The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-02-25
THE BIG WIND IN IRELAND.
Actual Date Fixed by Death in the
Buffalo Amshouse.

tBuHalo Co. New York SUM
by the death of Danny Burke in the
Erie county almshouse a short time
ago the date of the big WiDd'' in Ire
land has been tudieiaIIy settled.
some persons have doubted that
thefe ever was any such event as this
particular big wind in Ireland. Others
nave asserted that there was one year
marked above all other years i'm the
memory of man by a mighty hurricane
III ireland, put the date was III dis
pute. But Danny Burke never was
among the doubters Whenever the
question of the meteorological disturb
alce was brought up in mis- hearing he
always came out with this decision:
AV coorse there was a big wind,
t?'' 0'i a.
Danny o the Big Wind" he came to
De called for his frequent references TO
the event. Every one of his Ynisfor
tunes, and he had nearly as many of
the-n as he had failings, he blamed
upon the conjunction of his nativity
and the Big Wind.
TITS mesilf that ought to know that
there was a big wind" he used to saw
TO MS cronies at the almshouse i'm his
last days. Good reasons L have to
mind it.
Didn't it blow me father frIrn his
farrum-Paddy Burlxe's acres they call
thin yet in Knockroe, County Lime
rick What but that cud dhriye i'm
run his own farrum wild mis- COW an
pig, to wurruk wild pick an shovel
far-r frum the ouId sod?
Wasn't it that that med him lave
little Bridget-she was the youngest av|
the childhren-to grow up among
strangers behint i'm and die in the
wurrukhOuse2 AL it's her oldhar
brother Danny that'H be doing tn
same.
''Fwhat was it av il wasn't the Big
Wind tbat'd dhrive me brothers Patsy
an Dinny L fight wid tn Southerners
fr tn nagurs whin tn rest av tn
Oirish was wild The bloody sixty-nint?
An fwh2t was it, sv it wasn't that,
thatd bring meself L this place { Gle
loike an ould har-se, { be snaked out
at tn last. more loike than not, t be
sould an he eat up be tn docthors?"
All of these calamities, save the last
befell the lad who was born in the
year of the Big Wind. Bur while lie
was positive as to the cause of his
troubles he never knew in what year
the Big Wind blew. That was because
he never knew the year of his birth.
Danny of the Big Wind was a well
known figure about the streets of Buff
falo for many years. In his decline he
did chores about the homeopathic
iltSlllSl IN lilt SOlilS 10 TIE
almshouse for the winter.
He would disappear for months at a
time, and Tumor said he had a farm
somewhere near Rochester. Finally ne
died, and upon preparing his body for
burial the county undertaken discov-
cred in the lining of an old shirt that
Danny wore $4,000 in United States gold
certificates.
Danny was never known to have a
relative, but upon the discovery of tie
money kinsmen came forward in
sWarms. The surrogate instituted an
inquiry which sifted out the false kins-
folk from the true, and then Danny's
life history became fully known.
1t appeared. that his father really did
own a farm in Knockroe, called Paddy
Burkes acres. and that Paddy left |
them gladly in 1S45 to sail for America
with mis- wife and four children, leav-
ing behind 2-year-old Bridget He sent
money back to take care of her and |
ultimately TO enable hcr TO rejoin the |
rest, but the hard-hearted uncle. in |
whose care she was left, stole the |
money and never let her know that
any had been sent to her.
She died in the workhouse, as Danny |
related. The fate of the two brothers. |
who died, under the stars and bars of |
the Confederacy. was also as related i
But most satisfactory of all was the !
confirmation of the truth of Danny's |
statement as to the historical event at
tending the year of his nativity. For
the parish priest of Kilteely, who GER
titled to the foregoing facts, added the
following information:
1T was true as claimed that Daniel |
Burke was born in the year of the Big
Wind. The town records, which con-
tain the history of the parish, and the
church register. which contains the
record OF the baptism. show that DAN
iel Burke's birth was in the year of the
Big Wind, and that was in 1877
Don't forget about the Rose Sale at
Nneeler's to-day