54 pages • 1 hour read
The Children's Blizzard
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Chapters 7-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “God’s Burning Finger”
Laskin changes perspective to again examine additional factors in the meteorological situation causing such a devastating weather event. Low barometric pressure caused the sudden turbulence of the initial blizzard, but high barometric pressure created the deadliest conditions of the storm. The cold, dense air from Canada coalesced into a massive “anticyclone,” currents of high pressure radiating out from the highest pressure in the center. Low pressure in the same formation had created a cyclone, the effects of which the Great Plains states were currently experiencing. The low-pressure cyclone and high-pressure anticyclone locked together in a huge weather pattern spanning hundreds of miles. They were “violently reinforcing each other” (174), the low-pressure system feeding even more air into the high pressure. This created extremely strong winds, forcing frigid air southward.
The interaction between the cyclone and the anti-cyclone also created a strange “horizontal thunderstorm,” creating bursts of electricity where the two forces met. This meant that huge amounts of static discharge were witnessed not traveling from high in the sky to the ground but instead right on the surface of the prairie. St. Elmo’s Fire, or “point discharge” was reported by many survivors, who described sparks of electricity traveling from their fingers during the storm or snapping noises coming from metal chimneys and stoves. This added to the danger, as survivors tried to stay warm while avoiding electrocution coming from their stoves.
The members of the Signal Corps, especially Lieutenant Woodruff in St. Paul, noted with alarm that unprecedented cold fronts were moving southward fast. However, Woodruff was not able to determine what path the cold front would take, how far south it would go, or what cities it would affect. Since he could not speak with certainty, in familiar military fashion, he understated the danger in order not to get caught in a false prediction. He simply stated that the weather would be “colder with a cold wave, fresh northerly winds” (179).
Chapter 8 Summary: “Exposure”
The five boys who left the Rosefield school: Heinrich, Elias, and Johann Kaufman, Peter Graber, and Johann Albrecht, were in dire straits. Night had fallen, and they could not see anything. The storm drowned out their voices entirely.
Laskin uses the unfortunate boys as an example of the complex factors that affect whether a person succumbs to hypothermia or not. Their uncovered heads meant that nearly half of their bodies’ heat evaporated into the air. “Radiational cooling,” writ on a larger scale, is what caused the frigid air mass to move down from Canada in the first place, and now it doomed the young boys. Their wet clothing contributed to the cooling as well, the liquid evaporating much like sweat would to bring down the body temperature. The heat from their bodies, if properly insulated, might have been enough to keep them alive, but the liquid in their clothing conducted heat away from their skin as quickly as they could make it. “Windchill,” the exacerbating factor that increases the loss of body heat the faster the wind moves in cold weather, worked against them as well. When the Schweizer boys left school that morning, windchill had been about 5 below zero. At 9 pm, it was 40 below zero. In those conditions, exposed flesh freezes in 10 minutes. The boys had been exposed for more than nine hours.
When cold, the body shivers to produce more heat in the short term. This consumes oxygen very rapidly and burns through all remaining calories. Though the body can use fat for energy, it can’t start that process quickly enough in unexpected exposure scenarios. “Shivering on an empty stomach is like burning your clothes in the stove once the coal and furniture are ash” (186), states Laskin. Additionally, mental stress increases heat loss. Heinrich and Elias began to break down emotionally despite their tough Schweizer upbringing. The older boys carried them. Soon, however, the older boys also started to feel the effects of hypothermia. Mountaineers describe a psychological symptom of hypothermia as “cold stupid,” a condition in which normally sensible and compassionate people begin to feel outsized anger, disgust, or irritation at their companions. Discontent, however, is far preferable to the progression of hypothermia, which causes the body to be unable to contract its muscles properly. Their hearts could no longer supply blood to muscles. Hypothermia can cause involuntary urination, which further exacerbates windchill and causes dehydration.
The boys’ parents believed they were sheltering in the schoolhouse, since Cotton had not returned either, so no rescue was forthcoming. The boys had no escape from acute hypothermia. They most likely experienced hallucinations at this point. They may have experienced a kind of euphoria as well, suddenly free from fear or pain. Most confoundingly, they may have started to feel uncomfortably warm. The cause of the phenomenon is called “paradoxical undressing.” The sudden warmth would be deeply uncomfortable and would prompt the freezing victims to strip off their clothes. In these conditions, the boys would quickly succumb, the youngest first and then the older boys.
It is impossible to fully account for all of the people who were trapped overnight out on the prairie like the Schweizer boys. People died out in their fields and in their poorly insulated homes; some became lost while searching for shelter, others while huddled up in whatever shelter they could find.
Lois Royce, a young teacher at a Nebraska country school, while trying to get three of her charges home, found herself forced to lie down on her side as a windbreak for her students who sheltered under her cloak. Despite her efforts, the three children died, though Royce survived to tell her story. In Nebraska, two sisters named Eda and Matilda Westphalen tried to get home from school when the blizzard struck. It was a downhill walk and the girls thought it would be quick, but the wind was in their faces and it pushed them away from their path. Most victims of hypothermia are found curled up, but Eda and Matilda were found face down, most likely fighting to get home until their last breath.
Etta Shattuck was trapped in the haystack in which she had taken refuge. The snow and ice had compacted to the point that she was pinned down, unable to move her position. Her straw cave was so shallow that her feet stuck out, and she could not readjust. Etta heard and felt mice running over her, and their survival comforted her. She reported that she sang hymns and prayed out loud to keep herself awake and alert. She knew that falling asleep would mean death.
Chapters 7-8 Analysis
Like the formula of the previous chapter grouping, Chapters 7 and 8 address the phenomena behind the sudden blizzard, Woodruff’s limited understanding of the event as it unfolded, and the particular struggles of characters who endured the storm. Initially, Laskin describes the cyclone and anticyclone combination, a deadly force that created unbearably powerful, cold winds. This again speaks to the Challenges of Frontier Life for 19th-Century Immigrants. As reflected in Woodruff’s inability to understand the incoming storm, foundational knowledge about the dangers of the area and necessary methods of survival were simply not established yet. On top of lack of education, families in the area had limited resources, financial and otherwise. Weather phenomena such as these could not be stopped from taking lives or livelihoods in the form of animals and other food sources.
Laskin then delves further into the challenges facing the characters themselves. He uses the tragic death of the Schweizer boys to illustrate the grave effects of the blizzard, discussing the medical aspects of hypothermia that affected even the lucky survivors. Though the Schweizer boys could not survive the storm, they worked tirelessly to save each other’s lives and to keep moving toward what they believed was safety. Their ordeal serves as a poignant example of the dire consequences of exposure to extreme cold and isolation.
Meanwhile, the survival strategies employed by individuals like Etta Shattuck, who sought refuge in a haystack, highlight the ingenuity and resourcefulness of those facing life-threatening situations. Shattuck’s resilience in singing hymns and praying aloud to stay awake showcases the determination of the immigrants in the Great Plains states to overcome all obstacles and survive. These chapters also shed light on the enduring legacy of individual acts of heroism and sacrifice, thematically highlighting Community Resilience in the Face of Natural Disasters. Lois Royce in particular demonstrated remarkable selflessness in her efforts to shield her students from the biting wind with her own body. Despite her attempt to save the students, only she survived, speaking once more to the unpredictability of the event and the lack of control these families had in their own lives.
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