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 8
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At last my people found refuge with Mr. Ed. Davy's where they were provided with dry clothes-the finest and best not being spared. Hastening back, what a sight ! Where a few minutes before happy families had had their abode, I beheld death, desolation and ruin and heard the heartrending cries of the wounded and dying, and the sobs of the living who were seeking their loved ones which they could not find or found dead or mangled and bleeding. The first victim I found was Mr. Maxwell and a boy of fifteen years. The poor boy was just about breathing his last. Mr. Maxwell was pierced by several splinters, which I drew out. I straightened his arms and laid his head at ease and hurried away to procure help. Passing on, I found father and mother Nieting, both cold and rigid in death's embrace. Looking farther, I saw the arm and hand of a girl signaling for help. Hurrying there, I found a girl of about fifteen years, blinded by a piece of timber striking her face. Wherever the eye turned it beheld anguish and sorrow, and pain and death. How I and my family could escape unhurt, could only have been by God's protection. He who governs all things, He who does all things well, must have taken us by the hand and led and protected us. Why? He knows, and that suffices. The next morning I found in
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the cellar entry an 8 by 8 inch timber - there where I wanted to go with my children. Across the northwest corner of the cellar wall lay an iron window weight two feet long, resting on each end only about two inches. Right under it stood Miss Eppler, her head only six inches under the bar of iron. Whilst we sat on a benchi on the east side during the first storm, we were on the west during the second, in which the house went. The bench was covered by logs and stones, whilst we were sheltered by part of a roof. Some may call all these instances chance happenings. We can see the land of God in them.
J. G. SCHLIEPSIĘK,
Pastor Lutheran Immanuel Church. POMEROY, Iowa, September 6, 1893.
STATEMENT OF DR. O. R. WRIGHT.
On the evening of July 6 I was called to my old home near Fort Dodge, where I spent the night. We had a very severe storm at that place and at one time thought we were going to have trouble. The storm at Pomeroy was plainly visible, and we watched the cloud witli considerable anxiety, as it did not seem so far away as it really was (twenty-five miles). It
was a veritable battle of the clouds, viewed from our vantage ground, the two great clouds meeting and the long, funnel-shaped mass dropping to the ground. I remember saying to my brother : "Should that strike Pomeroy business would be brisk in the morning,"-but liad no idea how awfully true the words were. My first knowledge of the storm was when I boarded the train at Barnum at 7 o'clock Friday morning. My first inquiry was as to who was killed. My informant named several and my own name was among the rest. . This mistake caused me some discomfort, as it was generally reported that I was dead and it took much explanation to convince the
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public that I was still living. One friend in Chicago took the pains to send a box of flowers for the decoration of my remains. The train I boarded was loaded with people going to help the sufferers and everyone was burdened with baskets of food and clothing. Upon reaching my stricken home I was hurried at once to the State bank where a physicians' meeting was in progress. After a short deliberation Doctor Restine, of Fort Dodge, was elected head medical officer, and under his direction we were set at work. I was put in charge of the opera hall hospital. This place presented a most horrible sight. The floor was thickly covered with the dead and wounded, lying on every conceivable thing which could be used for a temporary bed.
With the aid of Doctors Evans and Saunders, of Fort Dodge, we began the work of caring for the wounded. The place was so hot that it was sickening, and the floor was covered with mud and blood. Our first effort was to remove the dead. We found plenty of willing hands to help us and the room was soon cleaned. Beds were improvised of mattresses and springs, using chairs to sup- port them. Our greatest need on the first day was for surgical dressings, as the small supply at hand was soon exhausted and necessity compelled us to use for the pur- pose whatever we could improvise. One thing which I particularly noticed was how little sorrowing the people seemed capable of. I believe I did not see a tear shed that day. Also the amount of pain the sufferers endured uncomplainingly was remarkable. Operations were per- formed without the use of anæsthetics, which ordinarily could not have been endured. The people seemed to be stunned and not more than half alive.
The hall soon became so badly crowded that we could hardly get through, and we began to speculate upon
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where next we could place the sufferers. The thought of tents came to me like an inspiration. I acted upon it at once and found that we had a supply and also found the man to get them in shape. This was my first introduc- tion to Mr. Hotchkiss, who was afterward elected geit- eral manager of relief work and who did such noble work for our stricken village. The small tents were erected on the floor south of Mullan's drug store, and we at once removed about twenty of our worst cases there, selecting those for whom we had fears of gangrene, as this was our chief bugbear in the crowded room of the hall hospital. The arrival of supplies soon gave us ample material for good beds. We erected a cook tent and lived in our hos- pital exclusively.
Our place soon became the headquarters for something good to eat, and many a hungry and tired doctor or nurse thanked good Mrs. Preston and her assistants for an appetizing dinner or lunch.
I would not do my duty did I not speak of the noble work done by the nurses during the time we worked together - having both the trained and volunteer, and one was no more faithful than the other. It is impossible to make any special mention. Mrs. Cline, of Sioux City, . had charge of the nurses during the day ; Miss Wing, of Buffalo, at night. They did much in rendering the force efficient. We always have plenty of heroes with us, and many were found among our nurse volunteers. No one could do more heroic work than was done by them. Young ladies who had never before had any experience in such work, helped to dress the most terrible wounds, and I did not see one flinch from performing the most disa- greeable task, if it was duty, and in the best manner possible.
The progress of our patients . in the tents was
THE TROON HOUSE-MOVED MORE THAN A HALF BLOCK.
GATHERING CARCASSES FOR CREMATION.
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remarkable, and I am proud to state that not one death occurred. The heat was our chief enemy, but was com- batted by covering the tents with blankets and wetting the floors. This, with the constant waving of fans, wielded by the tireless watchers, kept all comparatively comfortable. When the decision was made to send them to Sioux City, the patients exhibited much alarm, and the worry did no good for the most of them. Many objected to going altogether. A hospital was a place to be feared, they thought, and my own experience among them affirms that they were not far wrong.
The scene witnessed in removing the patients to the cars is one I shall never forget. The darkness of the night, contrasted with the flashing of lanterns - the marching to and fro of the squads of men bearing their groaning burdens, combined to make a scene long to be remembered. And when all was accomplished with good success (thanks to Dr. Hornibrook, who managed it) we stood alone under the stars and involuntarily gave a sigh of relief. For we thought we were relieved, but the next morning showed us how greatly we were mis- taken.
An investigation of the number left demonstrated that there were about thirty who needed much attention, and again we took up the round of dressing wounds, and, after two months had passed, still had a number of wounded to look after. The general result, however, is most satisfactory, for, out of so many seriously injured, only two are permanently crippled. All, like our town, are fast recovering, by help of the splendid aid given by a generous public. Families are being reunited, and new houses built on the sites of the old ones. But many scars and many heartaches yet mark the path of the tornado.
8
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ARE TORNADOES CAUSED BY SUN SPOTS ?
Prof. Fred Hess, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, an astronomer and a scientist of considerable local note, ventures an explanation of the tornado and kindred phenomena from an astronomical standpoint. His opinions are given in the following article from the Fort Dodge Messenger of July 27 :
"It may seem far-fetched and ridiculous to look for the origin of cyclones, earthquakes, floods, droughts, famines and pestilences, some ninety-two millions of miles away from the localities where such dire calamities occur. Yet we shall never be fully prepared to meet them until we know more about the sun. I thought so a long time ago, and for a number of years paid much attention to the central orb of our solar system, keeping a record of sun spots and of phenomenal terrestrial disturbance's, in the belief that there was an intimate relation between them. Could I have been permitted to keep up my·work in that line I would today have an array of tremendous facts to offer you.
" Under date of April 4, 1880, I wrote to the Messen- ger a letter on phenomenal winters, with some tables attached to it, from which, by reference to your old files, it will appear that I then, over thirteen years ago, pointed to the period of 1891-1895 as a period of extraordinary terrestrial disturbances of all kinds, based on my previous sun-spot observations, the position of the moon's nodes on the ecliptic, and the perihelical influences of Jupiter, the largest of all the planets of our solar system. Well, need I remind you now of the grippe and cholera, the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the pestilences and famines, the floods, droughts and tidal waves, cyclones and tornadoes, financial and social scandals, which have followed each other with increasing frequency and
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emphasis since 1891? And who can tell what may be yet in store for us between now and 1895 ?
" The appalling disaster which befell our neighbors of Pomeroy is still fresh in every mind, and I am writing this while printing a lot of maps and pictures of the ruins left in the tracks of the great storm of the 6th inst. I went there the next day to study it and render what assistance I might to stricken acquaintances. I still feel sick at heart over the frightful sights I saw there, and have as yet no clear conception of the manner in which all that terrible destruction was wrought in less than a min- ute. There seem to have been two electric currents, com- posed of numerous independent vortices, acting in every conceivable direction, one current coming from the north- east, the other from the southwest, both meeting in the west part of the town, where the German Lutheran church once stood, and were followed by a straight wind from the northwest, which gathered up the flying débris and deposited them in a southeasterly direction. This is . the general trend of the wreckage south of Third street, but between there and First street, running along the Illi- nois Central railroad depot grounds, the débris lies in every direction, chiefly, however, toward the southwest. Columns could be filled with the strange freaks the ele- ments in their mad fury indulged in, defying all ordinary laws of nature.
" On my way home from my first visit to Pomeroy a friend questioned me as to the causes of such terrible effects as we had just seen. I told him I did not know, but believed the storm which destroyed Pomeroy to have been a faint echo of an infinitely greater solar storm and volcanic eruptions on the sun, affecting our whole solar system. I had not looked into the sun for many months, but ventured to say that if we had the means of doing so
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at hand I could probably show him the identical locality marked by a specific group of spots where the first incit- ing causes of the Pomeroy cyclone proceeded from.
"When I first reached home I rigged up the small telescope of a transit with a solar eyepiece. It was too late then for an observation of the sun, but the first thing I did the next morning, July 8, was to direct my little telescope toward the sun, and sure enough the particular group of spots referred to which I have not seen nor looked for in years, was there again in just the position anticipated. I made a rough sketch of it, and happening to meet Mr. Train, I handed it to him, who published it in last week's Times. On the roth inst. I was fairly startled at the appearance of the sun, which looked as if it had the smallpox. Through a large telescope, I have no doubt, hundreds of spots might have been counted. Some of them on the east half of the sun had probably come into sight by reason of the sun's rotation, while others on the west half must have been fresh out- breaks, as I could not have failed to notice them on the 8th had they been there then. Being otherwise engaged, I neglected to make another sketch of the sun on the roth inst., as I certainly should have done in preference to all other business, had I then known that a new comet had just made its appearance and was first seen on the 8th inst. by Mr. Alfred Rordame, of Salt Lake City, according to advices since received from Harvard college observatory.
" The patient reader who has followed me so far may now see that after all it is not quite so absurd as it may appear at first blush, to look for the original causes of cyclones and all sorts of other unusual disturbances on our planet to the sun and general cosmic laws, rather than local conditions.
F. HESS.
"FORT DODGE, Iowa, July 16, 1893."
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THE STORM AS SEEN FROM ODEBOLT.
The Odebolt Chronicle tells of how the tornado appeared from that place :
" About 6 o'clock P.M. an almost suffocating condition of the atmosphere foretold the coming storm, and suddenly the death-dealing funnel appeared in the horizon north- west of town. It was a grand, weird spectacle, that filled the mind and heart with conflicting emotions. In the background the greenish-yellow bank, denoting a storm of hail ; above it an inky black mountain of clouds, and in the foreground the appalling funnel which portends destruction. Every citizen was instantly in the streets, upon housetops, box cars and every imaginable eminence that would give a better view. Onward came the mighty destroyer, roaring, rolling, rising and falling. At times it seemed coming toward us, and again surging north- ward would relieve the mind. When a little west of north it seemed to spend its force and break ; but when the black mountain came straight north the funnel formed again and plunged to the ground, licking up every object in its course. A little farther east it stood still for a few moments, and like a mighty auger seemed to be boring into the earth. Suddenly it started east, then northeast until it raised and disappeared. Many who had pre- viously experienced the horrors of such a visitor were terror-stricken, and all were spell-bound by its awfully majestic appearance. The roar sounded like the rum- bling of an enormous train of cars in the distance, and the electric manifestations were constant and beyond the power of expression in grandeur. The elements seemed exerting their utmost to entrance and appall the mind."
DEDUCTIONS OF AN OPTIMIST.
One Iowa writer strives to reassure the timid ones who stand in fear of finding themselves one day in the path of
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a terrible tornado. He says : "For several years there has been no destructive cyclone in Iowa, but in the early part of July one of the most destructive in the history of the state passed over portions of Cherokee, Pocahontas and Calhoun counties, doing immense damage to life and property. The town of Pomeroy was almost totally destroyed. The total loss of life will reach a hundred or more. It is not our purpose to give an account .of it. The papers have contained full details of the horrible scenes. While fully recognizing the terrible character of the visitation, we wish to call attention to a few facts that may reassure some of our more timid readers. If you will take a map of Iowa 4 feet long by 3 feet wide, and draw a single line ten inches long with an ordinary soft lead pencil, you will have covered just about as much of the map as the cyclone covered of the state. That is, the section covered by the cyclone bears about the same proportion to the entire state of Iowa that a lead pencil mark bears to a map 3 feet wide and 4 feet long. Again, Iowa has about 2,000,000 people. The 100 unfortunate victims of the Pomeroy cyclone were equal, therefore, to I in 20,000. These figures show that while the effects of a cyclone are terrible, they are fortunately confined to a very brief time and to very narrow limits. In“ point of destruction of life a cyclone is far less impor- tant than inany other causes. More people die in Iowa in one month from being kicked by a horse than are killed by cyclones in a year. The injuries sustained by persons falling down stairs aggregate more than those resulting from the cyclone. In point of destruction of property, a single early frost is a hundredfold more ruin- ous than a cyclone, because it may extend over the entire state. Barb wire alone destroys more animals in a year than are killed by cyclones. These are well-known facts,
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and while they may serve to reassure us, they in no wise relieve us, when we see the storm signals in the clouds, of the duty we owe to those who are so unfortunate as to be in the path of destruction. But the fact remains that the popular fear of cyclones is altogether out of pro- portion to the real danger."
HOW THE TORNADO APPEARED AT STORM LAKE.
The Storm Lake Pilot, of July 12, said : “ A farmer east of the city says one of the forks of the great black cloud traveled directly over Storm Lake and he thought touched the ground and remarked to his wife that the city was gone. But the higher powers held up the cloud. It was a close call and our people easily believe it. Never have they witnessed such a display of electricity. Bolt after bolt descended. The air was filled with dirt and grass and it was so dark as to need a light to read the papers. The alarm of fire called the boys to the German M. E. church, where the steeple was torn away and in flames. It was quickly extinguished and from there they ran to the Catholic church, the spire of which was ripped down one side. Then came an alarm from Hotel Buena Vista, but no damage was done. The air was charged with the electric fluid and wondrous were the feats dis- played. At the home of the editor of the Pilot the fluid ran up the cistern pump and discharged at the end of a rubber hose into a porcelain-lined wash basin, tearing off the porcelain and blackening the basin, but doing no further damage. Yes, we can readily believe that we were in the clutches of a monster of more than ordinary power.
" Many seem to think our lake protected the city, but to one who has followed the path of the storm this does not seem possible. The course taken from the point in
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Maple Valley four miles from the west line of the county, where it deflected to the southeast from a due east course, was practically on a straight line, and was not changed in the least when the lake was reached. The point to study is why the change after the old Melville farm on Section 2, Maple Valley, was passed. One can readily picture with a shudder the devastation and utter ruin which would have resulted if the course had varied a half mile after it deflected. Storm Lake, Sulphur Springs, Newell and Fonda were all in line, and the path of the cyclone is about a half mile south of them all. The citizens of these towns can simply render thanks unto Him who watches over all and who we believe guides all things to the best end, though we may not now see it, and let our thanks take a practical course in relieving those who are needing aid. It is a saying that lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but within fifteen years two cyclones have followed about the same line across the lake, and our city each time has not been touched. This has led to the idea that the water has protected us, and scientific men may find sóme cause for such belief."
STORY OF AN EYE-WITNESS.
Jap Mckean, of Pomeroy, contributed to the Perry Chief the following account of his experience in the tor- nado :
" EDITORS CHIEF,- Having been an eye-witness of the terrible tornado which visited Pomeroy on the eve of July 6, with such unparalleled destruction of life and property, I thought perhaps an article from me might prove desirable reading for the many readers of the Chief.
" Pomeroy was just recovering from a lethargy im- posed upon it by a grand Fourth of July celebration, when the crisis came, and in one minute's time our little city
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was almost literally swept from the face of the earth. A party of four of us watched the approach of the tornado with fear and trepidation, shook hands, and submitted ourselves to the inevitable.
" Standing as we were in Dr. Martin's drug store, and no opportunity presenting itself for a safer refuge, we stood awaiting the final results. At this juncture a frightful crash was heard, and we knew that the tornado was upon us, tearing away the front of the store and mowing a path of destruction before us. Immediately after the tornado an intense darkness prevailed, hindering the work of rescue, and precluding the possibility of determining to what extent life and property had been injured. It rained and hailed terribly, and the telegraph wires were all down, which necessitated a trip overland to notify people of the disaster and bring relief parties. I volunteered my services, and immediately set out for the neighboring town of Jolley. It was a wild, terrible ride, the wind blowing a gale, the hail falling and the rain pouring down in torrents. But I finally reached my des- tination in safety, and inside of two hours had a despatch in Des Moines and other towns.
" The people of Jolley responded immediately, and we were soon on our way to the ill-fated town with physi- cians and all the help we could muster. I have been on guard duty for Company G, of Fort Dodge, guarding the ruins. I am very thankful that I am alive, and hope that I never will be obliged to pass through another such an ordeal. Such suffering and such heartrending scenes I hope never to see again." ·
AN EDITOR'S STORY.
Asked to give his impressions of the Pomeroy tornado, Elmer E. Johnston, editor of the Rockwell City Advocate, said :
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" If I should live to be a thousand years old the scenes I witnessed at Pomeroy on that day [July 7, 1893] would remain a haunting memory. The awful sudden- ness of the change from a pretty and prosperous town to a desolated waste produced a sensation that will never be effaced from the minds of those who saw the terrible results of the tornado's work. We, of Rockwell City's happy homes, slept peacefully through the long night that brought such terror and suffering to the people on the northern border of our county. For some reason the telegraph failed to notify us, as it did citizens of other towns, on the night of the storm, and it was not until the next morning that our community was aroused to action by the news of the terrible disaster. Every available conveyance was immediately pressed into service and our people started to the work of rescue. During the long ride to Pomeroy I could hardly bring myself to believe that the report of the messenger was true. Three-fourths of the town swept out of existence ! Impossible ! And yet such things had occurred in the past. But that a blow of such appalling force had fallen upon a portion of our own county seemed beyond credence.
"As we neared the town from the south the smiling face of nature, in the country roundabout, gave no signs of the tornado's work. But soon the broken trees and scattered houses showed us we were on the edge of the destroyer's path. At our left, as we journeyed on, lay a tract of land about eighty rods wide and extending west and north so far that we could not definitely determine its boundaries. This entire section was devoid of trees or buildings and seemed completely covered with fine bits of wood, strewn thick upon the ground, while here and there a few rags lay among the splinters or hung upon the fences. That was the residence portion of the town of
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Pomeroy ! The timbers-were the remains of the houses that had been homes of her citizens ; the rags were what was left of the clothing and furnishings of her people. Filled with horror at the sight, we passed on to the busi- ness part of town, where the racked frames of partly destroyed buildings seemed to rear themselves in silent and ineffectual protest against the terrible wrong to life and property. The streets were covered with débris, the sidewalks blocked by fallen trees and timbers. Gangs of men were hurrying to the work of relief. The Illinois Central railroad trains were bringing in hundreds of will- ing workers, and scores of idle spectators as well. Every face was sad ; every heart sympathized with the stricken community.
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