“It fell like powered sugar,brittle, yet airy and without direction as it covered the land under an unforgiving tomb.” H.S. Crow
Northwest Plains
The year was 1888, and it would go down in history as having one of the worst storms ever.
States like the Dakotas, Montana, and Nebraska, had unseasonably warm weather the previous day. Today was Thursday January 12th 1888. Activities were being carried out as usual, farmers tending animals, gathering hay, people doing business in town, and children at school.
Without warning, and in just a few short hours Artic air from Canada would alter the lives of everyone in this section of the country.
The temperature would drop rapidly to 40 below zero. The storm of the century was not only bringing frigid temperature, but high winds and heavy snow.
We Must Get Home
As the snow was getting harder, the wind blew even stronger, and the people’s thoughts turned to getting home. Farmers out in the pastures starting moving cattle toward the barns. Men on the roads driving carts filled with hay, pushed the horses to move faster. Teachers looking out the windows wandering what the best plan would be.
Most teachers decided that sending the children home was the answer. This would prove to be the worst decision they could have made. Fore you see this decision would go down in history to be known as ” The Children’s Blizzard of 1888.
At 2p.m. as the storm was gathering strength, schoolteacher Loie Royce who resided in a boarding house less than 90 feet from the schoolhouse got her pupils together and tried to lead them there. The wind was so fast and the snow falling so hard, they all got lost and three children died from hypothermia. Ms. Royce did not perish, but did loose her feet to frostbite. Meanwhile there is also the story of Emma Shattuck, a nineteen year old teacher also from Nebraska, whose pupils were sent home. No mention was made as to their outcome. Ms. Shattuck on the other hand proceeded to go home, feeling lost and turned around she sought refuse in a barn and the haystack inside. It was stated that she crawled inside the haystack and stayed there Thursday night thru Sunday. When later found she was so severly frozen that her limbs had to be amputated. She succumbed to her injuries a few days later.
One teacher who saved his pupils was Seymour Dopp, also from Nebraska. He decided to keep his 17 pupils there with him for the night. He used the stock piled wood to keep them safe and warm, next day the parents somehow managed to climb over and thru the five feet snowdrifts and retrieve their children.
Meanwhile, farmers who were out in the fields left their cattle and prayed they would survive, but in a lot of instances the farmer and the stock both perished.
Horses turned loose were found frozen to death. A man who was short on wood for his fireplace went outside and because of the white-out conditions, got lost just 3 feet from his home and died of frostbite.
There were so many more stories such as the ones I have written about, and if you fancy to continue learning about this monster storm you can read first hand accounts in the old newspapers found at {https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov}. Fascinating articles and to read them just type in [Blizzard, 1888]
The Total outcome
235 people were said to have perished that day. Some say as many as 1000. The decisions made by the teachers would change lives. Pupils who should have stayed at school was sent into an out-of-control situation that would seal their fate. People misjudging the signs believing it was only a winter storm did not act fast enough to save themselves.
In some areas thesnow had drifted so high that it blocked second story windows.
I guess there was a lesson to learn from this part of history, that thought and care should be weighed before making hasty decisions. It could make a difference between life and death.
Feedback
Thanks for joining me in my telling of the Blizzard of 1888. I love history so much, and I hope we learn lessons from it that are not repeated. I would love to hear your thoughts on my blog and how I could improve it. If you have a story you would like to learn more about, drop me your idea.
Remember, history is the true spine of America. Without it, we would fall and collapse.
This story is just one more pieces in the historical tapestry that shows that long before claims of “man-made climate change” there were dramatic changes in weather and strong cyclical currents in climate extremes. If you have lived at least 50 years and have been listening to your elders too, then one would know this to be true without being subject to panic or hysteria but would actually read the signs of change and prepare for them as the dance of life requires.
Hi Harold, Thanks for your comment. I understand where you are coming from. I did live 50 years ago, and yes weather was much different then, and no one yelled about climate change. Back then we had four seasons, cold snowy winters, cool springs, hot summers and warm falls. You could pretty much forecast the weather yourself, but in 1888 and especially in the midwest the patterns still to this day are crazy. Those poor people had no one and nothing to predict the weather for them. I’ve seen a lot of winters and I can verify that if it isn’t climate change that gives us the weather now, then why are the ice caps melting? Thanks again for the comment. I hope to hear from you again!
Don’t think that teachers made the wrong decision. Schools in those days did not have inside toilets, food services or good heat. Surely the children would have been stuck there for days under poor conditions. Touch decision making.
I am sure they were dismissed early
I understand your point, but even without those amenities, the teacher should have held them there. You see on the plains, there is nothing to stop the snow and ice from swirling, and when a blizzard comes up, it does it fast and hard. It causes a white-out, and the winds are so strong it’s hard to walk against. When the children started home, some probably lived 1-2 miles from home and, in the blizzard, lost sight of what direction they were in. I’ve been in a blizzard and a white-out. It’s best to stay put. I love hearing different points of view. Thank you again and look forward to more discussions!