THE BLIZZARD OF JANUARY, 1873— DEATH OE REV. J. J. EVANS.

The saddest day by far that ever occurred in the Welsh settlement of Lime Springs, was the death of Rev. J. J. Evans, wife and child, in the blizzard of 1873.

Many, no doubt, remember that storm. We are not sure but the word “blizzard” — to denote a terriflc snow storm was first used about that time. The writer was that winter at Minneapolis, if a personal reminiscence may be pardoned. Before him lies a letter he wrote home, January 20th, 1873, two weeks after the storm. We quote the following : “We have read of many deaths in the late storm, the Fillmore boys came back Saturday night with a story frightful to me. One of them said that a Welsh minister, wife, three children and team, had frozen to death January 7th, three or four miles north of Granger. The other had heard that it was south of Granger, and that they were within half a mile of home.

Please let me hear by return mail.

A letter soon came, giving full particulars, but as this letter is not to be found, and as we do not like to give important facts from memory, we asked B. F. Davies, Esq., of Cresco, to consult for us the files of the “Howard County Times” and “Iowa Plain Dealer.” He kindly replied.

We quote from his letter of March 25th, 1895:

“The copy of the Times dated January 16th, 1873, is missing. The copy of January 9th mentioned the storm on Tuesday (January 7th), and the storming at time of going to press. Paper of January 23rd says that the railroad blockade of two weeks’ duration had ended and trains were running. The Plain Dealer of January I7th has the following, but I do not believe it exactly correct.

ACCIDENTS WITH EXPOSURE AND DEATH.

The terrific storm that swept over this region of country last week was attended by unusually severe and fatal consequences. We learn of the death of Rev. John Evans, a Welsh clergyman, residing in the township of Forest City, who, with his wife and two small children, were during the evening at a prayer meeting (?), some two miles (?) from home. Their course home was facing the storm, and it seems that when near there, the team became fast in the snow. Whereupon Mr. Evans took one child about three years old and carried it home, its arms and feet (?) becoming so badly frozen as to result in death probably.

He then took some quilts and returned for his wife and babe. His wife was probably so benumbed that she could not go, for she was found frozen to death near (?) the sleigh, while he, it seems, after going about ten rods, fell upon (?) the babe, in which condition both were found next day.

Believing that the above was not correct in several particulars (see interrogation mark at doubtful points) we again wrote to one of the sons of Mr. Evans, who likely gave us just about the facts in following few lines :

The death of my parents was something like this : On a pleasant afternoon, Tuesday, January 7th, 1893, they went to visit a neighbor, three-quarters of a mile from home. About five in the afternoon it began to storm. They started home about seven. The neighbor lived in a grove, so they did not know the severity of the storm before they started, but soon after leaving the house, they came upon the open prairie, and had the storm full in the face, without a fence or anything to guide them.

Father reached the house the first time about eleven, and took with him some clothes. About midnight he came again, with little Lizzie, and returned for mother and the baby. The thermometer was about eight below zero. The next day mother was found, also the cutter and horses ; and the day after father and the baby near together, and not far from mother, who was in the cutter.”

We have heard neighbors relate that Wednesday, the day of the search, was a frightfully cold day. If the thermometer stood eight below the night before, with a terrible gale of wind from the northwest, it must have been close to thirty if not to forty the following day. By Thursday, when Mr. Evans’ body was found, the storm was somewhat abated. A person told us recently that he was sent to inform the sister and family a few miles away. Wishing to have the news presented to the sister as gently as possible, he called her husband outside, and gradually broke the news to him; but he was entirely overcome and seemed to have lost all control of himself. He went directly into he house and said to his wife, “John Evans, his wife and children, are frozen to death.”

The sister fell to the floor on her face and was for a time unable to move or speak.

Mr. Evans was to preach the following Sabbath at the Foreston school house, but on that day the funeral sermon was preached to an immense number by Rev. O. R. Morris. The sermon now lies before us. It was a serious, thoughtful, appropriate discourse from the words in the Acts of the Apostles, “And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.”

This death of Rev. Mr. Evans, and his family, in this way made a greater impression than anything of the kind that ever occurred in the settlement. Beside the circumstances connected with the event, the fact that Mr. Evans' was one of the ministers, well known and very much respected, tended to deepen the impression.

Hanes Cymry Minnesota, Foreston a Lime Springs, Iowa.