Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 53, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1908 — The Blizzard of 1888. [ARTICLE]

The Blizzard of 1888.

“I was living in O'Neill. Neb., at the time of the great blizzard in 1888,” said a Nebraskan, “and had just left the office to go home for dinner when the blizzard struck. I started to cross the street to a drug store, but when I reached the other side I found myself halfway down the block from my destination. The fine wind driven snowflakes filled the air so that 1 couldn't see my hand l>efore me. I finally work ed my way back to the drug store, where a number of other men had taken refuge from the storm. School had Just been dismissed for the noon recess, and we knew that nearly 300 children were out in the storm. Securing long ropes, the crowd started out to rescue them. We found them huddled In doorways and by the sides of buildings. The children caught hold of the ropes and were led to shelter by their rescuers, whose sense of direction gradually returned to them. Every One of the 300 school children in the town was got home in safety. But seven schoolteachers were frozen to death in the country during the blizzard and thousands of cattle died. The thermometer fell from about the freezing point at noon to 20 degrees below zero that night. It was the worst blizzard I ever saw. and I never want to

experience another like It?” —Dee Moines Register and Leader.