard raging with re
doubled intensity, and during Satur-
day night and Sunday there was, no
abatement. The thermomete dropped
to several degrees below, an unusual
accompa animent of wind Of the vio-
lence of that which ragged for two days
and nights. Snow fell during Satur-
day and was lashed into great frozen
waves by the storm. Great gusts Of
wind lifted the light snow from the
ground and whirled it through the air
with such fury that to see was inn
possible. Vision, even across street,
was entirely shut out. Dismally the
wind hoWled, without cessation or In
terruption. The snow was lashed
.hithers and thither in fantastic shapes,
now reared up in great drifts, and
now these were torn down and Whir1-
ed aloft into the air. The atmos-
phere was a Whirling, binding seeth-
ing torrent of wind and snow that
lashed like a whip and bade wise hui
manity stay within doors.
Business of all kinds was suspended
completely. Few persons ventured
! out OF doors after getting home satur-
day evening The streets were desert
Cd entirely and given over to the
reyeling of the storm. Railroad traf-
fc was given up There was no at
tempt to move trains anywhere along
this division of the road. Cuts along
the line were filled up completely by
the driving wind and snow. Drifts
were reared and beaten down hard as
rocks, to defy the ordinary snow plow.
The trains which were caught in the
storm were held at division points
where possib E. One train. which was
at Dawson when the storm began, re-
mained there during the storm and no
effort was made to move it, as efforts
would have been futile. Itt was stated
that no attempts would be made to
clear the track and move trains until
the storm had subsided. No efforts
were made to move trains by the
Washburn road, and to attempt to
clear the track was impossible until
this morning, when the storm had
abated. All cuts along the road are
packed full Of snow, and there will
be hard work clearing a way for trains
NOTES OF THE STORM.
A water pipe in the second floor od
D Lucas & O'Hara,s store froze up Sun
day and burst, flooding the lower
floors and doing considerable damage
The members of the firm did not yisi
the store Sunday and nothing was
( known Of the mishap until this morn.
ing when they entered to find seyera.
inches of water on the floor, and con,