USA > Nebraska > Sherman County > Loup City > The trail of the Loup; being a history of the Loup River region > Part 17
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
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upon their bodies. Onward, across Mira Valley the fire swept, licking up hay stacks, leaping protecting guards, burning dwelling houses and out- buildings. In many instances the unfortunate inmates had barely time to reach some plot of plowed ground before the fire was upon them.
Mrs. John Luke, then a mere girl, saw the fire and in time sought a place of refuge. In several directions could she see burning property. On the farmstead where she chanced to be all the out-buildings were de- stroyed ; the very pigs in their pens were roasted alive. At last the fire
burst through the hills and rolled down into the river valley. At Dan Merritt's place it swept right through the stubble field and devoured a new threshing outfit, which the many farmers present were unable to save. George W. Larkin, living near the present day Olean, had just complet- ed a comfortable log house. 250 bushels of wheat, all his previous yield, had just been stored away. Everything was consumed-house, barn, im- plements, grain and fodder. Mr. Larkin barely saved himself by falling prostrate onto the plowed ground. Heman A. Babcock lost practically everything he had, buildings, fodder and stock. As the deluge swept by Oscar Babcock's place his son E. J. Babcock had just time to leap into the protecting waters of Mira Creek. Judson Davis lost all his grain. At Jessie Worth's place practically everything of value was destroyed. And so the story might be lengthened almost ad infinitem.
North of Ord conditions were scarcely any better. On Nels Ander- sen's farm another threshing outfit was burned; by desperate work only did Mr. Andersen save his home place, though much grain was lost. George Miller who was at Andersen's place when the fire became threatening under- took the foolhardy feat of outstripping it to his own cabin, a mile distant. This came near costing Uncle George dear. Had it not been for a conven- ient buffalo-wallow full of water, he would not now be living to tell the story. Such tales as these could be told of the Valley from Cotesfield to Turtle Creek. No farmstead in its path escaped the awful fire. That night beheld the valley scorched and suffering. Smouldering heaps of ruins marked here and there all that was left of the personal belongings of many a sturdy pioneer. Homes were gone; much cattle ;; the very grain for bread -and yet these men did not despair. On the morrow they were again at work to keep open the Trail-the Trail!
The next in chronological order, of these stories is not so far-reaching in effect as some others here retold. But it is nevertheless of such a nature as to deserve relating. This is the August Hailstorm of 1885.
Meteorological observations as well as practical experience teach us that some localities in the west are more liable to be frequented by hail- storms than others. The fertile districts in Nebraska immediately south of the great sand hill belt are thus exposed. Any barren, sandy expanse, heats and deflects a laver of air more rapidly than does a grassy and well protected loess plain. The result of this phenomenon may be observed on almost any hot summer day. Layer upon layer of overheated, moist air, over the sand hills, will in the afternoon heat, suddenly begin to expand
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HARROWING TALES OF A THIRD OF A CENTURY
and rise, forcing lower currents to rush in to fill the vacuum formed. The rising, heated current condenses and becomes visible to the eye the moment upper, cooler currents are encountered. These we know as cumulus or thunderhead clouds. If the evaporation does not chance to be very extreme, an afternoon thunderstorm and rainfall may result; but. in case the day has been intensely hot, the evaporation may become violent, and the upward rush of air so rapid as to create great disturbance in the upper cloud re- gions. A churning together of the hot and cold currents causes a rapid con- densation of the moisture of the former into raindrops. These in turn freeze and are hurled around by a strange rotary motion now ensuing, growing ever larger as they receive coat upon coat of freezing moisture.
In our valley we may expect to find the surface currents blowing from the south on such a day as here in question. At the same time the upper currents, by degrees, begin a southward movement to fill the vacuum there formed. For a moment before the storm breaks all wind ceases. This is when the so called balance point in the opposing current is reached. As the upper current overbalances the lower the storm breaks. Now its ad- vance is usually marked by a long roll of horizontally revolving cloud- mass, from which showers of hailstones are precipitated to the ground as soon as these have grown large enough to overcome the centripetal force of the cloud itself.
It stands to reason that, in time, as the sand hills become more stable and receive a heavier matting of vegetation, these destructive storms will become less and less frequent.
August 5, 1885, was a hot and sultry day in the Valley. In the fore- noon, and again in the afternoon the barometer acted in a most erratic way. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon great cloud masses began towering up on the northern horizon. That this betokened an unusual storm soon became apparent to all. A strange activity was shown by the way the cloud masses parted, moving in opposite directions-west and south-only iater to retrace the first course, to come together a few miles above Ord. Here the horizontal roller cloud was formed, and came rushing down the valley. As it rolled on, dark and lowering, it seemed but a few hundred feet from the ground. With a roar the wind came out of the cloud, blowing at a ter- rific rate. Hailstones of enormous size were carried almost horizontally through space, so strong was the wind. For twenty long minutes all created things trembled under the fury of the storm. Outdoors all was de- struction : indoors the roar of the storm was deafening. The howling of wind, the crashing of breaking window panes, the ripping of timbers torn made a veritable bedlam. When all was over ruin almost beyond descrip- tion opened to one's gaze.
Not alone had the growing crops been hammered into the ground, but even the trees were stripped of leaves and branches, yes, the very bark was hammered into a pulp. To this day-after 20 years-may scars be seen upon the trees sufficiently strong to live through the storm. The story of
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THE TRAIL OF THE LOUP
the catastrophe is well told in the Ord Quiz of August 9, 1885, and runs as follows:
"Wednesday afternoon a threatening storm gathered in the north. It seemed to be drifting rapidly to the west, but about 5 o'clock it was met by another storm from the west. They met in the valley ten or twelve miles from Ord, and came tearing down upon us at a terrific rate. The storm burst upon the town at 5:40 and lasted 20 minutes. The wind amounted to a hurricane, the rain fell in torrents and hail of the regulation hen's egg variety fell. The ground was covered with hail. Every exposed window -- which means all north and east windows-regardless of awnings, shutters and screens, were beaten out; tin roofs were perforated and torn loose; nearly all north and east shingle roofs are ruined; trees are stripped of their leaves and battered and beaten beyond recovery, and there is nothing left of other vegetation. So much for the town.
"The extent of the destruction, however, does not seem to be general. At this writing it seems that very serious damage was done from only five or six miles above Ord, to three miles below. Toward Mira Valley damage extended no farther than Mr. Shinn's place, and in Springdale the limit of the damage seems to be at Mr. Coffin's place.
"The damage in the business portion of the town was sustained chiefly on the south and west sides of the square. A fair estimate of the damage on these sides is about as follows:
Cleveland Bros., store $350.00
F. A. Witte. 250.00
Wolf & Ehlebe 200.00
Miss Day, millinery 100.00
F. W. Weaver
200.00
Quiz Office. 50.00
Perry & Stover
300.00
Dr. Bickford, residence and store
500.00
A. S. Martin
50.00
D. C. Way
G W. Milford .
250.00
Woodbury & Mortensen block
400.00
Mortensen & Babcock. 50.00
The First National Bank 100.00
Coffin & Clements' office 50.00
B. C. White, store and residence 400.00
W. J. Lloyd, stock 40.00
J. S. Bussell, bank building 100.00
W. T. Barstow, building 75.00
H. A. Walker 75.00
A. M. Robbins. 75.00
Linton Bros., livery 200.00
Hotel America 500.00
250.00
C. C. Wolf
150.00
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HARROWING TALES OF A THIRD OF A CENTURY
"The chief losses on the north and east side of the square are:
D. C. Bell, yard and dwelling $200.00
Frank Misko, shop 100.00
D. J. Martz. 75.00
Odd Fellows' Building 100.00
Sorensen & Williams. 350.00
"The balance of the buildings on those sides of the square are dam- aged mostly to the extent of the roofs. The loss on the other 300 buildings in town will average $50 each.
"It is a hard blow to Ord, but the extent of the storm being so limited it will not interfere with the trade to any considerable extent, the chief damage being the actual damage to property here. Had the crops of the whole county been ruined the loss in a business way would have been irre- parable, but as trade will undoubtedly continue brisk, business men are in- clined to look upon their losses optimistically.
"Our special reporter at Calamus reports that place in a worse condi- tion than Ord. The new frame school house is a total wreck, including the foundation. Mr. McCaslin's house was torn to pieces and his wife and children were nearly killed. The windmill and smaller buildings at the fort were leveled. Will Duby's large new house was lifted, turned half way around and set down again. J. V. Alderman's splendid grove and nursery is nearly ruined. A mile north of Calamus no damage was done.
"Elton Cheesebrough lost one hundred young pigs.
"Bailey Bros.' cattle were stampeded and men were hunting them up yesterday. Two head of cattle were found dead in the yards.
"Charley Parks had 50 acre ; of fine oats uncut which were leveled to the ground.
"Lightning struck the rods and chimney of the public school building, but the damage was confined to these objects
"Mr. R. Collingwood, of Sargent Bluff, Iowa. an old man. was crossing the small bridge southeast of town just as the storm struck him. He had a heavy load of lumber. The team became unmanageable and refused to face the storm. They turned with the storm and ran over the abrupt bank by Haskell's old brick yard, falling fully twenty-five feet. Mr. Coiling- wood's arm was crushed and the team badly injured. His family is in Iowa.
"The storm seemed to gather somewhere near W. B Keown's place. The hait there was not heavy but the wind was furious. It totally wrecked his fine new barn and badly dam- aged lis residence.
"Fred Dowhower says his crops are unhurt.
"Damage on Haskell Creek was light and Elm Creek escaped entirely.
"Dave Quackenbush's buildings were blown down and one horse killed.
"Jens Jensen lost a horse in the storm. He does not know what killed it.
"J. A. Ollis' building was blown down. In this part of Mira Valley damage by hail was done, though it was not so serious as around Ord.
"Comparatively little damage was done by hail ou Haskell Creek at Louusbary's and none beyond there. Plain Valley, Rose Valley and Bean Creek all escaped."
Barely a month had passed since the hailstorm struck Valley county, when another storm of a tornadolike nature struck the already badly shat- tered Ord and vicinity. Such an impression did the great hailstorm and this new windstorm of the evening of September 11 leave upon the minds of our people that for years to come they could not behold the uprolling of a
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THE TRAIL OF THE LOUP
stormcloud without a feeling of uneasiness creeping over them. This storm is described in the Quiz in the following language:
"Last week, Friday evening, the elements were in an exceedingly un- settled condition, but aside from the quickly changing sky and the swift coming and going of flurries of clouds nothing noteworthy was visible. At dusk a long narrow cloud extending from the western to the northern hori- zon appeared in the northwest, but no one gave more than passing notice to it, and each one in our busy little city went to his home thinking, if he thought of the storm at all. that it was over. But at 10:20, suddenly, with- out a moment's warning, a cyclone burst upon us from the southwest. Its fearful fury was spent in an instant, but that instant meant sad destruction to property. The destructive whirlwind dashed through our town and was followed instantly by a heavy gale from the northwest. As soon as the frightened people recovered from the shock, and safety permitted it they ventured out with lanterns to learn the extent of the damage and render assistance if needed. The Baptist church was leveled to the ground in ir- reparable ruin. The skating rink was swept away with the exception of the foundation. The roof was hurled against Wentworth's carpenter shop knocking the northwest corner clear away and wrecking the building badly. Very serious damage was done to the court house walls. With the excep- tion of the corners, they were leveled as far down as the basement. The little building near O. S. Haskell's brick yard was blown into the river bodily. It was occupied at the time by three of Mr. Haskell's hands, all of whom escaped from the building during its passage to the river without in- jury excepting Frank Rogers, who was struck by a board, dislocating and slightly fracturing his elbow.
"Finding that no good could be accomplished by traversing the town our people at last went to rest anxious to see what new ruins the light of day might disclose. Of course much damage was done to buggies, sheds, etc ..; all frail buildings suffering a greater or less degree of injury.
"It was hoped that the damage was mostly confined to the town, but the next day and for a few days following reports of damage have kept coming in from all points in the track of the storm. The storm seems to have commenced its destruction in the neighborhood of Judge Laverty's farm in Geranium Township, whose house and contents were totally de- stroyed. His sick son was fortunately kept from getting wet, though Mrs. Laverty received a severe blow from some heavy piece of furniture.
"It would be almost impossible to enumerate the men who lost by the storm, for the track was wide. The damage to hay and grain stacks is very general in all parts of the county, from Mira Valley north. The last seri- ous damage done by the storm reported at this writing was at the house of Messrs. Charley Parks and R. Burdick, northeast.of town. Their sheds and out-buildings were destroyed though fortunately none of the inmates were injured.
"But bad as this and the recent hailstorm were, many places in states
1
A Partial View of Ord as it Appeared in 1905.
Looking Northwest, North and East.
Farbrama of Ord. the most important town on the North . en in August, 1905. Not without justice is the county .- ty spoken of as a I'dy of Home». Beautiful, modero +- kept lawns and gardeos, shaded streets, broad ce- - all go to make this ao ideal home town. Ord is & T. - entious element so commoo in many large places has
Devir found a harbor here. It is essentially a town of churches-all the learog Protestant denominations being represented. Its schools too rank am ag the best in the state. Its intelectual atmosphere is of the very best. Industrial lives, too, Ord is on the alert. Her business men are pro- gn sive; her business houses are rapide becoming modern, gas and elee- tri lights are used and one of the best water plants in the state, sup-
ply her with cool spring water. Two railroads connect Ord with the world and excellent facilities for quick communication with the largest stock und produce markets are thus afforded.
Byl way of contrast it is interesting to study "Ord in 1847" appearing elsewhere in this book, with the above cut. The former picture is that of a prairie town, uncouth and unpretending, not a tree in sight, not a tele-
phone or legraph post-just an average westero town, with all the thumb marks of mard times upon it-and pow, a city of homes and trees, where beautifulalms, maples and box-elders threaten soon to hide the houses entirely fom view. Then Ord numbered a thousand souls, now it num- bers mor than two thousand stroog, with bright prospects for a continued growth.
1
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HARROWING TALES OF A THIRD OF A CENTURY
east of us have suffered far worse than we have in this most exceptional year of storms."
Several years may now be passed over and we come to 1888 and the Historic Blizzard of January 12. No other winter storm in the history of our plains, it is safe to say, was ever more destructive than this. For that matter the storm was general throughout the whole country, and its chill- ing blast was felt from the Rockies to New England. Yet the windswept plains of Dakota and Nebraska fared worse than sections farther east. Loss to human life and property was on the plains, in places, simply appalling. Entire families were lost; in some instances the bodies were not recovered till the snows began melting in spring. On this occasion the Loup Valley was almost miraculously saved from the loss of life. To be sure many nar- row escapes from death by freezing are chronicled; and in numerous in- stances only the most heroic efforts saved those imperilled from death.
The morning of the 12th dawned damp and gloomy. A mist had been falling during the might; and the wind, which blew gently from the south, was just cold enough to turn the moisture covering all nature, into a light hoarfrost. Before noon the frost had disappeared and every indication pointed to an early clearing of the sky. But this was not to be. At just 11:35 o'clock in the forenoon a terrific storm-blast struck Burwell, and 25 minutes later reached Ord. In a moment the heavy leaden clouds were blotted out. A bewildering, blinding sheet of dustlike snow was whirled horizontally through the air; the thermometer began sinking at a rapid rate and before 4 o'clock reached 25 degrees below zero. The wayfarer, caught far from home. soon found his pathway obstructed by drifts of snow and every familiar guidemark obliterated. His bearings once gone would mean certain death unless he should chance in his blind gropings to stum- ble upon some human habitation or friendly stack of hay or straw in his path.
As the early part of the day was so mild many people had ventured far from home. Scores of farmers were caught in town, where they had to ro- main for several days, chafing under the restraint, but absolutely snow- bound. Others, less fortunate, who were caught on the road, in the valley or out in the hills, soon found themselves in a terrible predicament. Some were wise enough to unhook their teams and seek the nearest refuge; others, with their bearings lost, allowed their horses to lead them to some haven of safety. The writer knows of at least seventeen farmers in Valley county alone who shivered that terrible day and succeeding night to an end in straw stacks. Here is a solitary instance of this nature taken from the press of that month .
"Mr. Banlemiab, a German, and his son, a lad of 14 or 15 years, got lost in the storm. After driving along till the cold began overcoming them, they abandoned the team and, digging a hole in the snowdrift, sought shelter there. But fearing they might freeze to death they again got up and staggered along till they chanced upon a strawstack, which saved their lives. When rescued they were both pretty badly frozen about the head,
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THE TRAIL OF THE LOUP
feet and hands. It is feared that Mr. Banlemiah will be obliged to have his hands and feet amputated."
Stories without number could be told of narrow escapes throughout our Loup region. Here are a couple :
"On the day of the blizzard Ebert Gaghagen of Vinton started after a load of hay, and when about a mile from home the wind upset the load. Ebert wandered around, lost, and did not reach a place of shelter till 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Then he was so exhausted that he had to be assisted into the house."
"Professor Tipser of Haskell Creek was caught four miles from the nearest house. His horse refused to face the storm. He then got out and led the horse till almost exhausted. He next attempted to build a fire by burning his sleigh, but even this failed. In despair he dragged his frozen limbs along till he finally found shelter at the home of a Mr. Moses."
Some of the rural school teachers had harrowing experiences that day, and it seems almost Providential to us now that they should be able to have gotten their flocks of little ones home without a single casualty. Especially is this true, when we know that Custer county, our sister county on the west, chronicles fifteen victims, young and old.
Mrs. Powell, who taught the so-called Hardscrabble school in Valley county, heroically determined to outweather the storm right in the school- house. The coal could be made to last for some hours and, dieided into small rations, there would be lunch enough in the dinner pails till aid should come. But in the course of the day Mr. W. Thompson and others living near at hand came as a rescuing party and carried all to places of safety.
While many other instances of snowbound people could be told we will not now weary the reader with them. However it seems that the story of the January blizzard is never considered complete without the story of Minnie Freeman, the Midvale heroine. We therefore reiterate it here, and add our personal views on the matter. The Ord Quiz of January 20 con- tains the following :
"The manner in which this modest and unaspiring school teacher saved the lives of all her pupils during the great storm of Jan. 12, 1888, has won for her wide renown. The forenoon of that day was mild and damp, with a warm breeze from the south. But just at noon, without a minute's warn- ing, a hurricane blast came from the north. In an instant the temperature fell several degrees below zero, and the flying snow made it impossible to see but a few feet away. The first blast broke in the door of Miss Free- man's school house. With the aid of her larger pupils she closed and nailed it. A moment later the door gave way again and was irreparable; and to add to the dilemma, a portion of the roof was torn away also. Some- thing must be done at once. There was no alternative. Her sixteen pupils must be taken to the nearest house, a half-mile against the storm. At the. peril of her own life, and with calm presence of mind and forethought she hastily but carefully covered the faces of her younger pupils and to prevent them from being lost-for in the terrible storm to wander away
.
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HARROWING TALES OF A THIRD OF A CENTURY
a few feet was to be certainly lost-she tied them together. The older pupils she placed in the lead, and to see that none faltered, she brought up the rear. Thus was the heroic march begun and successfully accom- plished."
The Headlight, in a late issue, tells us that "her school consisted of nine small children, and when the blizzard struck the school house and tore off a large portion of the roof, she gathered her children together and, ty- ing them with a cord, one end of which she took in her hand, she started for the sod house above, about half a mile distant, where she arrived safely. after suffering from fatigue and cold, for which heroic act her name has been immortalized in story and song. Miss Freeman is now the wife of Mr. Penny, a prosperous merchant of Lexington, Neb."
Again, in the Lincoln Daily Star of June 17, 1905, we read that "as Towa had her Kate Shelley so Nebraska has her Minnie Freeman." Now all this lauding to the sky would perhaps not be so much out of place did we not, in so doing, forget the other heroes and heroines of that never-to- be-forgotten day. It never has seemed quite just to us that this one young woman, noble and unassuming though she were, alone should receive the ever ready acclamation of a hero-worshipping world, and alone be "immor- talized in story and song," when a score of others were just as deserving as she. In another sense it is hardly doing Miss Freeman justice. She was "modest and unassuming." She asked for no newspaper notoriety, for none of the presents or praise, such as overwhelmed her, coming from every part of the country. And then again, persons who are well acquaint- ed with the actual facts in the case are naturally enough inclined to blame Miss Freeman as wishing to take for herself all the credit of the act, to the exclusion of everyone else.
The newspaper articles quoted above variously put the number of pu- pils rescued at nine and sixteen. A magnificent gold watch received by Miss Freeman from an admirer in California bears this inscription: "A. Andrews of San Francisco to Minnie Freeman, of Mira Valley School Dis- trict, Valley County, Nebraska, for her heroism in saving the lives of thirteen pupils during the storm of January 12, 1888." The back of the case is set with thirteen rubies to represent the thirteen lives she saved. Thus we have the numbers nine, thirteen and sixteen. And so it is with the other particulars of the story too-they have grown and been distorted from the first. After sifting all the facts to the bottom, we are ready to offer this version of the story. When the first blast struck the rickety sod school house the door was burst inward, and the unanchored board roof partially lifted. Miss Freeman, then, with the aid of her older pupils, grittily enough, braced the door, and nailed it shut. But this gave but a moment's respite. Again the door was torn open, and this time the storm carried a section of the roof entirely away. To remain was to perish, for the room was rapidly drifting full of snow. The children were accordingly bundled up as well as the wraps at hand permitted, and in a body they were started for the George Kellison home, one-half mile distant. The children,
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