Document-Based Questions - Debra J. Housel, M.S. Ed. 2008

The Great White Hurricane
Incredible Disasters

Blizzards are snowstorms with high winds and cold temperatures. The blowing snow makes it hard to see even a few feet ahead. The bitter cold can cause frostbite and death. These storms occur most often after a spell of warm weather in the winter. For that reason March is one of the worst months for blizzards.

The United States, Canada, and Russia have blizzards. In America, blizzards often hit the plains states. In the 1800s, settlers built homes there. They had to go to the barn to care for their animals. To keep from getting lost during a storm, they strung a rope between the cabin and the barn. Then they held it as they walked back and forth. If they didn’t, they might not find their way back! If a person were stuck out in the open, he or she would try to find shelter under a pile of hay. The settlers learned how to live with blizzards. But people in East Coast cities were not as familiar with these storms. They did not understand the danger.

The Great White Hurricane of 1888 followed the normal pattern for bad blizzards. The weather had been too warm for March. Rain turned to snow. The temperature fell. The storm lasted 36 hours. At other times there had been heavier snowfalls, higher winds, and colder temperatures. But the three factors together created one of the worst blizzards in American history. Strong gusts blew the snow into drifts as tall as four-story buildings! The blizzard slammed the East Coast of the United States from Chesapeake Bay to Maine. It battered eastern Canada, too.

At least 400 people died in the storm. This includes the 100 sailors that died when 200 ships were blown from the Atlantic Ocean onto the coast.

One of the hardest-hit places was New York City. It had snowdrifts 50 feet high. A locomotive derailed when it ran into a huge drift. Many other trains got stuck. Buildings were buried. People had to dig tunnels through the snow packed around their homes. Thousands were stranded. Some were stuck in carriages on the street. Others were in their offices. Nearly 15,000 people were trapped on elevated tracks in unheated cars. More than 200 people froze to death on the streets. One was a U.S. senator. He tried to walk home from his office during the storm! People who ran out of fuel even froze to death at home.

The streets were choked with snow. No one could get into or out of the city for a week. Food and fuel grew scarce. Thousands of men worked for two weeks shoveling snow from the streets. The communication and transportation problems worried city leaders. They decided that New York City should run its telegraph, phone, and power lines under the streets. They also wanted an underground subway.

The Great White Hurricane

Twelve-year-old Milton Daub lived in New York City in 1888. When he was an old man, he wrote about his experience after the blizzard:

On the morning of March 12, 1888 . . . snow was piled up to the windows one story high. Our front and back doors were blocked with snow. All our windows were covered.

My father said to my mother, “How are we fixed for food?”

She replied, “We have everything. All we need is some milk.”

I said, “I will make a pair of snow shoes. [Using] two wooden barrel hoops, some wire, some twine, a piece of canvas, and my roller skates without the wheels . . . my father and myself had a pair of home made snow shoes. Father nailed a box on top of my sledge, [the] sledge and snow shoes were placed outside of the window.”

I bought 50 cents worth of condensed milk at Mike Ash’s grocery shore. Mr. Ash charged me the regular price. I sold the milk at the same amount. Every delivery I made I received a fine reward. In less than 20 minutes I had tips of $2 and my original 50 cents.

Milton went back to the store, bought a case of condensed milk and sold it. He kept doing this for about three hours. When he got home, his worried parents were upset. But after he ate lunch, they agreed to let him go back out. At 5 p.m. he returned home with $67.65 in tips. That amount of money was worth about the same as $800 today!

Excerpts from a letter by Milton Daub, dated March 12, 1944; from the BV Blizzardmen of 1888 Collection in the New York Historical Society.

The Great White Hurricane

1. Which nation is least likely to experience a blizzard?

a. Russia

b. the United States

c. Canada

d. Spain

2. Blizzards occur most often in

a. March.

b. May.

c. September.

d. November.

3. Why did more than 200 people die on the streets of New York City during the 1888 blizzard?

a. They ran out of food and starved to death.

c. They went out to look at the derailed locomotive and couldn’t find their way home.

b. They didn’t know that it was dangerous to be out in the storm.

d. They were used to blizzards and didn’t think this was a major one.

4. The Great White Hurricane of 1888 did not cause trouble for ships at sea. True or False? Explain.

5. How and why did Milton Daub make so much money after the Blizzard of 1888?

6. If an identical blizzard struck New York City today, would it cause as much trouble as it did in 1888? Why or why not?