Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-01-16
SEVERE STORM HITS CAMP;
MUCH DAMAGE DONE

Great clouds of sand, sent driving
| across the open stretches of Camp Han
cock in the worst wind and sand storm
the camp has known, created unScheduleG
excitement and was responsible for a
great deal Of damage to the tents of the
Twenty eighth Division last Friday night.
1t began shortly after $3.50 and reached
| the extent of it's fury early in the morn
| ing. AS reveille sounded q scene of wild
destruction presented itself.
Tent flaps had been torn loose from
| their moorings and carried awaq. Along
officers row it looked as if somebody had
taken a huge hammer and smashed a
feet or So Sand in some places was six
inches to a foot deep, resembling snow
drifts, and the mercury had fallen more
than thirty degrees in the short stretch
of six hours.
Heavy Rain Precedes Wlndstorm.
The heaviest rain the soldier boys have
seen, accompanied by lightning and thun-
der, started falling at mess, few min
uteS after o'clock and continued with
great fury until 1880 During that time
the drill field, the roadway and the COM
pany streets became rivers and lakes, and
hardly an officer or enlisted man left his
quarters. Tent wings tapped and the guy
ropes pulled at the pegs as the wind
whist1ed over the 1f2th drill field, and
then, with seemingly greater speed swept
everything before it as it carried paper,
wood chips and loose articles down the
company street. BY o'clock it looked as
though many of the tents would collapse
under the weight of water, but half
hour later the rain ceased, and the men
believed the trouble over.
And so it was that just as q third of
the camp had retired or was preparing to
go to bed, and with lights once again
burning after having been knocked out
for two hours by the storm, that the sand
storm arrived.
surpasses Billiards OF North.
The sand storm had it all over the
billiards. back home. Cutting and driv-
TTtr1f oil no - ar0C to holt
or scurrying to cover.
The tin ventilator tops which are part
or each tent equipment were in many
cases lifted from their place and sent
hurting down the street. Pieces of stove
pipe Kept up continual banging during
the night as one after another was loos-
ened and then lost Here and there
tent ripped, and the occupants, before
buried under quarter or half-inch of
sand, and in some cases they were
scratched about the face and arms by
the sand particles
Weirdest Night, One Man Says.
tits the weirdest night | ever wit
messed" said one man today, "and I can
we'll appreciate how helpless anyone is
when a tornado strikes such a place as
this"
This sand storm was no respector of
persons and officers and men alike spent
large part OF the night looking after the
safety of his property, and guarding his
tent.
Water Pipes Frozen.
Then, the worst of the experience was
to find Saturday morning dawn with one
OF the coolest days yet experienced.
Homeless and with sand scattered over
their belongings, many a soldier boy
started to work long before daylight, in
order to straighten up his possessions be-
fore inspection and hands and feet suf-
fered from the biting wind which stin
continued to sweep the field.
Water pipes were again frozen and it
was difficult to obtain water until noon.
wasn't long until roaring fires were start
ed in the tents that remained standing.
Fully an hour and a half was devoted by
nearly every squad, either to clearing
supports and sidewalks
The severe cold had frozen the drill
field so hard that it was as stiff as ce-
ment.