USA > Iowa > Calhoun County > Pomeroy > The story of a storm, a history of the great tornado at Pomeroy, Calhoun County, Iowa, July 6, 1893 > Part 15
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BY E. HORNIBROOK, M.D., CHEROKEE, IOWA.
The cyclone being more destructive of life and property at Pomeroy than at any other part of its course, is usually spoken of as if it confined its ravages to that hamlet. It commenced in Cherokee county, passed throughı Buena Vista county and part of Pocahontas county, dealing deatlı and destruction throughout its course. It caused seventy-one deathis, forty-nine of which were at Pomeroy and its immediate vicinity.
Its effects must have been seen to be appreciated. Whether the force was a circular wind, or an electrical storm, or a combination of both, it was manifest to those who observed its effects that it was, well nigh, irresistible. A force which would bend a brittle cast metal wheel into all imaginable shapes without breaking it, could scarcely be altogether a wind ; one which would take all the feath- ers from a chicken without killing it, could scarcely be altogether electricity ; one which would pull a metal tube thirty feet out of the ground and place it on the surface horizontally without bending or breaking, is difficult to comprehend ; one that would drive a four-inch scantling into the trunk of a tree without splintering the scantling or splitting the tree, is unusual ; one that would drive wheaten straws through an inch board, is mysterious ; one that would drive a green cornstalk into the trunk of a
*Read before the Cedar Valley (Iowa) Medical Society.
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STORY OF A STORM.
tree is, to me, incomprehensible. Every one of these phenomena have been either observed by myself, or have been vouched for by credible witnesses. Those who observed the progress of the storm from a safe distance, say that the moving whirlwind was accompanied by a constant play of lightning.
The Autocrat says : "The wind and the waves are rough playfellows." The wild pranks of the wind and electricity are indescribable and incomprehensible ; and as they are not material to the purposes of this paper, except in so far as they may enable us to understand the injuries which they caused, and with which, as surgeons, we had to deal, I will not occupy time in trying to describe their weird and fantastical exhibitions of potency and malignancy, but proceed at once to a discussion of the medical and surgical aspects presented by the survivors.
Few within the radius of its virulency escaped with- out some form of contusion or abrasion, and none, so far as I am informed, without suffering such a shock that it required days, and in some cases weeks, before they recovered their usual mental activity. Their nervous susceptibilities were so obtunded that they seemed oblivi- ous to pain and regardless of the losses they had sus- tained. The storm occurred on Thursday evening, and I made the rounds of the extemporized hospitals and houses where most of the wounded were being cared for on Fri- day evening. I heard no inoan of suffering from the wounded, no cry of despair from the bereaved, and no sound of weeping from the widowed and orphaned. I made the same rounds again on Saturday night, and still there was no sound of suffering, although I was sur- rounded by the wounded, the dying and the bereaved. On Monday evening anguish found its voice, and the moans of the suffering, the sounds of sorrow from the
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bereaved, and the sobs of the sympathetic were heard on every hand.
Most of the physicians within reach came on Thurs- day night, and on Friday morning their numbers were increased to forty, and although they worked assiduously, it was not until Sunday morning that the last fracture was adjusted and the last dislocation set. It is true that some of the wounds had been several times dressed by as many different surgeons, as where there was so much confusion there could be little system ; and one surgeon, finding a wound which had been as well dressed as possi- ble with the appliances at hand, would remove them and replace them with others which might be cleaner but perhaps not so scientifically applied. Others, again, would find a wound dressed by the open method, and would think it their bounden duty to sew up the wound, unmindful of the fact that none of the wounds were ascep- tic, but that with dust and débris ground into them, primary union was impossible. The force producing the wounds was so great that small projectiles were driven far into the flesh and their tracks closed by the swelling which supervened. A force which would drive wheaten straws through an inch board was something with which we had no experience, and therefore it is not surprising that many a straw and pebble and piece of clothing was inclosed in wounds, to make their presence known subse- quently by inflammation and suppuration.
This may appear to those who were not present like reprehensible surgery ; but those who were on the ground and knew the difficulties of the situation will readily excuse it. Crowd a half dozen wounded people into a dimly lighted room and set a surgeon to dress them who has but a dim comprehension of the difference between an incised wound and one which is contused, lacerated and
HOSPITAL TENTS AND WRECKED DRUG STORE.
BENEDICT-
CHI
FREAK OF A NECK YOKE.
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punctured-punctured, too, with missiles of which he has no comprehension and propelled by a force which he can- not estimate, and you will not wonder if the work of one surgeon had to be undone by another. Some of those first on the ground, who did most praiseworthy work were poorly supplied with the surgical appliances most needed. One gentleman was seen on Friday morning with his coat collar turned up and his coat buttoned tightly. It was not the cold which he was trying to exclude - he was trying to conceal the fact that he had surrendered his nether garments for surgical pur- poses.
I suppose most of them, like myself, took their ampu- tating and emergency cases with them, little dreaming that fountain syringes would be more needed ; the few antiseptic dressings were soon exhaused. I believe there was but one amputation, and that for gangrene on the Tuesday following the storm. Wash basins, sponges, towels and bandages were difficult to procure, and on the whole good work was done considering the environment. As an illustration of the way work had to be done I might mention one wound which I dressed on Friday evening, long after my stock of surgical appliances was exhausted. It was a small wound, not over half an inch in length, over the frontal bone. It had the appearance of a clean, incised wound, and my assistant suggested that "it only needed a stitch." With the probe I discovered that the missile was deflected by the bone, and I found it imbed- ded in the tissues half an inch from the perpendicular wound of entrance. I had neither sponge, towel, syringe or antiseptic. I removed the pebble, made the wound as clean as I could by pouring water upon it from a pitcher, pressed a piece of muslin to the bottom of the wound and applied a bandage. This I know was not scientific
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surgery, but it was the best I could do under the circumn- stances and there is little doubt, though I never heard from the inan afterward, that the surgeon who came after me thought me either an amateur or a bungler, or botlı. One of the patients taken to Sioux City, althoughi treated by a careful and most competent surgeon, was found after deatlı to have a handful of splinters imbedded in the tis- sues of the thigh. I will give his report of the case in his own words later.
On Saturday morning we had ample surgical appli- ances and went to work systematically, with Doctor Jep- son in charge of the surgical work and Doctor Wight chief director, and by Sunday morning all stitches, so far as I know, were removed, all wounds cleansed and drained as thoroughily as possible, all fractures adjusted and all dislocations set. Two cases of fractured skull had been trephined and properly treated. That the work was thoroughly and well done is shown by the fact that but one case of traumatic gangrene developed, and another case, in the same room, probably of contagious origin.
As illustrations of the kind of wounds met with, I copy the following cases from a paper read by Doctor Ber- gen before the Sioux City Medical Association :
I. Mrs. Geike, extensive injury in region of sacrum and coccyx. The coccyx and a portion of the sacrum were removed the day following the storm, leaving all open wound about six inches long by four inches wide, and extending down to the bone. She eventually died from exhaustion.
2. Arthur George, scalp wound and phlegmonous inflammation of right thigh, the symptoms of which sim- ulated dislocation or some other trouble of the head of the femur, which was quite misleading. But in due course of
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time fluctuation was discovered, and when the pus cavity was thoroughly opened the entire absence of hip joint trouble was easily demonstrated.
3. Emma Harman, punctured wound of thigh. In this case a pointed sliver ran clear through the thigh about six inches above the knee. The slivers left when the stick was subsequently withdrawn caused suppuration and abscess.
4. Roy Keifer, punctured wound of back made by the penetration of a piece of spindle from the back of a high chair. The piece removed from the lumbar region was about four inches long and half an inch in diameter, partially pointed at one end, broken square off at the other. It was removed the next day after the storm. On Saturday, the patient having been restless all day with a high temperature, it was thought that the abdom- inal cavity had been penetrated and possibly the left kidney wounded. The opening was enlarged and ex- plored, but could not be traced into the abdominal cavity, and the exact course of the wound was left a matter of doubt. The patient's temperature the same evening was 106, notwithstanding which he lingered about two weeks before dying from septic absorption. Then it was discov- ered that the stick had penetrated between the transverse processes of two lumbar vertebræ, making a wound that was practically impossible to drain, and almost neces- sarily fatal.
5. Mrs. Rushton, fracture of left femur and exten- sive lacerated wound of right popliteal space, and some minor wounds of scalp. She subsequently developed bronchitis and some symptoms of tetanus. This was a particularly hard case to handle, having a fracture of one femur requiring extension and counter extension, and a large, open, painful wound on the posterior surface of the
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other leg which was very hard to get at and was discov- ered to be the hiding place of a whole handful of slivers and pieces of wood. She died about the fourth week.
These cases fairly illustrate some of the worst injuries and the difficulties encountered in their treatment. Fifty- three cases were taken to the hospitals at Sioux City for treatment after being cared for at Pomeroy for over eight days. Five of those taken to Sioux City died, five are yet under treatment, and the balance have convalesced sufficient1; to return to their homes.
Doctor Bergen summarizes the cases taken to Sioux City as follows :
Contusions
7
Dislocations-shoulder
I
Elbow, compound I
Fractures-arm, simple.
4
Arm, compound
3
Arm, clavicle. .
I
Coccyx and sacrum, compound
I
Femur
4
Ilium and sacrum.
I
Ribs, simple .
3
Ribs, compound .
I
Skull; two of which trephined.
3
Lacerated, more or less extensive
8
Punctured
4
Scalp
7
Synovitis-knee
I
Ankle I
From the official list of those wounded and injured and killed at Pomeroy, which was kindly furnished me by Doctor Wight, a gentleman to whose kindness and courtesy, combined with rare executive ability, the sur- geons and sufferers are greatly indebted, I find that thirty of the injured were killed, or died from their injuries on the night of the storm, six died on the 7th and one on the 8th, the remaining eleven died at various times within four weeks. The total number of people within the range
6
Wounds-contused and slight
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of the storm is estimated at 1, 142, and the total number of killed and wounded at 308.
If a text-book on surgery is ever written by one of the distinguished men who witnessed these cases, he will prob- ably devote a chapter to cyclone wounds and injuries. He will say " that the wounds and injuries though severe, are not apparently painful at first, on account of the benumbing effects of the shock. The nervous shock prob- ably preceded the injuries, because the vitality is not greatly diminished considering the nature and extent of the wounds (none of the patients who did not die from the injuries before being seen by the surgeons died from shock afterward).
" Almost all the wounds will be found lacerated, con- tused, punctured and covered with dust-which is not laid on them, but driven into the flesh. Many fractures will be compound, the breach of continuity in the soft parts not being made by the fractured ends of the bones but by the missiles which caused the fractures, consequently the flesh wounds will not be directly over the seat of fracture. Muscles will be so bruised that dislocations will be diffi- cult to diagnose. The position of the limb and its im- mobility may simulate dislocation so closely that a correct diagnosis may be difficult. There were two cases where the immobility and decubitus were such that it was only confidence in the diagnostic skill of the surgeon who first examined them before the contused muscles had become stiffened that saved the patients from being anæsthetized and an attempt made to reduce the supposed dislocation. In one case an attempt was made, with a result which might have been expected."
His directions to those called in such emergencies will be couched in terms like these : " If there is any hemor- rhage, which is very unlikely, check it by surgical means.
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Do not, at first, attempt to do more than dress the wounds temporarily. Wrap them in warm, antiseptic solutions and have the patients removed to places where they can be properly cared for. Then arm yourself with sweet oil, soap and water, a fountain syringe, a large nail brush, drainage tubes, and antiseptics. Pour the oil on the wound, and with soap and water and brush clean the wounds thoroughly, removing all foreign bodies, if possi- ble, and after you think you have done so you need not be surprised if something has eluded your search. Make counter openings wherever necessary to secure thorough drainage. Primary union is not to be expected ; there- fore you will have little use for sutures. Use antiseptics, but take care that they are not poisonous, lest their absorption might be injurious. Perhaps creolin, iodo- form, boric acid and peroxide of hydrogen will answer your purpose. Peroxide of hydrogen will be especially useful in treating sinuses after suppuration has com- menced. All punctured fractures of the skull should be trephined and spiculæ of bone removed. Slight depres- sions in the skull of young children need not be trephined when there are no symptoms of compression. There will probably be some cases of insensibility caused by con- cussion of the brain and spinal cord, which you may be tempted to trephine, especially if there are wounds and contusions of the scalp. If you are not sure as to the skull being fractured, it is better to await developments." Some of the patients were rational for the first twenty- four hours, and then delirium and partial paralysis devel- oped, and yet they made excellent recoveries in a few days without surgical interference.
"When you come to make final disposition of your patients for proper treatment, a skilled ambulance service will save your patients much suffering." We moved
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forty-four patients from their cots and improvised beds to sleeping cars without a slip or accident and with very little suffering. At Doctor Jepson's suggestion, I had pieces of strong canvas, six feet long and two and a half feet wide, with two loops of the same material sewed to each end and two on each side to serve as handles. I confiscated two of the tents which belonged to the State for the pur- pose. The patients were raised on sheets and these pieces of canvas passed beneath the sheets. The canvas was so folded that the handles at each side were opposite the but- tocks and shoulders. Four men would lift the patient upon the stretcher, which was manned by eight young men from a military company. A gentler, kinder, more skillful lot of bearers could not be chosen to handle the remains of a deceased millionaire. Their reward was blis- tered hands, tired arms and a consciousness of having done their duty. I would like to know their names, so that they could be remembered by a body of men capable of appreciating generous self-sacrifice so well as the mem- bers of the Cedar Valley Medical Association.
Charles Lever says that he "always found doctors among the best informed, most agreeable and most com- panionable men in any community. They were generally men of good hearts, warm sympathies and deeply read in the book of human nature - pleasant men to pass an hour with if you could keep them from talking about the quack across the road." With this weakness, perhaps justly chargeable to our fraternity, I was pleased to see so little of it at Pomeroy. The man who, on account of some petty jealousy or some silly quarrel, could not work with his brother practitioner kept away, or, if he came, soon found that in the face of such a calamity we were all brothers, or, if he could not fraternize with the rest of us, the first train took him where he could do less harm.
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STORY OF A STORM.
THE DEATH ROLL.
Following is the complete list of fatalities, including those who were killed outright and those who died subse- quently from injuries received in the Pomeroy tornado of July 6, 1893 :
IN POMEROY AND VICINITY.
W. ARNOLD, aged 64.
SARAH ARNOLD, aged 66.
MARIA ADAMS, aged 67.
ALEX. MAXWELL, aged 14.
CHARLES RUSHTON, aged 3.
NINA THOMAS, aged 4.
MRS. C. R. GEORGE, aged 32.
BETSEY TALBOT, aged 68.
HENRY DILLMUTH, aged 63.
MRS. J. F. ANDERSON, aged 65.
LENA KEIFER, aged II. RAY BANKS, aged 8.
HENRY NEITING, aged 74.
MRS. HENRY NEITING, aged 64.
Two children of JOHN BECKLEY.
BEN L. DAVY, aged 20.
Infant daughter of D. L. O'BRIEN.
OLIVE FROST, aged 17.
J. P. LUNDGREN, aged 58. OLLIE LUNDGREN, aged 12.
ELLEN DAHLGREN, aged 28.
MRS. B. J. HARLOWE, aged 68. SILAS RUSHTON, aged 34. MRS. SILAS RUSHTON, aged 28. N. S. HULETT, aged 72. MRS. N. S. HULETT, aged 72.
THE MULLAN AND SALTZMAN CAVES, POMEROY. WHERE TWENTY-SEVEN LIVES WERE SAVED.
1
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STORY OF A STORM.
MRS. AGNES QUINLAN, aged 21. MICHAEL QUINLAN, infant. GROVER BLACK, aged 8. GEORGE BLACK, infant. MRS. F. JOHNSON, aged 25. BESSIE BANKS, aged 14. MRS. D. L. O'BRIEN, aged 24. A. J. WILKINSON, aged 65. AUGUST FORCHE, aged 38. HERMAN MELLOR, infant. J. M. O'BRIEN, aged 60. S. N. MAXWELL, aged 38. E. O. DAVY, aged 32. HENRY GEICKE, aged 63.
MRS. HENRY GEICKE, aged 36.
MRS. N. FECHT, aged 38. KATIE DAVY, aged 18. JOE DEMARR, aged 25. EDWARD DOYLE, aged 27. AUGUST MEYER, aged 17. ROY KEIFER, aged 18.
IN POCAHONTAS COUNTY.
JOHN DETWILDER. MRS. AMOS GARTON and two children.
IN BUENA VISTA COUNTY.
C. N. TOTMAN. W. R. CLEMONS. JACOB BREECHER and daughter. BARNARD JOHNSON.
IN CHEROKEE COUNTY.
FRANK LORD. IDA JOHNSON. LULA SLATER. MARIAN JOHNSON. SAMUEL BURGE, wife and four children. MRS. MOLYNEAUX. MRS. O. M. LESTER.
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STORY OF A STORM.
TORNADO LITERATURE.
Disasters like the Pomeroy tornado never fail to call out efforts from literary people depicting the scenes and sufferings incident thereto. A good deal of verse las been written about the Pomeroy storm, but the two poems following are perhaps the best productions in this line from the pens of local writers :
A PLEA FOR POMEROY. BY ALETHA D. SHERMAN.
We have gathered here to-night, friends, For a purpose strong and true ; 'Tis to help our fellow sufferers, And too much we cannot do.
We have heard the cry from Pomeroy, And respond we must not fail ; We must send the help that's needed - Tears and sighs will not avail.
Most of you no doubt have witnessed What our sister town is like, Since the cruel cyclone struck her With its awful force and might.
But for those who have not done so, May I try to feebly paint Pictures of the cyclone's fury, And the scenes that make one faint.
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STORY OF A STORM.
On that memorable 6th of July - 'Twas a sultry afternoon, Not a corn-leaf dared to rustle, Not a robin piped his tune-
Dark and threatening clouds were scudding, Through the sky, now here now there, And the thunder muttered roughly, Like a lion in his lair.
But at last the clouds have settled ; In the southwest part have massed, While another, dark and shuddering, To the northeastward has passed.
Like a funeral's sad procession, These dark demons made their way ; Nearer, oh ! so near together - 'Tis so dark, 'tis not like day !
See their heads so high and hoary, And the visage black below ---- God in heaven, save us, spare us ! Faint reply : "I've willed it so."
The clouds have met, their strength are battling, But not content to fight in space, They drop to frightened earth And fiercely start upon their cruel race.
Five long minutes of destruction - And they've left our sister town ; But the angels up in heaven Through their tears can scarce look down.
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STORY OF A STORM.
For the little town of Pomeroy Has been crushed and ground and torn ; There is not a person saved there, But is left some friend to mourn.
All night long the lanterns gleaming, Send their fitful glare ahead Where crazed men and women fiercely Seek their wounded and their dead.
" Mamma ! Mamma !" calls a child's voice, " I tant find oo, tant oo tum ?" But the mother 's not far distant, And in death her lips are dumb.
And here comes a wild-eyed mother, Hugging closely to her breast All that's left of darling baby - 'Tis a mangled form at best.
In the one church partly standing, Rows and rows of bodies lie, Where kind hands have brought them hither To be cared for, or to die.
Oh ! the suffering of that long night ! And, friends, 'tis not over yet ; When excitement's tide has left us, Let us not those souls forget.
There their homes are fit for firewood ; Not a change of clothes have they But the rags their bodies covering - Hearts are breaking every day.
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STORY OF A STORM.
True, there has been money sent them, Generous hearts have given well ; But to build and furnish new homes What the cost is you can tell.
And four hundred homeless people In our little sister town, Mourn the loss of their possessions, And in grief are stricken down.
Money cannot ease the heart-aches, Nor the suffering that is there ; But it will do something needful - It will furnish homes and care.
Brother, reach down in your pocket ; Sister, wear the faded dress ; God's reward will reach you later And your ways He'll richly bless.
Let us then tonight be earnest ; Let our zeal have no alloy ; Kind friends help us in relieving The untold sufferings of Pomeroy.
-
15
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STORY OF A STORM.
THE POMEROY DISASTER.
BY MOLLIE NIGHT
All nature seemed in calm repose, Upon that summer day; No thought of dire disaster rose, Or danger in their way.
The fields of gently waving corn, Dressed out in living green, Did the brown earth with grace adorn, Fit sight for any queen.
And then, as evening time drew near, With faces glad and bright, The people supped their tea with cheer, Nor thought of coming fright.
But look ! out toward the northwest sky, As evil omens come, There riseth clouds of blackest dye, That soon obscure the sun.
And, nearer yet, with silent tread, Now lower, lower still, Until each heart is filled with dread, And minds with terror thrill.
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STORY OF A STORM.
That peaceful scene has vanished now, There's hurrying to and fro, And many are inquiring how They may to safety go.
But ere they find a sure retreat From wind and hail and rain, The awful cyclone burst 's complete, Protection 's sought in vain.
In time more brief than can be told, It's passed and gone away, But what a scene the eyes behold, Left there that summer day.
What awful sounds now greet the ear Of those who still survive ; The groans and shrieks of loved ones dear, The cries of those alive.
The homes of Pomeroy low are lain, But sadder far than all, There's kindred dear among the slain, The chains of death enthrall.
What pen can paint that awful sight ? What tongue can ever tell The agony of the coming night, The sorrow that befell.
Relief was quickly sought and found, 'Twas brought from far and near, To Pomeroy and the country round Where lay destruction drear.
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STORY OF A STORM.
Three scores of people are found dead, And others wounded sore : Thus on the wires the message dread Now flew the country o'er.
But pity filled the hearts of men, For such a grief untold, And gifts they offered freely then, Will soon return a hundredfold.
And in this time of awful grief, May God from Heaven above, Give to those broken hearts relief, And comfort in His love.
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