All language subtitles for PBS.Ken Burns.The Dust Bowl 1of2 (2012).480p.HDTV.x264-KarMa

Narrator: TONIGHT,
FROM DIRECTOR KEN BURNS...

THEY HAD COME TO THE FAR EDGE
OF THE GREAT PLAINS

IN SEARCH OF A NEW BEGINNING
IN THE LAST PLACE IN AMERICA

WHERE A FAMILY COULD CLAIM
A HOMESTEAD AND BUILD A FUTURE.

AND EVERYTHING WAS LOOKING UP.

Narrator: A SEA OF GRASS,

ONCE THE DOMAIN
OF INDIANS AND BUFFALO,

DISAPPEARED BENEATH
THE BLADE OF A PLOW.

Woman, voice-over:
I SAW THE WHOLE COUNTRY TRANSFORMED IN THE SUNSET GLOW--

ALL THE BROWN PRAIRIE
TURNED TO GOLD.

Narrator: BUT THEN IT WAS
AS IF THE LAND REJECTED THEM.

THE RAINS STOPPED
AND THE WINDS CAME.

Woman: WE SAW
THIS CLOUD COMING IN.

BLACK, BLACK DIRT.

AND I'LL NEVER FORGET,
MY GRANDMOTHER, SHE SAID,

"YOU KIDS RUN
AND GET TOGETHER.

THE END OF THE WORLD
IS COMING."

Narrator:
IT CAME LIKE A BLACK WALL,

A TIDE OF DESTRUCTION THAT
CRASHED OVER THE BROKEN PLAINS,

CHOKING THE LIFE OUT OF
EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.

Man: YOU NEVER REALLY
ESCAPED THE DUST.

IT ALWAYS FOUND ITS WAY IN.

AND THAT'S, I THINK,
WHAT DROVE PEOPLE CRAZY.

Narrator: SOME WOULD
PULL UP STAKES AND MOVE ON.

BUT MOST STAYED,

ALWAYS LOOKING TO THE PROMISE
THAT NEXT YEAR WOULD BE BETTER.

Man: WE WERE JUST TOO SELFISH

AND WE WERE TRYING
TO MAKE MONEY.

AND IT DIDN'T WORK OUT.

Narrator: KEN BURNS TELLS
THE STORY OF A GENERATION THAT WAS BURIED,

AND WHAT IT TOOK TO DIG OUT.

"THE DUST BOWL"
COMING UP NEXT ON PBS.

AND WHAT IT TOOK TO DIG OUT.

[WIND BLOWING]

Don Wells: LET ME TELL YOU
HOW IT WAS.

I DON'T CARE WHO
DESCRIBES THAT TO YOU,

NOBODY CAN TELL IT ANY
WORSE THAN WHAT IT WAS.

NO ONE EXAGGERATES THAT.

THERE IS NO WAY
FOR IT TO BE EXAGGERATED.

IT WAS THAT BAD.

Pauline Robertson:
IT WAS JUST UNBELIEVABLE.

IT'D BLISTER YOUR FACE.

IT WOULD PUT YOUR EYES OUT.

WELL, I GUESS I CAN'T
DESCRIBE IT.

IT WAS JUST...
IT WAS JUST CONSTANT,

JUST THAT STEADY
BLOW OF DIRT.

Floyd Coen:
AS FAR AS YOU COULD SEE,

THERE WAS A DUST STORM
COMING RIGHT TOWARDS YOU.

THIS GIANT WALL JUST
COMING TOWARDS YOU.

AND YOU STILL HAD THE FEELING,

WHETHER YOU WOULD ADMIT IT,

THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING TO
RUN OVER YOU AND JUST CRUSH YOU.

Dorothy Williamson: IT WAS
ALMOST SURREAL, THE DUST.

THERE'S NOWHERE YOU CAN RUN.

YOU CAN TRY TO GET OUT OF IT

BUT IT'S AS IF IT FOLLOWS YOU,
FOLLOWS YOU, FOLLOWS YOU.

YOU CAN'T ESCAPE IT.

LOOKING BACK ON IT,

I THINK IT CARRIED WITH IT

A FEELING OF...

I DON'T KNOW THE WORD
EXACTLY, OF...

WELL, BEING UNREAL,
BUT ALMOST BEING, UM...

EVIL.

Narrator: IT WAS A DECADE-LONG
NATURAL CATASTROPHE

OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS--

WHEN THE SKIES REFUSED
THEIR RAINS;

WHEN PLAGUES OF GRASSHOPPERS
AND SWARMS OF RABBITS

DESCENDED ON PARCHED FIELDS;

WHEN BEWILDERED FAMILIES
HUDDLED IN DARKENED ROOMS

WHILE ANGRY WINDS
SHOOK THEIR HOMES,

PILLARS OF DUST CHOKED OUT
THE MID-DAY SUN,

AND THE LAND ITSELF--
THE SOIL THEY HAD DEPENDED UPON

FOR THEIR SURVIVAL AND COUNTED
ON FOR THEIR PROSPERITY--

TURNED AGAINST THEM
WITH A LETHAL VENGEANCE.

IT WAS THE WORST MAN-MADE
ECOLOGICAL DISASTER

IN AMERICAN HISTORY,

WHEN THE IRRESISTIBLE
PROMISE OF EASY MONEY

AND THE HEEDLESS ACTIONS
OF THOUSANDS OF FARMERS,

ENCOURAGED BY THEIR GOVERNMENT,
RESULTED IN A COLLECTIVE TRAGEDY

THAT NEARLY SWEPT AWAY THE
BREADBASKET OF THE NATION.

IT'S A CLASSIC TALE
OF HUMAN BEINGS PUSHING

TOO HARD AGAINST NATURE
AND NATURE PUSHING BACK.

AND THEN IT'S AN AMERICAN
BUBBLE STORY, TOO,

LIKE STOCKS
AND LIKE REAL ESTATE.

WE THINK THAT EVERYTHING THAT
GOES UP WILL NOT COME DOWN,

THAT WE CAN DEFY GRAVITY,
AND THAT'S WHAT WE DID HERE.

Donald Worster: THE DUST BOWL
BELONGS ON THE LIST

OF THE TOP 3, 4, 5 ENVIRONMENTAL
CATASTROPHES IN WORLD HISTORY.

BUT THOSE
CATASTROPHES TOOK PLACE

OVER HUNDREDS AND EVEN THOUSANDS
OF YEARS OF DEFORESTATION.

WE CREATED A WORLD-CLASS
ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

IN A MATTER OF
40 OR 50 YEARS.

Narrator: IT WAS AN EPIC OF
HUMAN PAIN AND SUFFERING,

WHEN NORMALLY SELF-RELIANT
FATHERS FOUND THEMSELVES

UNABLE TO PROVIDE
FOR THEIR FAMILIES,

WHEN EVEN THE VIGILANTMOTHE
RE UNABLE

TO STOP THE DIRT THAT
INVADED THEIR HOUSES

FROM KILLING THEIR CHILDREN,

WHEN THOUSANDS OF
DESPERATE AMERICANS

WERE TORN FROM THEIR HOMES
AND FORCED ON THE ROAD

IN AN EXODUS UNLIKE ANYTHING
THE UNITED STATES HAS EVER SEEN.

BUT IT IS ALSO THE STORY
OF HEROIC PERSEVERANCE,

OF A RESILIENT PEOPLE WHO
SOMEHOW MANAGED TO ENDURE

ONE UNIMAGINABLE HARDSHIP
AFTER ANOTHER

TO HOLD ONTO THEIR
LIVES, THEIR LAND,

AND THE ONES THEY LOVED.

Egan: WHAT KIND
OF PLACE WAS THIS

WHERE CHILDREN
COULDN'T GO OUTSIDE,

WHERE THE AIR ITSELF
COULD KILL YOU,

WHERE THE SKY SHOWERED DOWN
THIS SUFFOCATING BLACKNESS

THAT COULD ERASE
THE SUN AT MIDDAY?

WHO COULD DO THAT?

AND WE DIDN'T PLAN THIS.
WE DIDN'T SET OUT AND SAY,

"LET'S RUIN THE SECOND-GREATEST
ECOSYSTEM IN NORTH AMERICA."

IT WAS A RESULT OF A
WHOLE BUNCH OF THINGS

THAT ARE JUST INNATE
TO HUMAN BEINGS.

[BIRD SINGING]

Woman: "APRIL 28, 1908.

"HERE I AM, AWAY OUT IN THAT
NARROW STRIP OF OKLAHOMA

"BETWEEN KANSAS AND
THE PANHANDLE OF TEXAS.

"I WISH YOU COULD SEE THIS
WIDE, FREE, WESTERN COUNTRY,

"WITH ITS REAL STRETCHES
OF ALMOST LEVEL PRAIRIE,

"COVERED WITH THE THICK,
SHORT BUFFALO GRASS,

"THE MARVELOUS GLORY OF
ITS SUNRISES AND SUNSETS,

THE BRILLIANCY OF ITS
STAR-LIT SKY AT NIGHT."

CAROLINE HENDERSON.

Narrator: FROM THE TIME
SHE WAS A YOUNG GIRL

GROWING UP IN IOWA,
CAROLINE BOA HENDERSON DREAMED

OF HAVING A PIECE OF LAND
SHE COULD CALL HER OWN.

EVEN WHEN SHE WENT EAST
TO MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE,

WHERE SHE STUDIED
LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE,

HER SENIOR CLASS
PROPHECY PREDICTED

THAT HER FUTURE WOULD BE FOUND
"SOMEWHERE ON A WESTERN RANCH."

IN 1907, THE YEAR OF
OKLAHOMA'S STATEHOOD,

SHE FOLLOWED THAT DREAM TO
THE NEWLY CREATED TEXAS COUNTY,

WHERE SHE STAKED OUT
A HOMESTEAD CLAIM

AND MOVED INTO A ONE-ROOM
SHACK, 14 FEET BY 16,

WHICH SHE CALLED HER "CASTLE."

A YEAR LATER, SHE MARRIED
WILL HENDERSON,

A LANKY KANSAS COWBOY SHE
HAD HIRED TO DIG HER WELL.

THEY SOON HAD
A DAUGHTER, ELEANOR,

AND WILL BUILT AN
ADDITION TO THEIR HOME.

NOW THEY WERE CLOSE TO
GAINING TITLE TO THE FARM,

WHERE THEY RAISED BROOM
CORN, MILLET, AND MAIZE,

TURKEYS, CHICKENS,
AND A FEW CATTLE,

PUTTING WHAT LITTLE CASH
THEY EARNED INTO IMPROVEMENTS,

PARTICULARLY A NEW
WINDMILL TO DRAW UP WATER

FOR THEIR ANIMALS, HOUSE,
AND HALF-ACRE GAENRD

TO BRING IN EXTRA MONEY,
CAROLINE BEGAN

SUBMITTING ARTICLES
ABOUT LIFE ON THE PLAINS

TO MAGAZINES IN THE EAST.

SHE WROTE FOR "LADIES' WORLD,"

WHERE HER COLUMN ENTITLED
"THE HOMESTEAD LADY"

BECAME A POPULAR FEATURE,

AND EVENTUALLY CONTRIBUTED
TO THE "ATLANTIC MONTHLY,"

THE NATION'S MOST
PRESTIGIOUS PUBLICATION.

Henderson portrayer:
OUT HERE IN THIS WILDERNESS

HAS COME TO ME THE VERY
GREATEST AND SWEETEST

AND MOST HOPEFUL HAPPINESS
OF ALL MY LIFE.

Charles Shaw: YOU LIVE WITH
THE WIND WHEN YOU'RE OUT THERE.

IT'S NOT MEG
THAT'S CONSTANT,

BUT IT BLOWS MORE
THAN IT DOESN'T BLOW.

THE TIMES THAT
IT BLOWS REALLY HARD

MAY NOT BE THAT OFTEN,

BUERE'S JUST

A CONSTANT BREEZE,

A LITTLE MURMUR OF THE
WIND ACROSS THE FIELDS

AND IN THE WHEAT AND IN
WHAT TREES ARE THERE.

YOU FEEL IT, YOU SENSE IT
MORE THAN YOU HEAR IT.

THAT COUNTRY WAS SO FLAT.

YOU COULD SEE FOR JUST MILES.

THEY USED TO SAY THAT

WASN'T A FENCE BETWEEN
THERE AND THE NORTH POLE.

BUT GOD, IT WAS
GOOD GRASS COUNTRY.

MAN, IT WAS PERFECT.

Calvin Crabill: IT'S SAID
THAT BUFFALO GRASS

WOULD HOLD THE MOISTURE

SO IF YOU WENT DOWN 12 INCHES,
YOU WOULD FIND MOIST EARTH.

AND I REMEMBER US
DIGGING DOWN,

AND THE EARTH WAS
MOIST DOWN THERE.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL SOIL.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL SOIL.

Worster: NATURE TOOK
SEVERAL MILLION YEARS

TO FIND A SOLUTION TO
THESE UNSTABLE SOILS,

THESE HIGH WINDS, THESE
TURBULENT WEATHER CONDITIONS,

WHICH WAS THE GRASSES.

THEY ARE AN
EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATION.

THEY WORKED PRETTY WELL,
FOR THE MOST PART.

THEY HAVE SURVIVED HERE
FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.

OUR AGRICULTURE HASN'T BEEN HERE
FOR MUCH MORE THAN A CENTURY.

Narrator:
THE GREAT PLAINS STRETCH

FROM CANADA
TO SOUTHERN TEXAS,

FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER
TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS--

A LAND OF FEW TREES, INFREQUENT
RAINS, AND CONSTANT WINDS.

ONE OF THE EARLIEST AMERICAN
EXPLORERS CALLED IT

"ALMOST WHOLLY UNFIT
FOR CULTIVATION,

AND UNINHABITABLE BY A PEOPLE
DEPENDING UPON AGRICULTURE."

THE PLAINS INDIANS
CONSIDERED IT HOME.

THE SHORT GRASSES THAT
COVERED THE TREELESS EXPANSE

SENT TANGLED ROOTS 5 FEET
BELOW THE GROUND,

FORMING A DENSE SOD THAT
COULD WITHSTAND THE REGION'S

PERIODIC DROUGHTS AND
VIOLENT WEATHER EXTREMES,

NURTURING THE VAST
HERDS OF BUFFALO

WHO GRAZED IN NUMBERS
BEYOND COUNTING.

AFTER THE BISON
WERE ELIMINATED

AND THE NATIVE AMERICANS HAD
BEEN DRIVEN ONTO RESERVATIONS,

CATTLEMEN TOOK OVER IN WHAT
WAS CALLED THE BEEF BONANZA.

BUT SEVERE WINTERS IN THE 1880s
KILLED OFF THEIR HERDS,

AND THE BONANZA WENT BUST.

HOMESTEADERS CAME NEXT,

SWARMING ONTO LAND ONCE
CONSIDERED UNSUITABLE FOR CROPS

BECAUSE IT AVERAGED LESS THAN
20 INCHES OF RAIN A YEAR.

UNSCRUPULOUS PROMOTERS
PROMISED THAT

THE VERY ACT OF FARMING WOULD
INCREASE THE PRECIPITATION--

"RAIN FOLLOWS
THE PLOW," THEY SAID.

A SEVERE DROUGHT IN THE
1890s PROVED THEM WRONG,

AND COUNTIES THAT HAD TRIPLED
AND QUADRUPLED IN POPULATION

IN LESS THAN A DECADE

EMPTIED JUST AS QUICKLY.

THEN, IN THE EARLY PART
OF THE 20th CENTURY,

CONGRESS ENLARGED THE
ORIGINAL HOMESTEAD ACT,

ENTICING FARMERS TO SETTLE
ON SOME OF THE LAST UNCLAIMED

AND MOST MARGINAL SECTIONS

OF PUBLIC LAND IN THE NATION.

THE NEWCOMERS, NEARLY ALL OF
THEM WHITE, CAME FROM EUROPE,

WHERE LAND WAS UNAVAILABLE,

AND IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS,
MANY OF THEM CONVERGED

ON A NARROW STRIP OF OKLAHOMA
THAT BORDERED 4 OTHER STATES--

KANSAS, TEXAS,
NEW MEXICO, AND COLORADO--

A FORMERLY LAWLESS
AND UNGOVERNABLE PLACE

CALLED NO MAN'S LAND,
THE PLACE WHERE

CAROLINE HENDERSON
WOULD STAKE HER FUTURE.

Henderson portrayer:
FARMING HERE OFTEN REMINDS ME

OF THE MAN WHO,
WHEN ASKED TO EMBARK UPON

SOME RATHER DOUBTFUL
BUSINESS VENTURE, REPLIED

THAT IF HE WANTED TO GAMBLE,
HE WOULD PREFER ROULETTE,

WHERE THE CHANCES WERE
ONLY 32-1 AGAINST HIM.

Worster: THE SOUTHERN PLAINS
ARE A HIGH-RISK AREA

BECAUSE THEY'RE NEITHER
DESERT NOR HUMID FOREST

OR HUMID GRASSLAND, EVEN.

THEY'RE ON THE EDGES
OF VULNERABILITY.

YOU'VE GOT AN AREA
THAT THE RAINFALL

IS LESS THAN 20 INCHES A YEAR.

IN SOME YEARS, YOU GET
ENOUGH RAINFALL

YOU CAN MAKE A GOOD CROP;

THE NEXT YEAR, YOU GET HALF
THAT AMOUNT OF RAINFALL.

IT IS ONE OF THE RISKIEST
AREAS IN THE WORLD

FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION.

R. Douglas Hurt:
THE FARM MEN AND WOMEN OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS

ARE THE GREATEST "NEXT YEAR"
PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.

THEY REALLY LIVE THEIR LIVES
WITH 3 LITTLE WORDS--

"IF IT RAINS."

IF IT RAINS,
THE DUST WOULD SETTLE.

IF IT RAINED, THE DROUGHT
WOULD BE BROKEN.

IF IT RAINED, THE WHEAT
CROP WOULD GROW.

IF IT RAINED,
THINGS WERE GOOD.

IF IT DIDN'T, THEY WERE
A "NEXT YEAR" PEOPLE.

Narrator: NOT LONG AFTER
CAROLINE HENDERSON MOVED

TO NO MAN'S LAND IN 1907,

THE SOUTHERN PLAINS
ENTERED A WET PERIOD,

AND THE PACE OF
SETTLEMENT QUICKENED.

REAL-ESTATE SYNDICATES
BEGAN BUYING BIG RANCHES

FOR $5.00 AN ACRE
AND CARVED THEM UP

INTO SMALLER PARCELS FOR SALE
AT 3 TIMES THE PRICE.

RAILROAD COMPANIES DID THE
SAME THING WITH THE VAST TRACTS

THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN
BY THE GOVERNMENT.

SPECIAL EXCURSION TRAINS
BROUGHT PROSPECTIVE BUYERS

TO THE REGION
BY THE THOUSANDS.

SALESMEN ASSURED THEM
THAT NONE OTHER

THAN THE FORMER CHANCELLOR
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

HAD DETERMINED THAT
THE CLIMATE WAS UNDERGOING

A PERMANENT SHIFT--
PRECIPITATION WAS INCREASING,

WHILE THE WINDS
WERE SLOWING DOWN.

ANOTHER EXPERT DECLARED THAT

REMOVING THE COVER
OF PRAIRIE GRASSES

ALLOWED MORE RAINFALL
TO PENETRATE THE SOIL.

TOWNS SPRANG UP OVERNIGHT.

IN CIMARRON COUNTY,
OKLAHOMA,

THE DEVELOPERS OF BOISE CITY
SOLD HOUSE LOTS TO BUYERS

WHO DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER

TO COME FOR AN INSPECTION.

Egan: BOISE CITY IS
NAMED FOR THE FRENCH WORD "LES BOIS"--TREE.

THERE WERE NO TREES. THIS IS
IN THE PANHANDLE OF OKLAHOMA.

THERE WERE NO TREES.
THEY ADVERTISED IT AS HAVING ARTESIAN WELLS,

BIG MAIN STREETS WHERE
BANKERS COULD LIVE, AND STATELY ELMS AND MAPLES.

THERE WERE NO TREES,
THERE WAS NO WATER,

THERE WERE NO HOUSES,
BUT THEY SOLD LOTS HERE.

THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES
IN AMERICAN REAL ESTATE

WHERE REAL-ESTATE PROMOTERS
HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN CONVICTED,

SENT TO FEDERAL PENITENTIARY,

AND ONE OF THEM ROTTED AND DIED
IN THAT PENITENTIARY

AFTER THE REAL-ESTATE SCAM
THAT WAS BOISE CITY.

Narrator: "OKLAHOMA," ONE
RAILROAD BROCHURE BRAGGED,

"GROWS BETTER
CATTLE THAN TEXAS,

"BETTER CORN THAN
KANSAS OR MINNESOTA,

"BETTER COTTON THAN
MISSISSIPPI OR ALABAMA,

AND BETTER SWINE
THAN ANYWHERE."

BUT INCREASINGLY,
IN WESTERN OKLAHOMA

AND THROUGHOUT THE
SOUTHERN PLAINS,

THE FOCUS WAS ALMOST
EXCLUSIVELY ON WHEAT.

WHEN THE GREAT WAR
BROKE OUT IN EUROPE,

GERMAN BLOCKADES CUT OFF
ACCESS TO RUSSIAN WHEAT.

IN THE UNITED STATES,

FARMERS MOBILIZED
TO FEED THE ALLIES.

UNDER THE SLOGAN,
"WHEAT WILL WIN THE WAR,"

PRICES WERE SET
AT $2.00 A BUSHEL,

TWICE THE PREVIOUS RATE.

IN 5 YEARS, MORE THAN 11
MILLION ACRES OF VIRGIN SOIL

WERE PLOWED FOR
THE FIRST TIME--

AN AREA TWICE THE
SIZE OF NEW JERSEY

CONVERTED FROM GRASSLANDS
TO WHEAT FIELDS.

WHEN THE WAR ENDED,
WHEAT PRICES DROPPED,

BUT THE PLOWING AND
PLANTING ONLY INCREASED.

IT WOULD COME TO BE CALLED
"THE GREAT PLOW UP."

Pamela Riney-Kehrberg:
IF YOU HAD BEEN A WHEAT FARMER IN THE 1920s,

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY
EASY TO MAKE MONEY.

YOU NEEDED LESS LAND
TO GROW WHEAT

THAN YOU NEEDED
TO RUN CATTLE.

SO THE INVESTMENT WAS LESS.

I HAD A FARMER TELL ME
THAT YOU JUST PUT SEED

IN THE GROUND
AND BOOM, YOU HAD A CROP.

Imogene Glover: IT WAS REALLY
ADVERTISED ALL OVER THE NATION

AS THE PLACE TO COME
AND LIVE IN THE TWENTIES.

OH, IT WAS GREEN,
LEVEL, AND PRETTY,

AND THE GRASS WAS BEAUTIFUL.

WE HAD TALL GRASS,

AND I REMEMBER RUNNING
BAREFOOTED ALONG IN THIS DITCH,

WHICH WAS BIG CLODS
OF COOL, DAMP GROUND.

Narrator: IMOGENE GLOVER'S
FAMILY HAD MOVED

TO A 3-ROOM HOUSE ON LAND
IN TEXAS COUNTY, OKLAHOMA,

NOT FAR FROM CAROLINE
AND WILL HENDERSON.

HER FATHER RAISED CATTLE,
TURKEYS, AND ESPECIALLY WHEAT.

Glover: HE WAS A GAMBLER,

BUT I THINK EVERY
FARMER'S A GAMBLER.

THEY HAVE TO GAMBLE THAT WHAT
THEY'RE PUTTING INTO THE GROUND

IS GOING TO GROW AND PRODUCE,
AND THEY'LL GET BETTER OFF.

THEY ALWAYS FEEL THAT WAY
IF THEY'RE A FARMER.

Narrator: IN THE SOUTHWESTERN
CORNER OF KANSAS,

EDGAR COEN HAD
TAKEN OVER 160 ACRES

FROM A FAILED HOMESTEADER.

AT FIRST, HE MOVED HIS WIFE RENA
AND THEIR CHILDREN

INTO A ONE-ROOM
10-BY-12-FOOT DUGOUT

THAT EXTENDED ONLY
2 1/2 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND,

WITH SMALL WINDOWS TO
LET IN A LITTLE LIGHT.

AS THE FAMILY GREW,
EDGAR ADDED MORE ROOMS,

THEN AN ABOVE-GROUND
ENTRANCE BIG ENOUGH TO DOUBLE AS A KITCHEN.

BY SCRIMPING AND SAVING,

HE WAS ABLE TO ACQUIRE
160 MORE ACRES

AND BUILD A BARN
FOR HIS LIVESTOCK.

Dale Coen:
OH, IT WAS REAL NICE.

SUMMERTIME WAS PRETTY BALMY--
ALWAYS COOLED OFF GOOD AT NIGHT.

A LOT OF TIMES, WE WOULD SLEEP
OUT UNDERNEATH THE TREES

OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

IT WAS A REALLY
GOOD ATMOSPHERE.

OF COURSE, IT HAS ALWAYS
BEEN AN ARID COUNTRY.

IT NEVER HAS BEEN
LOTS OF RAIN.

BUT IT WAS A REALLY IDEAL
PLACE TOSE A FAMILIL

Egan: FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN THEIR FAMILY HISTORY,

MOST OF THESE PEOPLE
OWNED A PIECE OF DIRT.

THEY WERE SCOTS-IRISH

WHO'D BEEN KICKED AROUND,
THE OLD CONFEDERACY.

THEY WERE SO-CALLED
POOR WHITE TRASH.

THEY WERE THESE GERMANS
FROM THE RUSSIAN STEPPE.

THEY WERE LATINOS WHO
CAME UP FROM THE SOUTH.

THEY WERE FOLKS THAT
NEVER OWNED ANYTHING.

AND THEY HAD WONDERFUL
YEARS, 10, 12, 15,

WHERE EVERYTHING WAS RIGHT.

Narrator: MODERN MACHINERY MADE
WHEAT FARMING MORE EFFICIENT

AND STILL PROFITABLE EVEN AT
PRICES OF $1.00 PER BUSHEL.

POWERFUL GASOLINE TRACTORS

PULLING BROAD ARRAYS
OF DISC PLOWS

TURNED THE SOD WITH EASE.

Worster: IN THE 1920s,
THERE WAS A CONCERTED MOVEMENT

AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS
OF AMERICAN SOCIETY

TO TURN AGRICULTURE
INTO AN INDUSTRIAL MODEL,

TO MAKE EVERY FARM
INTO A FACTORY.

WELL, YOU COULD
NEVER HAVE PLOWED UP

30-SOME MILLION
ACRES OF LAND

WITH HORSE AND A WOODEN PLOW
OR EVEN A STEEL PLOW.

TRACTORS WERE GOING ALL NIGHT
LONG WITH HEADLIGHTS BURNING

TO PLOW UP THIS LAND,
TO GET IT INTO PRODUCTION.

Narrator:
IN SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO,

CALVIN CRABILL'S FATHER
HOPED TO MAKE A LIFE

FOR HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY
RAISING HORSES AND CATTLE.

BUT TO GET AHEAD,
HE TOOK A JOB

DRIVING A TRACTOR
ON OTHER PEOPLE'S LAND.

Calvin Crabill:
HE WORKED NIGHTS.

SOMEBODY ELSE WORKED DAYS,
AND SO HE WORKED NIGHTS.

HE KNEW THAT BUFFALO GRASS
WAS THE NATURAL TURF

OF THAT COUNTRY, AND IT
WAS GRAZING COUNTRY.

HE DIDN'T STAY WITH THE
TRACTORING THING TOO LONG

BECAUSE I THINK IT
JUST GOT HIS HEART.

HE COULDN'T STAND IT.

EVEN THOUGH HE NEEDED THE
MONEY, HE QUIT DOING IT.

HE JUST COULDN'T
STAND TO DO IT.

HE WAS REALLY A STOCKMAN,
AND HE KNEW IT WAS ALL WRONG,

AND HE PAID THE PRICE
FOR IT LATER.

Narrator: IN PREVIOUS YEARS,

FARMERS HAD USED A PLOW
CALLED A LISTER

THAT SPLIT THE SOIL IN TWO
DIRECTIONS AND DUG A DEEP FURROW

THAT CAUGHT AND HELD
BLOWING SOIL.

NOW THE MOST COMMONLY USED
PLOW WAS CALLED A ONE-WAY,

WHICH WAS CHEAPER
AND TORE THROUGH THE SOD

AT A FASTER RATE.

Wayne Lewis:
IN THE LATE TWENTIES,

THE CROPS WERE GOOD,
THE PRICES WERE GOOD,

AND SO EVERYBODY--
THE THING TO DO WAS

TO BREAK OUT EVERYTHING
AND GET IT IN WHEAT.

AND PRACTICALLY
EVERYBODY DID THAT.

Egan: THIS BOOM WAS ONE OF THE
GREAT CLASSIC AMERICAN BUBBLES.

WE'VE HAD A LOT OF THEM IN
OUR HISTORY, AND THIS WAS ONE.

THEY HAD THESE SUITCASE FARMERS
WHO WOULD GET OFF THE TRAIN,

AND THEY CALLED THEM
SUITCASE FARMERS BECAUSE

THEY WERE JUST DANDIES
FROM THE CITY.

THEY WEREN'T FARMERS.
THEY HAD THEIR SUITCASES,

AND THEY'D GO OUT AND THEY'D
CLAIM THEIR SQUARE MILE

BECAUSE THEY ENLARGED
THE HOMESTEAD ACT.

THEN THEY'D GET SOMEONE
TO PLOW UP THE GRASS,

THROW SOME
AND THEN GO BACK TO TOWN

AND COME BACK IN THE SPRING
AND HARVEST THIS THING.

AND IT WAS A FOOL'S GAME.
YOU COULD MAKE A LOT OF MONEY.

Henderson portrayer:
THE SUITCASE FARMERS HAVE HIRED

THE PREPARATION OF LARGE AREAS
OF LAND ALL AROUND US

WHICH NO LONGER REPRESENT
THE IDEA OF HOMES AT ALL,

BUT JUST PARTS OF
A POTENTIAL FACTORY

FOR THE LOW-COST
PRODUCTION OF WHEAT.

Narrator: DURING THE LAST
5 YEARS OF THE 1920s ALONE,

ANOTHER 5,260,000 ACRES
OF NATIVE SOD--

AN AREA THE SIZE
OF NEW HAMPSHIRE--

WAS TURNED OVER ON
THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

"THE SOIL," A FEDERAL AGENCY
CONFIDENTLY PROCLAIMED,

"IS THE ONE INDESTRUCTIBLE,
IMMUTABLE ASSET

"THAT THE NATION POSSESSES.

"IT IS THE ONE RESOURCE
THAT CANNOT BE EXHAUSTED,

THAT CANNOT BE USED UP."

Worster: THE GREAT PLOW UP
HAD GOING FOR IT

AMPLE RAINFALL FOR A PERIOD
OF 10 OR 15 YEARS,

AND IT JUST KEPT
ENCOURAGING MORE AND MORE.

PEOPLE THOUGHT, AS THEY
THINK AGAIN AND AGAIN,

THAT WE HAVE TURNED THE
CORNER ON CLIMATE HERE.

WE CAN SEE FAR INTO THE
FUTURE, AND IT'S ALL WET.

THEY KNEW THAT THERE'D BEEN
SEVERE DROUGHTS IN THE 1890s,

BUT PEOPLE FORGOT ABOUT THOSE.

THEY THOUGHT
THAT WAS THE PAST,

THIS IS NOW, AND THIS
WILL BE THE FUTURE.

Narrator: A HANDFUL
OF OLD-TIMERS,

ESPECIALLY THE CATTLEMEN,

WHO HAD BEEN THROUGH THOSE
DROUGHTS, WEREN'T SO SURE.

TO THEM, THE SOUTHERN PLAINS
WERE A GRASSLAND,

AND THE SOD SHOULD
NEVER BE TURNED.

BAM WHITE, WHO WAS A
HALF-APACHE, HALF-ANGLO COWBOY

LIVING IN THE
TEXAS PANHANDLE,

SAID TO HIS SON WHO ASKED HIM
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM,

HE SAID, "LOOK AT IT.

WRONG SIDE UP.
IT'S WRONG SIDE UP."

Henderson portrayer:
A FEW DAYS AGO,

I RODE TO THE STORE
FOR THE MAIL.

COMING HOME, I SAW
THE WHOLE COUNTRY

TRANSFORMED IN THE SUNSET GLOW--

ALL THE BROWN PRAIRIE
TURNED TO GOLD.

I COULD FEEL ONCE MORE THE LURE
OF THIS GREAT, LONELY LAND,

WAITING WITH ITS STORES
OF FERTILITY ALL UNTOUCHED

FOR THOSE WHO SHALL ONE DAY
LEARN TO MEET ITS DEMANDS,

TO GIVE TO IT THEIR
PATIENT THOUGHT AND LABOR.

Narrator: AMONG CAROLINE
HENDERSON'S NEIGHBORS

IN TEXAS COUNTY

WAS THE FAMILY
OF HARRY FORESTER.

HE HAD GROWN UP IN ARKANSAS
AND EASTERN TEXAS

BEFORE FILING ON A HOMESTEAD
IN NO MAN'S LAND,

WHERE HE AND HIS WIFE
RAISED 9 CHILDREN.

AS TIMES IMPROVED,
HIS DREAMS HAD EXPANDED,

ESPECIAL F HIS 5 SONS.

ONE OF HIS GOALS WAS
TO LEAVE AS A BEQUEST

TO EACH OF HIS SONS A SECTION--
THAT, IS A SQUARE MILE--

OF GOOD, ARABLE,
WHEAT PRODUCTION LAND,

WHICH WAS SOMETHING THAT
HE FELT WOULD GUARANTEE

THEIR HAVING A GOOD LIVING
AND A GOOD LIFE.

THAT WAS HIS GOAL.

Narrator: IN 1928,
TO FULFILL HIS DREAM,

FORESTER LEVERAGED THE
HOMESTEAD HE ALREADY OWNED

WITH A MORTGAGE

TO BUY EVEN MORE WHEAT-GROWING
LAND NEAR BOISE CITY.

Forester: HE HAD USED ALL
HIS PROPERTY AND ALL HIS LANDS

AND ALL HE HAD ACCRUED
FROM 1906 TO 1928.

BECAUSE OF HIS DREAM, HE
ESSENTIALLY PUT IT ALL AT RISK,

AND ULTIMATELY, IT PROVED TO
BE A BAD TIME TO MAKE A MOVE.

Narrator:
ON OCTOBER 29, 1929--

THE DAY THAT WOULD BE REMEMBERED
AS "BLACK TUESDAY,"

THE STOCK MARKET CRASHED
ON WALL STREET,

PUNCTURING A
SPECULATIVE BUBBLE

THAT HAD BEEN BUILDING
THROUGHOUT THE 1920s.

BY THE END OF THE YEAR,
THE FINANCIAL PANIC BEGAN

TO SPREAD TO OTHER
PARTS OF THE ECONOMY,

THROWING ONE AND A HALF MILLION
AMERICANS OUT OF WORK.

A YEAR LATER,
THAT NUMBER WOULD TRIPLE,

AND THE NATION DESNDCE
INTO THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

BUT BACK IN NO MAN'S LAND,
THE FUTURE STILL LOOKED BRIGHT.

THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
PRONOUNCED THE SOUTHERN PLAINS

AS ONE OF THE MOST PROSPEROUS
AREAS IN THE ENTIRE NATION.

AN ADVERTISEMENT IN THE
"BOISE CITY NEWS" IMAGINED

A MANHATTAN-STYLE SKYLINE,
WITH THE PREDICTION,

"SOON YOU AVE YOUR OWN
EMPIRE SWI O STATE BUILDING,

RIGHT ACROSS FROM
KIRBY'S KASH GROCERY."

Pauline Hodges:
THE FIRST TWO YEARS,

THEY THOUGHT
IT DIDN'T AFFECT THEM,

THAT IT WAS BACK EAST--

"OH, WELL, YOU KNOW,
THAT WAS CHICAGO.

"THAT WAS NEW YORK.
IT WASN'T HERE.

THIS WON'T HAPPEN TO US."

Glover: WE HAD THE BEST CROP
THAT WE HAD HAD IN 1929.

THAT'S WHEN THE
MARKET WAS GREAT,

AND THE PEOPLE THAT
DID PLANT WHEAT

HAD A BETTER YEAR
THAN THEY'D EVER HAD,

AND THEY JUST THOUGHT
THEY'D GET WEALTHY.

IT WAS A GREAT TIME,

AND EVERYTHING
WAS LOOKING UP.

Narrator: IN THE PANHANDLE
TOWN OF FOLLETT, TEXAS,

TRIXIE TRAVIS BROWN'S FATHER
DECIDED TIMES WERE RIGHT

TO START A NEW BUSINESS
AND BUILD A NEW HOUSE.

Trixie Travis Brown:
HE AND HIS DAD AND BROTHER

OPENED A HARDWARE
STORE IN FOLLETT.

FOLLETT WAS A
THRIVING LITTLE TOWN.

WE HAD A MAIN STREET
THAT HAD BUSINESSES

ON BOTH SIDES
OF THE STREET.

AFTER MY SISTER WAS BORN IN '29,
WE MOVED INTO THE NEW HOUSE.

IT WAS GREAT. THINGS SEEMED
TO BE GOING WELL

FOR MY DAD, FOR GRANDPA.

Narrator:
MOST OF WHAT PEOPLE KNEW

ABOUT THE MISERY GRIPPING
THE REST OF AMERICA

THEY LEARNED FROM
READING NEWSPAPERS

AND WATCHING NEWSREELS AT THE
PALACE THEATER IN BOISE CITY

OR THE MISSION THEATRE
IN DALHART, TEXAS.

BUT AS THE DEPRESSION
DEEPENED ELSEWHERE,

PRICES OF FARM
COMMODITIES COLLAPSED,

PLUNGING ALL OF RURAL
AMERICA INTO CRISIS.

IN 1930, WHEAT DROPPED FROM
A DOLLAR TO 70 CENTS A BUSHEL.

NOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
BEGGED FARMERS

TO REDUCE THEIR ACREAGE.

INSTEAD, FARMERS DECIDED
IF THEY COULDN'T MAKE

AS MUCH MONEY PER BUSHEL,

THEY WOULD SIMPLY
HARVEST MORE BUSHELS.

SO THEY PLOWED UP MORE LAND--
HALF A MILLION MORE ACRES

IN THE COUNTIES
AROUND NO MAN'S LAND.

THE WHOLE AREA,
ONE AGRICULTURAL AGENT SAID,

HAD GONE "WHEAT MAD."

Worster: THE ANSWER TO FARMERS'
PROBLEMS ON THE GREAT PLAINS

IS BASICALLY ALWAYS MORE--
MORE PRODUCTION.

IF YOU'RE HURTING FINANCIALLY,
IF YOUR CROP PRICES ARE LOW,

YOU PRODUCE MORE TO MAKE UP.

IF YOU'RE DOING WELL,
THE BUSHEL PRICES ARE HIGH,

YOU PRODUCE MORE.

IT'S ALWAYS "MORE PRODUCTION"
IS THE ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM.

SO IN 1930,
E LOW PRICES,

FARMERS WERE PRODUCING
MORE WHEAT THAN EVER BEFORE.

Egan: THIS BIG PLOW UP
WAS THE FINAL SURGE

THAT CAME AFTER
WHEAT HAD CRASHED.

IF YOU HAD 10,000 ACRES
AND YOU HAD TAKEN OUT

A BANK LOAN TO SERVICE
YOUR 10,000 ACRES,

SUDDENLY YOU'RE
GETTING ONLY HALF

WHAT YOU GOT THAT YEAR BEFORE.

THE ONLY WAY YOU
COULD COVER YOUR NUT

WAS TO DOUBLE THE AMOUNT
OF LAND YOU PLOWED UP.

SO, IT SENT THEM
INTO THE FIELDS

FOR THIS FRANTIC LAST-MINUTE
EFFORT TO TURN THE LAND.

Worster: IT WAS A RECIPE
FOR ECONOMIC DISASTER

IN THE SENSE THAT
THEY WERE PRODUCING

AN ENORMOUS GLUT OF WHEAT
THAT DIDN'T HAVE A MARKET.

IT WAS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER IN
THAT IF A DROUGHT COMES ALONG,

THEY ARE LYING
THERE VULNERABLE

WITH SO MUCH LAND
THAT HAS BEEN EXPOSED.

Narrator: IT SNOWED
AND RAINED THAT WINTER,

AND THE SPRING OF 1931
BROUGHT ADEQUATE MOISTURE.

BY HARVEST TIME, THE WINTER
WHEAT WAS SHOULDER HIGH,

AND FARMERS REALIZED THEY HAD
A BONANZA ON THEIR HANDS.

Henderson portrayer:
I HAVE NEVER SEEN

A MORE BEAUTIFUL HARVEST--

ONE OF THE BEST WHEAT CROPS
THIS COUNTRY HAS EVER PRODUCED

IN OUR 24 YEARS OF FARMING.

Narrator: OVER THE YEARS,
CAROLINE AND WILL HENDERSON

HAD INCREASED THEIR HOLDINGS
TO 640 ACRES--A SQUARE MILE.

THEY HAD PURCHASED
MECHANIZED EQUIPMENT

TO REPLACE THEIR HORSES

AND MADE STEADY IMPROVEMENTS
TO THEIR PROPERTY.

THEY NOW HAD A REAL HOUSE,
WITH A FULL BASEMENT,

5 ROOMS ON THE FIRST FLOOR,

AND A BIG UNFINISHED
ROOM ON THE SECOND.

THEY HAD AN
INDOOR BATHROOM--

BUT AS YET, NO RUNNING
WATER INSIDE THE HOUSE--

AND HAD PURCHASED
A TELEPHONE.

BUT WHEN THE BUMPER CROP
OF 1931 WAS HARVESTED,

THERE WAS NO ONE TO BUY IT.

GRAIN ELEVATORS OVERFLOWED,

AND GIANT DUNES OF WHEAT WERE
PILED OUT ON THE OPEN GROUND.

PRICES HAD ALREADY COLLAPSED
TO 25 CENTS A BUSHEL OR LOWER--

ROUGHLY HALF OF WHAT IT COST
THE FARMERS TO GROW IT.

"WE ARE TOO BIG TO CRY
ABOUT IT," CAROLINE WROTE,

"AND IT HURTS US
TOO MUCH TO LAUGH."

Hodges: I REMEMBER MY FATHER
SAYING THAT HIS BANKER

HAD TOLD HIM THAT PRICES
CERTAINLY WOULDN'T GO ANY LOWER

THAN 95 CENTS A BUSHEL,
WHICH, COMPARED TO

WHAT IT HAD BEEN IN THE
1920s, WAS REALLY LOW.

AND MY DAD USED TO
LAUGH IRONICALLY

AND SAY THE NEXT DAY IT
DROPPED TO 23 CENTS A BUSHEL--

60 CENTS IN ONE DAY.

IT WASN'T UNTIL THE PRICE OF
WHEAT DROPPED SO DRASTICALLY

THAT WE REALLY FELT THE
DEPRESSION OUT HERE.

Narrator: LIKE SO MANY
OF THEIR NEIGHBORS,

PAULINE HODGES'
PARENTS BELIEVED

THE SITUATION WOULD NOT
LAST FOR LONG.

THEY WERE, AFTER ALL,
"NEXT YEAR" PEOPLE.

[WINBLD ING]

A LITTLE AFTER NOONTIME
ON JANUARY 21, 1932,

A DUST CLOUD APPEARED
OUTSIDE OF AMARILLO, TEXAS.

DUST STORMS WEREN'T
UNCOMMON IN THE AREA,

BUT THIS ONE ROSE
10,000 FEET INTO THE AIR,

CARRIED WINDS
OF 60 MILES PER HOUR.

THE LOCAL WEATHER BUREAU DIDN'T
QUITE KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF IT,

CALLING IT "AWE-INSPIRING"
AND "MOST SPECTACULAR."

EVEN OLD-TIMERS SAID

THEY'D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING
LIKE IT IN THEIR LIVES.

Robert "Boots" McCoy:
SCARED US TO DEATH.

WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK.

WE WAS AT HOME.

DAD WAS GONE,
LOOKING FOR CATTLE.

MOM AND SISTER AND I,
WE WAS OUTSIDE.

WE LOOKED AT THAT,

AND WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT IT WAS GONNA BE.

FIRST STARTED WAY OFF,
IT WAS REAL DARK.

THE CLOSER IT GOT,
IT GOT BROWN,

AND WHEN IT HIT
IN 30 MINUTES,

YOU COULDN'T--
IT'S JUST LIKE MIDNIGHT.

MIDDLE OF DAY WAS
JUST LIKE MIDNIGHT

WITH NO STARS--JUST DARK.

Narrator: BOOTS McCOY'S FAMILY
LIVED IN TEXAS COUNTY,

6 MILES WEST OF
THE HENDERSONS.

HE AND HIS BIG SISTER,
RUBY PAULINE,

HUDDLED WITH THEIR MOTHER,
WHO WAS PREGNANT.

IT'D BE STILL, BE JUST
CALM AS IT COULD BE,

AND THEN WHEN THAT DUST
GOT THERE, WHAM!

IT WOULD HIT YOU.

IT WAS JUST A-ROLLIN'.

IT WAS SCARY. IT SCARED
THE HECK OUT OF US.

MOTHER WOULD PRAY
ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW.

US KIDS, OF COURSE,
WE WAS LITTLE,

AND WE STAYED PRETTY CLOSE
TO MA, I GUARANTEE YOU.

Narrator: THE STORM
PASSED QUICKLY,

BUT THAT WINTER OF 1931-32
WAS UNCOMMONLY DRY.

SO WAS THE SPRING
THAT FOLLOWED.

THE FIERCE WINDS
COMMON TO THE SEASON

BEGAN PICKING UP SAND AND SOIL
FROM THE BARE FIELDS AGAIN

AND MOVING IT ACROSS
THE LANDSCAPE.

THE WEATHER BUREAU BEGAN
CLASSIFYING THE STORMS

BY THEIR SEVERITY.

SOME STORMS, TAKING THE
COARSER, SANDIER SOILS,

MOVED ALONG THE GROUND

FOR A FEW MILES
BEFORE DISAPPEARING;

OTHERS CREATED
A LIGHT HAZE IN THE SKY.

THE WORST ONES
REDUCED VISIBILITY

TO LESS THAN A QUARTER MILE.

NO MAN'S LAND HAD
14 OF THOSE IN 1932.

Floyd Coen: THE DUST STORMS
WAS THE MOST FEARSOME LOOKING,

BUT AS FAR AS DAMAGE,
I WOULD SAY

THE SAND STORMS DID MORE
DAMAGE TO OUR LAND

AND OUR CATTLE
AND SO FORTH.

YOU DON'T HEAR MUCH
ABOUT THE SAND STORMS,

BUT WE HAD A LOT OF THOSE.

IT WOULDN'T GET VERY DARK,

BUT THEY WERE A NUISANCE
TO BE OUT IN,

AND IT'D JUST PEPPER YOU,
LIKE SAND A-HITTIN' YOU.

IT'D BE VERY ABRASIVE.

AND THEY MIGHT LAST
TWO OR THREE DAYS.

ONE TIME, MY MOTHER MARKED
21 DAYS ON THE CALENDAR

THAT WE HAD
SAND STORMS EVERY DAY.

Glover: I HAD TO RUN
GET THE CHICKENS IN

WHEN WE'D SEE THEM A-COMIN',

AND IF I DIDN'T GET BACK TO THE
HOUSE OR TO THE CELLAR IN TIME,

MY BARE LEGS WOULD REALLY
FEEL THAT SAND AND GRIT.

BUT I KNEW THE WAY.

I THINK I COULD RUN BLINDFOLDED
FROM THE CHICKEN HOUSE

TO THE HOUSE
AND INTO THE CELLAR.

BY 8:00, THAT WIND WOULD
BE HITTING, AND DIRT,

AND BY THE TIME I WOULD WALK
FROM THAT HOUSE TO THAT ROAD,

WHICH WAS AS FAR AS FROM HERE
ACROSS THE STREET OUT THERE,

MY LEGS WOULD BE BLISTERED,

THAT DIRT WOULD BE COMING
AND HITTING THERE SO HARD.

Narrator: IN THE MIDST
OF THE RELENTLESS STORMS,

BOOTS McCOY'S MOTHER
WENT INTO LABOR.

IT TURNED OUT SHE
WAS CARRYING TWINS.

SHE NAMED THEM ROY AND TROY,

BUT THEY WERE IN TROUBLE
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.

McCoy: THEY LASTED, BEST I COULD
REMEMBER, ABOUT 12 HOURS.

AND, THE DOCTOR JUST
COULDN'T SAVE THEM.

AND WHEN WE BURIED THEM,
THE NEIGHBORS BUILT A COFFIN,

AND ONE OF THEM WENT
TO JC PENNEY STORE

AND GOT SOME
NUMBER 12 SHOE BOXES,

AND WE PUT SOME COTTON

AND PUT THEM BOYS IN THAT--
PUT THEM IN THAT COFFIN.

THAT'S THE WAY
THEY WAS BURIED.

Henderson portrayer:
MANY A TIME,

I HAVE FOUND MYSELF
TIRED OUT FROM HAVING TRIED,

UNCONSCIOUSLY AND
WITHOUT SUCCESS,

TO BRING THE DISTANT
RAIN CLOUDS NEARER

TO WATER OUR FIELDS.

I AM BEGINNING TO SEE
HOW WORSE THAN USELESS

IS THIS EXAGGERATED FEELING
OF ONE'S OWN RESPONSIBILITY,

TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE
THE THOUGHT OF SOMEONE

WHO WROTE LONG AGO,

"HE THAT OBSERVETH
THE WIND SHALL NOT SOW,

AND HE THAT REGARDETH
THE CLOUDS SHALL NOT REAP."

Narrator: FOR CAROLINE
AND WILL HENDERSON--

AND ALL THE OTHER
FARMERS IN THE AREA--

THE HARVEST OF 1932
WAS A DOUBLE DISASTER.

PRICES FOR WHEAT PLUMMETED EVEN
LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR,

AND THERE WASN'T MUCH OF
A CROP TO HARVEST ANYWAY.

Henderson portrayer:
JUDGING BY ANY STANDARDS

THAT THE WORLD
WOULD RECOGNIZE,

WE SHOULD HAVE
BEEN FURTHER AHEAD

IF WE COULD HAVE SPENT
THE YEAR IN SLEEP.

Narrator: THAT FALL,
FARMERS WENT BACK TO THE FIELDS

AND PLANTED WINTER WHEAT
FOR NEXT YEAR.

Henderson portrayer:
PEOPLE STILL TOIL AMAZINGLY

AND MAKE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT
TO KEEP CHEERFUL,

BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE
EFFORT GROWS MORE APPARENT.

BEHIND THE CHARACTERISTIC
AMERICAN NONCHALANCE,

ONE DETECTS
A GROWING ANXIETY,

ESPECIALLY ABOUT
THE COMING WINTER.

Clarence Beck:
YOU KEPT THINKING

THAT TOMORROW
THINGS WILL CHANGE,

SO YOU KEPT DOING
WHAT YOU WERE DOING.

YOU THOUGHT, MAYBE THERE ARE
SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN DO

THAT WILL BE A LITTLE BETTER
THAN THE WAY THEY ARE.

WE COULDN'T LIVE
WITHOUT HOPING

THAT THINGS WERE GONNA
CHANGE FOR THE BETTE

R.
WE COULDN'T LIVE Lewis: WE ALWAYS HAD HOPE.

NEXT YEAR WAS
GONNA BE BETTER,

AND EVEN THIS YEAR
WAS GONNA BE BETTER.

WE LEARNED SLOWLY,
AND WHAT DIDN'T WORK,

YOU TRIED IT HARDER
THE NEXT TIME.

YOU DIDN'T TRY
SOMETHING DIFFERENT;

YOU JUST TRIED HARDER
THE SAME THING THAT DIDN'T WORK.

Henderson portrayer: BY
SACRIFICING THE SMALL RESERVES

WE HAD HELD AGAINST THE DAYS
OF DROUGHT AND DISASTER,

WE HAVE SUCCEEDED SO FAR
IN KEEPING ON A CASH BASIS.

WE HAVE DISCONNECTED
THE TELEPHONE,

STOPPED THE DAILY PAPER,

SUBSTITUTED CHEAP LYE
FOR WASHING POWDER,

SO THAT MY HANDS ARE
ROUGH AND UNCOMFORTABLE,

BUT OF ALL OUR LOSSES,

THE MOST DISTRESSING IS THE
LOSS OF OUR SELF-RESPECT.

HOW CAN WE FEEL THAT OUR WORK
HAS ANY DIGNITY OR IMPORTANCE

WHEN THE WORLD PLACES
SO LOW A VALUE

ON THE PRODUCTS OF OUR TOIL?

Narrator:
THINGS WERE EVEN WORSE

FOR CAROLINE'S NEIGHBORS,
THE FORESTERS.

HARRY FORESTER'S CROP HAD
WITHERED IN THE DROUGHT,

AND WHAT LITTLE WHEAT
HE HAD MANAGED TO HARVEST

BROUGHT IN ONLY
17 CENTS A BUSHEL.

THE LAND HE HAD PURCHASED
NEAR BOISE CITY

TURNED OUT TO HAVE A
PRIOR CLAIM ON ITS TITLE

AND WAS TAKEN FROM HIM.

THE MORTGAGE ON HIS
ORIGINAL HOMESTEAD,

WHICH HE HAD USED TO
BUY THE EXTRA LAND,

COULD NOT BE PAID,
AND HE LOST IT, TOO.

HE WAS FORCED TO MOVE HIS WIFE
AND 9 CHILDREN TO RENTED LAND.

HARRY FORESTER'S DREAM OF
AMASSING ENOUGH PROPERTY

TO GIVE EACH OF HIS 5 SONS
640 ACRES WAS IN SHAMBLES.

NOW HE WOULD STRUGGLE SIMPLY
TO KEEP HIS LARGE FAMILY FED

AND WARM THROUGH THE WINTER.

Robert Forester: ONE THING,
WE WOULD DO CHORES.

OF COURSE, DOING CHORES
FOR A YOUNGSTER LIKE ME

WAS RIDING ALONG ON THE WAGON
AND PICKING UP COW CHIPS

AND COMING IN AND PILING
THEM BEHIND THE HOUSE

SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE
FUEL FOR THE FIRES.

OF COURSE, THEY DON'T SMELL
AT THAT POINT IN TIME,

UNLESS YOU HAPPEN TO GET ONE
THAT'S A LITTLE BIT FRESH.

Riney-Kehrberg: AT THE BEGINNING
OF THIS WHOLE SITUATION,

MOST PEOPLE ARE THINKING THIS
IS A SHORT-TERM PROBLEM.

WE'VE SEEN DROUGHTS BEFORE,
WE'VE SEEN DUST STORMS BEFORE,

WE'VE HAD HIGH WINDS BEFORE,
AND YOU WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR.

AND EVERYONE ASSUMED THAT NEXT
YEAR THINGS WOULD BE BETTER.

AND THEN...THE NEXT YEAR,

THEY ASSUME THINGS
WILL BE BETTER,

AND IT DOESN'T GET BETTER.

Narrator: THROUGHOUT
THE UNITED STATES,

THINGS WERE GETTING WORSE.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BANKS
AND BUSINESSES HAD FAILED.

IN JUST ONE DAY, ONE QUARTER OF
THE ENTIRE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

WENT UNDER THE
AUCTIONEER'S HAMMER.

FROM SAN FRANCISCO
TO NEW YORK,

THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS
WERE REDUCED TO LIVING

IN SHANTYTOWNS CALLED
"HOOVERVILLES"

AFTER THE PRESIDENT THEY HAD
COME TO BLAME FOR EVERYTHING.

THAT NOVEMBER, VOTERS TOOK
OUT THEIR DESPAIR

AND ANGER ON HERBERT HOOVER

AND ELECTED FRANKLIN
DELANO ROOSEVELT

TO LEAD THE NATION
THROUGH THE CRISIS.

THE NORMALLY REPUBLICAN
COUNTIES OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WENT DEMOCRATIC.

ROOSEVELT, THEY HOPED, WOULD
AT LEAST TRY TO HELP THEM.

BUT EVEN A PRESIDENT COULDN'T
CONTROL THE WEATHER.

THERE WAS NO RAIN AT ALL

IN CIMARRON COUNTY,
OKLAHOMA, IN MARCH OF 1933.

THE AGRICULTURAL AGENT THERE
PREDICTED THAT, AT BEST,

FARMERS MIGHT HARVEST 4 BUSHELS
OF WINTER WHEAT PER ACRE,

VERSUS THE PREVIOUS
YIELDS OF NEARLY 30.

AND NOW THE DUST STORMS
WERE BECOMING MORE FREQUENT.

INSTEAD OF THE 14 STORMS
OF 1932 CLASSIFIED AS THE WORST,

THERE WERE 38 IN 1933.

ONE STORM IN APRIL
LASTED 24 HOURS.

Shirley Forester McKenzie:
YOU COULD HARDLY AVOID

LOOKING TO THE WEST
TO SEE IF YOU COULD SEE

THIS RIM OF DUST THAT WAS
RISING ON THE HORIZON.

IT WAS EARTH COLORED.

WAY FAR AWAY,
BEGINNING TO RISE,

AND THE NEXT DAY,
PERHAPS IT WOULD BE BIGGER

AND COME QUICKER AND HIGHER,

AND THEN SUDDENLY,
YOU WERE JUST ENGULFED.

IT WAS OVERHEAD, AND YOU
COULDN'T SEE THE SUN.

AND THAT'S WHEN IT WAS
A REALLY BAD DAY.

AND DAY AFTER DAY,
IT WOULD BE THAT WAY--

DARK, BLACK, SCARY.

Robertson:
THE EXPERTS COULD TELL

WHERE THE DUST CAME FROM
BY THE COLOR.

NEW MEXICO HAD ONE COLOR,

AND OKLAHOMA, COMING FROM
THE OTHER DIRECTION,

HAD ANOTHER COLOR.

AND THEY WOULD SAY, "WELL,
WE'RE ENJOYING OKLAHOMA TODAY.

"WELL, WE'RE GETTING VISITED

BY ALL THE NEW MEXICANS
TODAY," AND SO FORTH.

Worster: THE BIG DUST STORMS
WERE FINE PARTICLES OF SOIL.

OTHERS WERE SANDIER BLOWS

THAT BLEW ALONG THE HIGHWAYS
AT LOW ELEVATION,

AND IT TOOK COULD TAKE THE
PAINT OFF YOUR AUTOMOBILE

OR YOUR HOUSE, LIKE SANDPAPER
BEING RUBBED AGAINST IT.

BUT THE ONES THAT WERE
THE MOST TERRIFYING

WERE THE ONES THAT WERE BASED
ON THESE VERY FINE PARTICLES

THAT ROSE UP INTO THE AIR
7,000, 8,000 FEET

IN THIS KIND OF BOILING WALL
OF DIRT COMING AT YOU

WITH GALE FORCE, 40-, 50-,
60-MILE-AN-HOUR WINDS.

THESE WERE THE
BLACK BLIZZARDS

THAT FRIGHTENED PEOPLE SO
MUCH DURING THOSE PERIODS.

Egan: WHEN ONE OF THESE DUSTERS
WOULD APPROACH FROM AFAR

AND THEY WOULD SEE IT
FOR THE FIRST TIME,

IT WAS LIKE A MOUNTAIN RANGE,

BECAUSE SOME CASES,
THE STORMS WERE 100 MILES,

150 MILES, 200 MILES WIDE
AND A MILE OR MORE HIGH.

SO IMAGINE DRIVING
ON A FLAT LAND

AND LOOKING OFF AND SEEING

A MOUNTAIN RANGE ITSELF
STARTING TO MOVE.

DAYLIGHT ITSELF
WOULD BE OBLITERATED.

SOMEONE TOLD ME IT WAS LIKE
"TWO MIDNIGHTS IN A JUG."

Dorothy Kleffman: ONE
PARTICULARLY BAD STORM WE HAD,

IT WAS IN THE DAYTIME,

AND IT ROLLED IN,
AND IT WAS SO BLACK

THAT YOU COULDN'T SEE YOUR HAND
IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE.

SO WE ALL GATHERED IN THE
KITCHEN, THE WHOLE FAMILY.

WE LIT THE KEROSENE LAMP,
AND THAT DIDN'T HELP VERY MUCH.

AND MOTHER HAD TEA TOWELS THAT
WERE MADE OUT OF FLOUR SACKS

BECAUSE WE WERE ALSO
IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

WE JUST TOOK THEM AND
DRAPED THEM OVER OUR HEAD,

DOWN THE FACE--YOU KNOW,
JUST THE WHOLE HEAD.

YOU COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING.

YOU SAT THERE,
AND YOU COULDN'T TALK

OR VISIT WITH
ANYBODY VERY MUCH,

BUT THAT WET TOWEL
WOULD CATCH THE DUST.

AND SOMETIMES THOSE TOWELS
WERE PRETTY BLACK

BY THE TIME WE TOOK THEM OFF.

Ina Kay Labrier:
IT'D GET SO BAD,

YOU COULDN'T EVEN
SEE TO DRIVE.

YOU COULDN'T SEE THE SIDES
OF THE ROAD WITH YOUR LIGHTS ON.

YOU COULDN'T TELL WHETHER
YOU WAS ON THE ROAD

OR ON THE SIDES
OR WHERE YOU WERE.

Glover: SOMETIMES WE WERE CAUGHT
IN THE HOUSE OR IN THE CAR,

AND WE'D JUST SAT THERE
UNTIL IT ALL BLEW OVER.

IT JUST WAS OLD BROWN DIRT
A-BLOWIN' ALL AROUND THE CAR,

AND WE JUST SAT THERE UNTIL
IT KIND OF CLEARED UP ENOUGH

SO YOU COULD SEE THE ROAD TO
GO ON TO GET TO THE HOUSE.

AND IT WAS GRITTY AND DIRTY,

AND YOU HAD TO WASH
YOUR MOUTH OFF

WHENEVER YOU GOT IN THE HOUSE
SO YOU WEREN'T EATING DIRT.

IF YOU'D GO OUT AND PICK UP
A HANDFUL OF DIRT

AND STICK IT IN YOUR MOUTH,
THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT'D FEEL.

Egan: ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT HAPPENED JUST BEFORE A DUSTER HIT WAS

THERE WAS THIS AMAZING
STATIC ELECTRICITY IN THE AIR.

PEOPLE USED TO CARRY
A CHAIN IN THEIR CAR

TO GROUND THE ELECTRICITY.

YOU DIDN'T DRIVE ANYWHERE
WITHOUT HAVING THIS CHAIN

THAT YOU'D THEN THROW OUT
AND DRAG IT ALONG THE GROUND

TO GROUND THE ELECTRICITY
BECAUSE YOUR RADIO WOULD GO OUT,

YOUR ELECTRICAL STUFF
WOULD SHORT.

AND EVERY PERSON
WOULD TALK ABOUT

HOW YOU LITERALLY COULDN'T
SHAKE ANOTHER PERSON'S HAND

BEFORE ONE OF THESE
DUSTERS BECAUSE THE STATIC WAS SO STRONG.

IT WAS THE KINETIC ENERGY
THAT WAS IN THE AIR JUST BEFORE A DUSTER HIT.

I CAN REMEMBER
FEELING IT IN MY HAIR.

IT WAS JUST KIND OF LIKE

YOUR HEAD TINGLES
OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW.

YOUR HAIR GETS KIND OF WIRY.

Beck: MORE DUST AND
THE LONGER THE RIDE,

THE HIGHER THE CHARGE,

UNTIL FINALLY IT'D GET
SUCH A POWERFUL CHARGE

THAT IF YOU REACH
OUT TO TOUCH YOUR CAR,

THE ELECTRICITY WILL JUMP OUT
ABOUT 6 INCHES TO MEET YOU

AND KNOCK YOU
FLAT ON YOUR BUTT.

BUT IT WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THAT.

DON'T FORGET,
THIS IS A STORM,

WHICH MEANS IT HAD
A BEGINNING AND AN END.

AND IN BETWEEN STORMS, COULDN'T
HAVE BEEN MORE BEAUTIFUL.

THE SKIES WERE CRYSTAL-BLUE,
AND THE CLOUDS WERE

THOSE PUFFY WHITE
SUMMERTIME CLOUDS,

WITHOUT A DROP OF WATER
IN 50 OF THEM.

BUT I CAN STILL REMEMBER MY
FATHER LOOKING UP AT THE SKY

AND PRAYING THAT IT'D RAIN.

BUT NATURALLY,
IT NEVER WOULD

BECAUSE THOSE WEREN'T
RAIN CLOUDS AND NEVER WOULD BE.

Narrator: IN THE TIMES
BETWEEN STORMS,

THE FARMERS AND TOWNSPEOPLE
TRIED THEIR BEST

TO CARRY ON
WITH THEIR LIVES,

BUT THE LAND
THEY CALLED HOME

WAS BEING REARRANGED
BEFORE THEIR VERY EYES.

OH, JUST DIRT, PILES OF
DIRT AROUND ANYTHING,

LIKE THE FENCE ROWS OR SOMETHING
LIKE A PLOW IMPLEMENT

OR ANYTHING OUT IN THE YARD,

IT MIGHT BE NEARLY
COVERED UP WITH DIRT.

ANYTHING LOOSE BANKED UP AROUND
SOMETHING OR BLEW AWAY.

Kleffman: IT WOULD DRIFT
UP THE SIDE OF THE BARN.

SO YOU COULD WALK UP ON THE
ROOF OF THE BARN, YOU KNOW?

YOU JUST WALK UP LIKE
YOU HAD A LADD TRE,

BUT IT WOULD BE DIRT.

Narrator: THE STORMS
HAD PUSHED

DRIED-UP RUSSIAN THISTLES--
TUMBLEWEEDS--

ACROSS THE OPEN GROUND BY
THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.

WHEREVER THEY PILED UP
AGAINST BARBED WIRE FENCES,

THEY CREATED EDDIES IN THE WIND,
AND THE DIRT ACCUMULATED.

THISTLES GOT
IN THE FENCE,

AND THEN THE SAND GOT IN THE
THISTLES, SO CONSEQUENTLY,

WHAT CATTLE WAS STILL ALIVE
WALKED OVER THE FENCE.

EVERY PLACE THERE
WAS A FENCE,

YOU COULD ALMOST WALK
OVER MOST OF THEM.

Narrator: WHERE THE DIRT
AND SAND HADN'T PILED UP,

THE LAND HAD BEEN
SWEPT CLEAN OF TOPSOIL.

Kleffman: IT WAS BARE.
IT WAS HARD.

YOU COULD TAKE A BROOM
AND SWEEP IT

JUST LIKE YOU COULD
A WOOD FLOOR.

IT WAS HARD,
JUST LIKE CEMENT.

Worster: SO YOU COULD
WALK OUT ONTO YOUR FARM,

AND INSTEAD OF FINE DIRT,

YOU FOUND THIS HARDPAN
LAYER ON THE TOP.

IMPOSSIBLE TO CULTIVATE.

YOUR DIRT WOULD BE IN SOMEBODY
ELSE'S FARM OR A COUNTY AWAY.

Glover: YOU KNOW, THE DUST WAS
SO BAD THAT THE CATTLE DIED.

THEY FOUND SMALL HERDS OF
CATTLE THAT WERE JUST FILLED UP

WITH DIRT IN THEIR
LUNGS AND THEIR NOSES.

I CAN REMEMBER SEEING
OUR COWS' NOSES

THAT WERE JUST
MUD ON THE END

WHERE THEY TRIED
TO BREATHE AND COULDN'T.

Worster: THEY DIED
OF SUFFOCATION.

WHATEVER WILDLIFE WAS OUT THERE
DIED OF SUFFOCATION.

BUT ANIMALS ALSO SIMPLY
WANDERED AWAY

NOT KNOWING WHERE
THEY BELONGED

AND WOULD CLIMB OVER THESE
DUST DRIFTS AND BE LOST.

SO IT WAS REALLY
DEVASTATING

FOR LIVESTOCK IN TERMS
OF LOSS OF LIFE.

Narrator: HOUSEWIVES NURTURED
THEIR GARDENS WITH WELL WATER,

BUT THE ABRASIVE WINDS,
THE SHIFTING DIRT--

EVEN, SOMETIMES, THE CHARGE OF
STATIC ELECTRICITY IN THE AIR--

OFTEN KILLED THE VEGETABLES
THEIR FAMILIES WERE COUNTING ON.

Virginia Frantz: A STORM WOULD
COME, AND THERE WOULD BE

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LEFT OF IT.

AND MOTHER TRIED HER BEST
TO KEEP THAT FROM HAPPENING.

SHE WOULD DIG POSTHOLES
TO PLANT TOMATOES IN

SO THAT THE WIND
WOULDN'T CUT THEM OFF

UNTIL THEY GOT
BIGGER AND STRONGER

TO WHERE THEY MIGHT HAVE
SOME TOMATOES THEN.

AND SHE DUG DEEP ROWS
TO PUT ANYTHING IN.

AND OF COURSE, SOMETIMES THEY
WOULD FILL UP WITH DIRT.

Narrator: AFTER SURVEYING THE
RESIDENTS OF MEADE, KANSAS,

A REPORTER CALCULATED
THAT THE AVERAGE DAMAGE

FROM A SINGLE STORM
WAS $25 PER HOME.

WHAT COULDN'T BE
MEASURED, HE SAID,

WAS "THE LOSS OF DISPOSITION
OF THE HOUSEWIVES."

Kleffman: MY MOTHER
WAS VERY CLEAN.

HER HOUSE WAS ALWAYS CLEAN,

AND SHE TRIED TO
KEEP US KIDS CLEAN.

SHE WOULD TAKE ALL HER
CURTAINS DOWN ONE DAY

AND WASH THEM AND
HANG THEM BACK UP.

A DIRT STORM WOULD
COME IN THAT NIGHT,

AND THEY WERE JUST LIKE THEY
WERE BEFORE SHE WASHED THEM.

AND THAT WENT ON
DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY,

AND ONCE IN A WHILE,
YOU WOULD HEAR OF SOME WOMAN

THAT JUST COULDN'T
TAKE IT ANYMORE,

AND SHE'D COMMIT SUICIDE.

Robertson: IT BLEW THAT DIRT
INTO THE ATTIC OF THE HOUSE.

A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE
WOULD GET UP OF A MORNING,

YOU COULD LOOK UP
AT THE CEILING

AND IF THERE WAS A SPLIT OR
BETWEEN BOARDS OR WHATEVER,

THAT DIRT WOULD JUST
BE COMING RIGHT DOWN

LIKE THIS ON THE TABLE.

AND WHEN WE'D GET UP IN
THE MORNING, A LOT OF TIMES

THERE WOULD BE, SAY,
FROM AN INCH

TO 5 INCHES OF DIRT
JUST PILED LIKE THAT.

AND YOU CLEANED THAT OFF,
AND YOU EAT,

AND YOU EAT THE DIRT
IF IT'S THERE.

IF IT ISN'T,
WELL, YOU DO GOOD.

Floyd Coen:
WHEN WE SET THE TABLE,

WE ALWAYS SET THE PLATE
UPSIDE-DOWN--

GLASSES OR CUPS, WHATEVER
IT WAS, UPSIDE-DOWN.

AND STILL I THINK YOU'D TURN
THEM OVER AND SHAKE THEM,

LOOK AT THEM BEFORE YOU
PUT ANYTHING IN THEM.

MY FAMILY THINKS THAT I'M KIND
OF STUPID, AND I GUESS I AM,

BUT I STILL--IF I GET
A GLASS OUT OF A CABINET,

I RINSE IT OUT BEFORE
I DRINK OUT OF IT.

Kleffman: WHEN WE WOULD
GO TO BED AT NIGHT,

SOMETIMES A DUST STORM
WOULD COME IN,

AND WHEN WE GOT UP
THE NEXT MORNING,

OUR COVERS WOULD BE COMPLETELY
COVERED WITH DUST,

AND THE ONLY CLEAN
PLACE ON OUR PILLOW

WOULD BE WHERE
OUR HEAD HAD LAID.

Henderson portrayer:
DUST TO EAT,

AND DUST TO BREATHE,
AND DUST TO DRINK.

DUST IN THE BEDS
AND IN THE FLOUR BIN,

ON DISHES AND WALLS
AND WINDOWS,

IN HAIR AND EYES AND EARS
AND TEETH AND THROATS,

TO SAY NOTHING OF THE HEAPED-UP
ACCUMULATION ON FLOORS

AND WINDOW SILLS AFTER
ONE OF THE BAD DAYS.

THIS WIND-DRIVEN DUST,
FINE AS THE FINEST FLOUR,

PENETRATES WHEREVER
AIR CAN GO.

Narrator: AS IF
THE WIND AND DUST

WEREN'T ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH,

HORDES OF JACKRABBITS,
DRIVEN BY HUNGER,

NOW INVADED WHAT PASTURES,
CROPS, AND GARDENS WERE LEFT.

Kleffman: THEY ATE
EVERYTHING GREEN THERE WAS.

THE FARMERS HAD
KILLED OFF THE COYOTES,

AND THAT UPSET THE
NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS,

AND THE RABBITS
JUST EXPLODED,

AND THEY WOULD EAT ANYTHING
GREEN THEY FOUND,

AND THEY WOULD EAT
YOUR GARDEN UP.

McCoy: THERE'D BE
THOUSANDS OF RABBITS.

THEY'D EAT EVERYTHING--EAT THE
BARK OFF OF THE FENCE POSTS.

DAD PUT NEW POSTS UP ON OUR
PLACE WHEN HE'D DONE IT,

AND IT WAS CEDAR POST
THAT HAD BARK ON IT,

AND THEY ATE THAT
BARK OFF OF IT.

Narrator: TO COMBAT
THE INVASION,

ENTIRE COMMUNITIES BEGAN
ORGANIZING "RABBIT DRIVES."

YOU'D ADVERTISE IT WITH FLYERS
ALL OVER THE PLACE IN ADVANCE--

"ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON
ON THE FARM OF JOE SMITH

"WOULD BE A RABBIT DRIVE.

PLEASE COME.
BRING THE FAMILY."

SO ON THAT AFTERNOON,

THERE MIGHT BE 50
TO 100 FAMILIES SHOW UP.

Wells: THE PEOPLE WOULD
GO OUT IN A SEMI-CIRCLE

AND THEN BRING THEM IN.

AND THEY HAD CLUBS,

AND THEY'D USE
WAGON SPOKES FOR CLUBS.

WHAT STARTED OUT
AS A PEACEFUL PICNIC

SORT OF TURNED INTO A RIOT--

DOGS BARKING AND YIPPING,
PEOPLE YELLING,

KIDS SCREAMING,
RABBITS HOPPING IN THE AIR.

AND THEY JUST--WE'D KILL THEM
UNTIL WE JUST GIVE OUT.

THEN MORE KIDS WOULD GET IN
AND GO FIGHTING THEM.

THEY'D KILL THEM
BY THE THOUSANDS.

Dale Coen: YOU'D CLUB THE
RABBITS TO DEATH,

WHICH WAS AN UNSIGHTLY THING,

AND IT WAS A HORRIBLE
THING TO DO.

THEY WOULD SCREAM, AND I
CAN STILL HEAR RABBITS,

THE NOISE THEY'D MAKE.

I WENT ON ONE, AND THAT
WAS ENOUGH FOR ME.

Narrator: IN THE EARLY
SPRING OF 1934,

A SNOWSTORM BLANKETED
NO MAN'S LAND.

THE FLAKES, MIXED WITH AIRBORNE
DIRT, WERE DARKENED--

LOCALS CALLED IT
A "SNUSTER"--

BUT AT LEAST IT WAS
A LITTLE MOISTURE.

IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE,
A LIGHT RAIN FELL.

MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT
THE DROUGHT HAD BROKEN.

"THE GOOSE HANGS HIGH,"
A LOCAL NEWSPAPER REPORTED.

"FARMERS ARE GOING
DOWN THE FURROW

WITH BRIGHTER DAYS IN SIGHT
AND A SONG IN THEIR HEARTS."

Robertson: AND I REMEMBER
ONE TIME IT RAINED,

AND WE WERE ALL
JUST THRILLED,

AND THE CHILDREN WENT
OUT IN THE STREETS

AND BAREFOOT AND DANCING
IN THE RAIN

AND LET THE RAIN FALL
ON THEIR TONGUES.

WE WERE JUST ECSTATIC,

AND THE MOTHERS CALLED THAT IT
WAS TIME TO COME IN FOR SUPPER,

AND NOBODY WOULD GO IN.

SO FINALLY THE NEIGHBORS
ALL BROUGHT SUPPER

TO THE FRONT PORCHES,

AND WE HAD SUPPER ON
THE FRONT PORCHES

AND DANCING IN THE STREETS.

IT WAS WONDERFUL.

AND WE THOUGHT MAYBE
THE TIDE HAD TURNED.

BUT, YOU KNOW, AFTER THAT,
HERE CAME THE DUST AGAIN.

Narrator: 1934 WOULD TURN OUT
TO BE EVEN DRIER AND HOTTER

THAN THE YEARS BEFORE--
PART OF A NATIONWIDE DROUGHT

THAT AFFECTED 46
OF THE 48 STATES.

IN MAY, THE TEMPERATURE HAD
ALREADY REACHED 100 DEGREES

IN NORTH DAKOTA, WHERE THE
DROUGHT WAS A YEAR OLDER.

PARTS OF NEBRASKA, WHERE
TEMPERATURES HIT 118,

WERE ALREADY BLOWING.

THEN, ON MAY 9th, A MASSIVE
WEATHER FRONT MOVING EASTWARD

BEGAN PICKING UP LOOSE SOIL
FROM WYOMING AND MONTANA,

THEN NEBRASKA
AND THE DAKOTAS--

ULTIMATELY 350 MILLION
TONS OF IT,

LIFTED TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF FEET IN THE AIR.

CARRIED BY HIGH-LEVEL WINDS,

IT CROSSED IOWA, MINNESOTA,
AND WISCONSIN,

AND AS IT PASSED OVER
CHICAGO, IT DEPOSITED

AN ESTIMATED 12 MILLION
POUNDS OF DUST--

4 POUNDS FOR EACH
RESIDENT OF THE CITY.

ON MAY 10th,
IT DARKENED THE SKIES

OVER DETROIT, CLEVELAND,
AND BUFFALO.

BY THE MORNING OF THE 11th,
THE STORM ENVELOPED

THE EASTERN SEABOARD
FROM BOSTON TO SAVANNAH.

IN NEW YORK CITY, STREET LIGHTS
WERE TURNED ON AT MID-DAY,

THE THICK HAZE OBSCURED
TOURISTS' VIEWS OF CENTRAL PARK

FROM THE TOP OF THE
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING,

AND A SHIP DELAYED ITS
ENTRY INTO THE HARBOR

BECAUSE THE CAPTAIN HAD TROUBLE
SEEING THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

IN WASHINGTON, DC,

DUST DESCENDED ON
THE NATIONAL MALL,

EVEN SIFTED INTO
THE WHITE HOUSE,

WHERE PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
WAS HOLDING A PRESS CONFERENCE

PROMISING RELIEF TO THE
DROUGHT-STRICKEN GREAT PLAINS.

THE NEXT DAY, SHIPS 300
MILES FROM THE COAST

REPORTED DIRT FALLING
ONTO THEIR DECKS.

Worster: PEOPLE WERE
SHOCKED IN THE EAST,

AND THEY BEGAN, FOR THE
FIRST TIME, TO ASK QUESTIONS--

WHAT IS HAPPENING OUT
ON THE GREAT PLAINS?

Narrator: THOUGH IT ORIGINATED
ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS,

EASTERNERS REFERRED TO IT
ALL AS "KANSAS DUST,"

AND MANY OF THEM QUICKLY
HAD SUGGESTIONS ABOUT

HOW TO STOP IT FROM BLOWING
ACROSS THE CONTINENT.

ONE COMPANY PROPOSED COVERING
THE PLAINS IN CONCRETE,

WITH HOLES CAREFULLY PLACED
FOR PLANTING SEEDS,

WHILE A STEEL MANUFACTURER
IN PITTSBURGH THOUGHT

ITS WIRE NETTING
MIGHT WORK BETTER.

THE BARBER ASPHALT COMPANY
OF NEW JERSEY ESTIMATED

IT COULD SPREAD ITS PRODUCT
OVER THE LAND FOR $5.00 AN ACRE.

A WOMAN FROM
NORTH CAROLINA SUGGESTED

THAT SHIPPING JUNK AUTOS WEST

WOULD SIMULTANEOUSLY
BEAUTIFY HER STATE

WHILE STOPPING THE WIND
EROSION ON THE PLAINS.

WELL, EASTERNERS
IN PARTICULAR,

OR ANYONE WHO DIDN'T LIVE
ON THE GREAT PLAINS,

HAD NO IDEA OF THE
SCALE OF THIS PROBLEM

OR HOW TO GO ABOUT
SOLVING IT.

SO THEIR FIRST IDEA
WAS BASICALLY

TO COVER THE GREAT PLAINS
SOMEHOW, COVER THESE SOILS--

BRINGING ROCKS FROM
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS,

I GUESS ROLLING THEM
DOWN THE MOUNTAINSIDE--

ANYTHING TO COVER THIS AREA.

THEY HAD NO IDEA THAT
THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT

A HUNDRED MILLION ACRES.

Narrator:
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT

AND HIS SECRETARY OF
AGRICULTURE, HENRY WALLACE,

HAD IDEAS OF THEIR OWN--
FROM ENCOURAGING FARMERS

TO PLANT FEWER CROPS
TO FINDING WAYS TO STABILIZE

THE LOOSE SOILS THROUGH
BETTER PLOWING TECHNIQUES--

BUT THOSE PROGRAMS WERE
STILL IN THEIR INFANCY.

NO ONE KNEW IF
THEY WOULD WORK.

DURING A STOP IN DROUGHT-RAVAGED
NORTH DAKOTA THAT SUMMER,

ROOSEVELT ADMITTED AS MUCH.

"I WOULD NOT TRY
TO FOOL YOU BY SAYING

WE KNOW THE SOLUTION" TO THE
CRISIS, THE PRESIDENT SAID.

"WE DON'T. BUT WHAT
I CAN TELL YOU

"FROM THE BOTTOM
OF MY HEART IS THIS--

"IF IT IS POSSIBLE FOR US
TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM,

WE ARE GOING TO DO IT."

SOME OF THE PEOPLE LINING
THE ROUTE OF HIS MOTORCADE

HELD UP SIGNS THAT
NOTED HOW ROOSEVELT HAD

ALREADY ENDED PROHIBITION.

"YOU GAVE US BEER," THE PLACARDS
SAID. "NOW GIVE US WATER."

ROOSEVELT ACKNOWLEDGED THEIR
MESSAGE, AND RESPONDED,

"THAT BEER PART WAS EASY."

A SERIES OF RAINS FELL SHORTLY
AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S VISIT

AND HELPED EASE THE DROUGHT
ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS.

PEOPLE THERE CALLED IT
"ROOSEVELT WEATHER."

BUT FARTHER SOUTH,
THERE WAS NO SUCH RELIEF.

WHILE THE OUTLINES OF THE
WORST-HIT AREA

WOULD SHIFT OVER THE YEARS,

SOMETIMES BROADENING
OR NARROWING,

BY THE SUMMER OF 1934,
THE GOVERNMENT HAD OFFICIALLY

IDENTIFIED THE GEOGRAPHIC
HEART OF THE DUST CRISIS.

IT WAS NEAR BOISE CITY
IN CIMARRON COUNTY,

THE WESTERN TIP OF OKLAHOMA--
IN NO MAN'S LAND.

ONE THIRD OF THE COUNTY'S
LAND WAS BLOWING.

EVEN SOME PASTURES OF
NATIVE BUFFALO GRASS

THAT HAD NOT BN EEOWED
HAD BEEN BURIED

UNDER DRTSF DIRT AND
SAND, SOME 10 FEET HIG

A FEW OF ROOSEVELT'S OTHER
NEW DEAL PROGRAMS,

AIMED AT EASING THE HUNGER
AND JOBLESSNESS

OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION,

HAD NOW REACHED
THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

IN CIMARRON COUNTY ALONE,
NEEDY RESIDENTS RECEIVED

2 TONS OF SMOKED PORK,
16 TONS OF BEEF,

17 TONS OF FLOUR,
AND 33 TONS OF COAL

THROUGH A SURPLUS
COMMODITIES PROGRAM.

ONE QUARTER OF THE
COUNTY'S POPULATION

NOW DEPENDED ON
NEW DEAL JOBS.

BUT NONE OF THAT ADDRESSED
THE MAIN CALAMITY.

"WE ARE GETTING DEEPER
AND DEEPER IN DUST,"

THE "BOISE CITY NEWS"
REPORTED.

THE SAME WAS TRUE IN ALL
THE OTHER SURROUNDING COUNTIES

IN TEXAS, NEW MEXICO,
COLORADO, KANSAS,

AND THE REST OF THE
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE.

Worster: BY 1934,
THE ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE

ON THE GREAT PLAINS
WAS PRETTY CLEAR.

IT WOULD HAVE,
AT THAT POINT, CLASSIFIED

AS ONE OF THE WORST
ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS

IN AMERICAN HISTORY ALREADY.

Henderson portrayer:
WE ARE TRYING TO HOPE

THAT THE WORST IS OVER,
YET TODAY, AFTER WE THOUGHT

THE DROUGHT HAD BEEN
EFFECTIVELY BROKEN,

WE HAD ANOTHER TERRIBLE
DAY OF VIOLENT WIND,

DRIFTING CLOUDS OF DUST,

AND RUSSIAN THISTLES RACING
LIKE MAD ACROSS THE PLAINS

AND PILING UP IN HEAD-HIGH
IMPASSABLE BANKS.

WE FEEL AS IF THE
ADMINISTRATION IS REALLY MAKING

A SINCERE EFFORT TO
IMPROVE GENERAL CONDITIONS,

BUT THEY HAVE
A TREMENDOUS TASK,

MADE HARDER, OF COURSE,
BY ALL WHO CLING TENACIOUSLY

TO SPECIAL PRIVILEGES
OR OPPORTUNITIES OF THE PAST.

Narrator: THAT SUMMER,
FARMERS GATHERED

AT THE PALACE THEATER
IN BOISE CITY

TO HEAR DETAILS ON
A NEW GOVERNMENT PROGRAM

DESIGNED TO
STABILIZE BEEF PRICES

BY REDUCING THE SURPLUS OF
CATTLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

IN THE GREAT PLAINS, IT WAS ALSO
MEANT TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM

OF ANIMALS WASTING AWAY FOR
LACK OF ADEQUATE PASTURAGE.

ALREADY, HOMESTEADERS LIKE
CAROLINE AND WILL HENDERSON

HAD RESORTED TO
HARVESTING RUSSIAN THISTLES

TO FEED THEIR COWS.

SOME RANCHERS WERE
GRINDING UP YUCCA CACTUS

OR BURNING OFF THE NETTLES
OF PRICKLY PEARS IN AN EFFORT

TO GIVE THEIR CATTLE
SOMETHING--ANYTHING--TO EAT.

Robertson: DADDY SAID,
"WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY

"TO BUY FOOD FOR THE CATTLE,

"BUT IF WE CAN CUT THISTLES
AND STACK THEM,

THERE'S MORE FOOD VALUE IN
THAT THAN NEARLY ANYTHING."

AND OUR JOB WAS TO TRAMP
THOSE THISTLES DOWN.

NOW, IF YOU WANT A
BAD JOB, THAT'S ONE.

THOSE THISTLES GET DOWN YOUR
PANT LEGS INTO YOUR SHOES,

THOSE LITTLE STICKERS, AND YOU
CAN STAND IT ABOUT SO LONG,

BUT PRETTY SOON YOU GOT TO
STOP, GET OUT A STICKER.

Narrator: TO ENCOURAGE
FARMERS AND RANCHERS

TO CULL THEIR HERDS,

THE NEW GOVERNMENT PROGRAM
WOULD PAY THEM UP TO $16 A HEAD

FOR A COW HEALTHY ENOUGH TO
BE SHIPPED TO A PACKING HOUSE,

WHERE IT WOULD BE
SLAUGHTERED AND CANNED

FOR DISTRIBUTION
TO THE POOR.

CATTLE DEEMED UNFIT
FOR CONSUMPTION

WOULD BRING A MINIMUM
OF $1.00 A HEAD

BUT WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY
KILLED AND BURIED.

GOVERNMENT AGENTS FANNED
OUT ACROSS NO MAN'S LAND

TO MAKE THE PURCHASES,
OVERSEE THE SHIPMENTS,

AND WHERE NECESSARY,

PAY MEN TO PUT THEIR HERDS
UNDER THE DRIFTING SOIL.

NATIONWIDE, THE PROGRAM
WAS A SUCCESS.

$111 MILLION WAS SPENT
TO PURCHASE 8.3 MILLION CATTLE,

AND PRICES WERE STABILIZED.

IN CIMARRON COUNTY,

THE GOVERNMENT PURCHASED
12,499 HEAD OF CATTLE IN 1934,

PAYING $164,449 IN MUCH-NEEDED
CASH TO LOCAL RANCHERS.

DESPERATE AS THEY WERE
FOR SOME INCOME,

IT WAS A BITTER PILL
FOR MANY TO SWALLOW,

HARDER STILL
ON THEIR CHILDREN.

WHAT THEY DID WAS,
THEY TOOK A BULLDOZER

AND MADE A MAMMOTH DITCH,
A MAMMOTH DITCH,

AND DROVE ALL THE CATTLE
DOWN IN THERE.

THEN THERE WERE
MEN ABOVE WITH RIFLES,

I WOULD SAY MAYBE
10 OR 20 MEN WITH RIFLES,

AND THEY SHOT THE CATTLE.

MY FATHER, WHEN OUR CATTLE
WAS DRIVEN INTO THIS DITCH

TO BE SHOT, HE SAID,
"THERE'S A LITTLE CALF.

CAN I BUTCHER THAT CALF
FOR FOOD FOR US?"

THEY SAID, "NO. THEY ALL
HAVE TO BE DESTROYED."

I'LL NEVER FORGET
TO MY DYING DAY

STANDING THERE AS A LITTLE BOY,
I WAS PROBABLY 8 OR 9 YEARS OLD,

WHEN THEY STARTED
SHOOTING THOSE CATTLE.

AND IT'S A SIGHT
TO THIS DAY THAT,

THE AVERAGE PERSON
COULDN'T STAND IT,

BUT AS A LITTLE KID,

IT WAS VERY ROUGH BECAUSE
THAT WAS OUR STOCK.

AND YOU GOT
SOME MONEY FOR IT.

BUT THAT DIDN'T MATTER.

THEY KILLED THE STOCK.

Robertson: AND THEY SAID,
"IF YOU CAN GET COWBOYS

"TO GET THOSE CATTLE TOGETHER,
WE'LL JUST RUSH THEM,

"AND THEY'LL FALL IN THAT DITCH,

AND THEN WE'LL KILL THEM
AND COVER THEM UP."

AND...AND DADDY
COULD HARDLY...

[CHOKING UP]

I'M SORRY.

BUT HE COULD HARDLY DO THAT.

AND I NEVER WILL FORGET MY
BROTHER AND I STANDING THERE

AND WATCHING THEM SHOOT
THOSE LITTLE CALVES,

AND WE COULD
HARDLY STAND IT.

BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY DID.

Riney-Kehrberg: ANYBODY WHO HAD
LIVED ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS

FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME KNEW THAT
THERE WERE PERIODIC DROUGHTS,

KNEW THAT THE WIND
BLEW IN THE SPRING,

KNEW THAT THERE WERE
GOING TO BE DUST STORMS.

WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE 1930s
IS HOW LONG THE DROUGHT LASTS.

THEY WERE ALWAYS
BATTLING AGAINST HOPE

BECAUSE YOU WOULD SEE
THAT MAYBE THERE WAS

SOME RAIN ON THE HORIZON,
BUT IT WOULD FALL

ON SOMEBODY ELSE'S FIELD
AND NOT YOURS.

YOU WOULD SEE SOME CLOUDS
GATHER, AND YOU WOULD HOPE

THAT THIS WAS GOING
TO BE GOOD NEWS,

BUT INSTEAD IT WAS
GOING TO BE DIRT.

HOPE KEPT THEM GOING,
BUT HOPE ALSO MEANT

THAT THEY WERE BEI
CONSTANTLY DISAPPOINTED.

Brown: MY DAD COULD TELL IF IT
WAS GONNBE REALLY BAD DAY

BY LOOKING OUT THE BACK DOOR
AT THE SUNRISE,

AND IF THE SUN WAS RED,

HE'D SAY, "OH, IT'S
GONNA BE A BAD DAY."

THAT DISCOURAGED ME
EVEN WHEN I WAS LITTLE

IF I HEARD HIM SAY THAT.

Narrator: BY 1934, PROPERTY
VALUES AROUND BOISE CITY

HAD DECLINED BY 90%,

AND MORE THAN HALF
OF THE LANDOWNERS

WERE DELINQUENT
ON THEIR TAXES.

EACH WEEK, THE LOCAL PAPER
CARRIED NOTICES

OF UPCOMING SHERIFF'S SALES

OF FARMS BEING PUT
ON THE AUCTION BLOCK

BECAUSE OF UNPAID MORTGAGES.

EVERY FAMILY, EVERY FARM,
EVERY BUSINESS WAS AFFECTED.

THE TELEPHONE COMPANY
THAT HAD OPENED

IN THE RURAL PART OF
NO MAN'S LAND WENT UNDER.

THE PALACE THEATER
SHUT ITS DOORS--

UNTIL ENOUGH PEOPLE PERSUADED
THE OWNER TO REOPEN.

THEY NEEDED MOVIES TO HELP

THEM TAKE THEIR MINDS
OFF THEIR TROUBLES.

NO ONE KNEW WHAT THE
NEXT CALAMITY WOULD BE

OR WHEN THE HARD
TIMES MIGHT END.

WHEN HE LOST YET ANOTHER
CROP TO THE DROUGHT,

PAULINE HODGES' FATHER
FOUND HIMSELF

HARD UP AGAINST
HIS MORTGAGE.

Hodges: I THINK HE MUST
HAVE BEEN SCARED TO DEATH

BECAUSE HE HAD RELATIVE
LITTLE EDUCATION.

FARMING WAS ALL HE KNEW HOW
TO DO, ALL HE'D EVER DONE,

AND TO LOOK OUT
AND SEE THAT FIELD

SOLID DUST,
MOUNDS OF DUST.

HE'D SAY, "OH, DORA,
IT'S GOING TO GET BETTER.

IT'LL GET BETTER."

AND HE WOULD TALK ABOUT
HIS BANKER IN LIBERAL,

AND HE'D SAY, "OH, MR. IGO

IS GOING TO LET US CONTINUE
FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER."

HE KEEPS SAYING, "OH, PAUL,
IT WON'T GET ANY WORSE."

HE CARRIED US FOR
PROBABLY 3 YEARS

BEYOND WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE,
KEEPING THE HOPE

THAT WE WERE GOING TO GET RAIN
AND TIMES WERE GONNA GET BETTER

AND IF WE JUST HAD A CROP,
WE COULD PAY OFF THAT MORTGAGE.

FINALLY, THE BANK
WAS DESPERATE,

AND IN THE WINTER OF '34-'35,
THEY FORECLOSED.

Narrator: THEY MOVED INTO A
VACANT 3-ROOM HOUSE IN TOWN,

AND HER FATHER MANAGED
TO FIND A GOVERNMENT JOB

BUILDING ROADS THAT HELPED
KEEP THE FAMILY FED.

Hodges: HE MADE $3.00
A DAY TO START WITH,

AND WHEN HE BECAME
FOREMAN, HE MADE $5.00.

BUT EVEN AS YOUNG AS I WAS,

I REMEMBER SEEING
THE CHANGE IN HIM

FROM THE SELF-CONFIDENT
PERSON THAT HE'D BEEN

TO SOMEBODY WHO WAS
REALLY DEFEATED.

AND FRANKLY,
HE NEVER RECOVERED.

Narrator:
OVER IN FOLLETT, TEXAS,

TRIXIE TRAVIS BROWN'S
FATHER AND GRANDFATHER

WERE TRYING TO HOLD ON TO
THEIR HARDWARE BUSINESS.

AMONG THOSE HAVING TROUBLE
PAYING THEIR BILLS WERE

A PAIR OF BROTHERS, VALUED
CUSTOMERS AND FRIENDS.

Brown: THE TWO OF THEM CAME IN
TO THE HARDWARE STORE

AND TALKED TO GRANDPA

AND SAID, "I DON'T KNOW
WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.

"WE'RE WIPED OUT, AND WE
CANNOT PAY THIS BILL

THAT WE OWE YOU RIGHT NOW."

AND GRANDPA COULD SEE
HOW DESPERATE THEY WERE,

AND HE SAID,
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.

"WE'LL CARRY THIS.
YOU'LL BE JUST FINE.

WE'LL GET OUR MONEY."

AND IT WAS NO TIME BEFORE
THE TRAGEDY HAPPENED.

ONE OF THEM, HE HAD
A FAMILY WITH CHILDREN

WHO WERE IN SCHOOL WITH ME.

HE HANGED HIMSELF AT HOME.

THIS SORT OF AGONY
WAS GOING ON.

Narrator: SOON ENOUGH,
TRIXIE'S FATHER AND GRANDFA

TH
COULDN'T PAY THEIR DEBTS, EITHER.

Brown: THE HARDWARE STORE
WENT BANKRUPT.

WE LOST IT, AND THE
BANK TOOK THE HOUSE.

AND THE BANK FORECLOSED
ON GRANDPA TRAVIS,

AND HE LOST HIS CATTLE,
HE LOST HIS SECTION OF LAND,

HE LOST HIS HOME,
AND HE LOST HIS HEALTH.

Narrator: IN BAZINE, KANSAS,
A DOCTOR TOOK HIS OWN LIFE.

"HE TOLD US JUST
A FEW DAYS AGO

THAT MONEY WAS
AN IMPOSSIBILITY NOW,"

THE LOCAL PAPER REPORTED,
"AND THE LETTERS INDICATE

THAT FINANCIAL TROUBLES
ARE THE CAUSE OF HIS ACT."

IN DODGE CITY,
A 13-YEAR-OLD BOY,

SAID TO BE WORRIED THAT
HIS PARENTS COULDN'T AFFORD

HIS SCHOOL BOOKS,
COMMITTED SUICIDE.

DEVASTATED BY HIS
INVESTMENT LOSSES,

CIMARRON COUNTY DOCTOR KILLED
HIS WIFE AND THEN HIMSELF.

IN BOISE CITY, MILLARD FOWLER
WAS FRESH OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL

AND READY TO BUILD A FUTURE.

HE HAD FALLEN IN LOVE
WITH THE DAUGHTER

OF A MAN WHO UNTIL
RECENTLY HAD BEEN ONE

OF THE AREA'S MOST
PROMINENT BUSINESSMEN.

FOWLER AND HIS SWEETHEART
DECIDED TO GET MARRIED,

BUT FIRST HE WANTED TO GET
HER FATHER'S BLESSING.

FOWLER FOUND HIS FUTURE
FATHER-IN-LAW SITTING

IN HIS CAR IN FRONT
OF THE FAMILY HOME.

Millard Fowler:
WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR,

I DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT HE WAS UP TO.

I KNEW HE WAS IN THE CAR,
BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHY.

BUT WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR,
I SAW THAT RIFLE,

POINTING AT HIS HEAD.

I OPENED THE DOOR AND GOT IN
THE SEAT BESIDE HIM AND...

AND TOOK THAT RIFLE
AND UNLOADED IT...

WITHOUT ANY CONVERSATION,
AS I REMEMBER.

BUT I FINALLY GOT
AROUND AND ASK HIM

IF IT'D BE ALL RIGHT
IF WE GOT MARRIED,

AND HE FINALLY SAID YES.

A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER,
HE COMMITTED SUICIDE.

Narrator: IN 1935, THE NUMBER
OF "BLACK BLIZZARDS" DOUBLED

AROUND NO MAN'S LAND,

AND MANY OF THEM STRUCK
IN THE FIRST 4 MONTHS.

IN THAT TIME,
7 DIFFERENT STORMS

REDUCED VISIBILITY
TO ZERO IN AMARILLO.

DODGE CITY, KANSAS, REPORTED
ONLY 13 DUST-FREE DAYS.

ONE SINGLE STORM DESTROYED

A QUARTER OF THE
WHEAT CROP IN OKLAHOMA,

HALF OF THE KANSAS CROP,
AND ALL OF NEBRASKA'S.

IT BLEW OUT 5 MILLION
ACRES OF FIELDS,

AND IN THE SPACE OF A DAY,
CARRIED OFF TWICE AS MUCH DIRT

AS HAD BEEN EXCAVATED
BY THE UNITED STATES

IN THE DECADE IT TOOK
TO DIG THE PANAMA CANAL.

Worster: THIS WAS
MORE FRIGHTENING

THAN WINTER SNOW BLIZZARDS

BECAUSE IT WAS SO UNPRECEDENTED
AND IT SEEMED SO CHOKING.

IT WAS IN THAT SENSE
LIKE A WINTER BLIZZARD

WHERE THEY TIED, YOU KNOW,
ROPES FROM THE HOUSE TO THE BARN

TO MAKE YOUR WAY
BACK AND FORTH.

BUT PEOPLE WEREN'T
PREPARED FOR

THIS KIND OF BLIZZARD,
BLACK BLIZZARD.

THEY DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT
IN THE SAME TERMS AT FIRST.

THEY THOUGHT, "WELL, THIS IS NOT
SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA KILL ME."

BUT IT DID. I MEAN,
IT CHOKED PEOPLE.

PEOPLE DIED IN DUST DRIFTS.

Narrator: DURING A "BLACK
BLIZZARD" IN FEBRUARY,

A FARMER'S CAR WENT OFF THE ROAD
TWO MILES FROM HIS HOME,

AND HE GOT OUT TO WALK
THE REST OF THE WAY.

HE NEVER MADE IT.

IN MARCH, A 7-YEAR-OLD
BOY NEAR HAYS, KANSAS,

GOT CAUGHT ALONE IN A STORM.

SEARCHERS FOUND HIM
THE NEXT MORNING,

SUFFOCATED,
SMOTHERED IN DIRT.

FARTHER WEST, A 9-YEAR-OLD
WANDERED OFF ALONE

IN THE SAME STORM.

WHEN HE WAS DISCOVERED,

HE WAS TANGLED IN BARBED WIRE
BUT STILL BREATHING.

THE TRAIN FROM KANSAS CITY TO
DALHART, TEXAS,

WAS FORCED TO STOP

WHEN ITS PASSENGERS COMPLAINED
THEY WERE CHOKING.

IT PAUSED LONG ENOUGH
TO LET THE DUST SETTLE,

WHILE PEOPLE SCOOPED OUT THE
DIRT ON THE FLOORS AND SEATS.

IN GARDEN CITY, KANSAS,

THE LOCAL HARDWARE STORE
SOLD OUT OF GOGGLES.

THEN T THEIN DELIVERING
A NEW SUPPLY WAS DELAYED--

BY A DUST STORM.

WRITING FROM GREAT BEND,
KANSAS, A JOURNALIST SAID,

"LADY GODIVA COULD RIDE
THROUGH THE STREETS

WITHOUT EVEN
THE HORSE SEEING HER."

THAT SPRING, A WAVE
OF ILLNESSES

SWEPT ACROSS
THE SOUTHERN PLAINS,

WITH SYMPTOMS OF COUGHING SPELLS
AND HIGH TEMPERATURES,

NAUSEA, CHEST PAINS,
AND SHORTNESS OF BREATH.

PEOPLE CALLED IT
"DUST PNEUMONIA."

THE SOIL THEY HAD TURNED OVER
DURING THE GREAT PLOW UP

HAD ALREADY KILLED THE
SODBUSTERS' CROPS AND LIVESTOCK.

NOW IT SEEMED TO
HAVE ZEROED IN

ON SOMETHING MUCH MORE
PRECIOUS--THEIR CHILDREN.

Lorene White:
THERE WERE TIMES WHEN

IT WAS HARD TO BREATHE
BECAUSE OF THE DUST.

WE WORE LITTLE THINGS,

LITTLE STRIPS OF SHEET,

SOMETIMES OVER
OUR NOSE AND MOUTH

SO WE WOULDN'T
BREATHE SO MUCH OF IT.

I'M SURE MOM AND DAD
WERE CONCERNED

ABOUT WHAT IT
WOULD DO TO US.

YOU DIDN'T KNOW.

EACH PARTICLE OF SOIL IS
ABOUT A TENTH OF THE SIZE

OF A PERIOD AT THE END
OF A SENTENCE IN A BOOK--

BARELY VISIBLE
TO THE HUMAN EYE.

AND THAT'S JUST SMALL
ENOUGH OF A PARTICLE

TO GET INTO THE LUNGS.

Frantz: ANYTIME YOU TOOK
A BREATH, YOU HAD DIRT.

IF YOU WERE COUGHING, AND...
I CALL IT GUNK.

IF YOU COUGHED
A BUNCH OF GUNK UP,

THE GUNK YOU'D
COUGHED UP WAS MUD.

Hodges: THERE WERE DAYS WHEN
MY MOTHER PUT A DUST MASK

OVER MY FACE TO KEEP ME
FROM CHOKING AND GASPING.

AND IT FRIGHTENED ME,
AT LEAST AT FIRST.

AS I REMEMBER,
I GOT OVER THAT

AND I THOUGHT IT WAS
UNCOMFORTABLE AND I HATED IT,

BUT IT WAS BETTER THAN COUGHING
AND CHOKING ALL THE TIME.

YOU JUST COULDN'T
GET A GOOD BREATH

AFTER THEY WAS ON A WHILE.

IT'D BE SOAKED UP, AND THE DIRT
ON THE OUTSIDE OF THEM...

WHAT I HEARD MORE THAN
ANYTHING ELSE,

"FLOYD, PUT YOUR MASK BACK ON."

I HATED TO WEAR THEM.

I COULD GET A BETTER
BREATH WITHOUT IT

THAN I COULD WITH IT,
I THOUGHT.

Narrator:
THE RED CROSS ISSUED A CALL

FOR 10,000 MORE MASKS.

IT WASN'T NEARLY ENOUGH.

MORE PEOPLE GOT SICK.

YOU DIDN'T GO TO THE DOCTOR
BECAUSE HE WAS 60 MILES AWAY,

AND SO THE FOLKS
DOCTORED US THEMSELVES.

AND SO I WAS DOCTORED
WITH KEROSENE AND LARD

AND TURPENTINE THAT WAS
RUBBED ON YOUR CHEST.

AND FOR COUGH SYRUP,
YOU HAD SUGAR

WITH A DROP OR TWO
OF KEROSENE IN IT.

THAT WAS YOUR COUGH SYRUP.

White: MY TEMPERATURE
GOT REAL HIGH,

D KTH
THERE WAS NO DOCTOR NEAR US.

BUT I KEPT GETTING WORSE,

AND IT WAS HARD FOR ME
TO BREATHE WITH THE DUST.

Narrator:
IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS,

LORENE WHITE'S PARENTS
DECIDED THEIR ONLY HOPE

WAS TO MOVE THEIR DAUGHTER
TO RELATIVES FARTHER EAST,

AWAY FROM THE
EVER-PRESENT DUST.

HER MOTHER WOULD
GO WITH HER,

BUT HER FATHER NEEDED TO STAY
AND TRY TO MANAGE THE FARM.

White: THE DAY THEY CAME TO
GET ME, THE DUST WAS TERRIBLE.

YOU COULD HARDLY SEE TO DRIVE.

AND I REMEMBER DAD
WRAPPED ME IN A BLANKET...

AND HE CARRIED ME TO THE CAR.

HE TOLD ME THAT WHEN HE
CARRIED ME TO THE CAR,

HE THOUGHT HE WOULD NEVER
SEE ME ALIVE AGAIN.

BUT FROM THEN, I DON'T
REMEMBER ANYTHING.

Narrator: AT HER
RELATIVES' HOME,

HER TEMPERATURE
FINALLY WENT DOWN,

BUT HER COUGHING
WOULDN'T STOP.

DOCTORS SAVED HER WITH
AN OPERATION THAT DRAINED

THE FLUID IN HER
INFLAMED LUNGS.

White: AND ONE DAY,
I WAS LYING ON THE COUCH,

AND I LOOKED INTO THE KITCHEN,
AND THE DOOR WAS SWINGING OPEN,

AND YOU KNOW THERE'S
A LITTLE CRACK

THAT YOU CAN SEE THROUGH.

AND I WAS LOOKING,
AND I SAW MY DAD.

NO WORDS CAN TELL YOU
HOW TICKLED I WAS TO SEE MY DAD.

Narrator:
BACK IN NO MAN'S LAND,

THE RED CROSS DECLARED
A MEDICAL CRISIS.

EMERGENCY HOSPITAL WARDS
WERE OPENED

WHEREVER SPACE
COULD BE FOUND,

INCLUDING THE BASEMENTS OF TWO
CHURCHES IN GUYMON, OKLAHOMA.

OVER IN BACA COUNTY, COLORADO,
THE HIGH SCHOOL'S SENIOR PLAY

WAS CANCELLED BECAUSE COTS
NOW COVERED THE GYM FLOOR.

Floyd Coen:
WITHIN A TWO-WEEK PERIOD,

THERE WERE 3 LITTLE GIRLS
DIED OF DUST PNEUMONIA.

IT WAS CLOSE ENOUGH WE COULD SAY
THEY WAS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

TWO OF THEM WAS
OVER IN OKLAHOMA,

AND ONE OF THEM
WAS IN KANSAS.

BUT THERE WAS--
THERE WAS QUITE A FEW.

IT SEEMED TO GET ABOUT
THAT AGE, YOU KNOW,

JUST BEFORE THEY WENT TO
SCHOOL OR A LITTLE YOUNGER.

Narrator: BY 1935, EDGAR AND
RENA COEN HAD 8 CHILDREN.

6 YEARS EARLIER,
COEN HAD STARTED BUILDING

A PROPER HOME
FOR HIS FAMILY,

BUT BECAUSE OF
THE DEPRESSION,

CONSTRUCTION HAD ENDED
AT THE BASEMENT.

THEY COVERED IT WITH A
SHEET IRON ROOF AND MOVED IN.

IT WAS LARGER THAN
THEIR OLD HOME--

SPACE FOR TWO BEDROOMS
AND A LARGE ROOM

THAT SERVED AS A KITCHEN,
DINING ROOM, AND LIVING ROOM--

BUT IT WAS STILL
UNDERGROUND.

IN 1932, TWINS HAD ARRIVED--
RALPH AND RENA MARIE,

THEIR ONLY DAUGHTER, WHO QUICKLY
BECAME THE FAMILFAY RITE.

Dale Coen: RA RIE
WAS OUR ONLY SISTER.

SHE WAS SO PRECIOUS
TO US BECAUSE THE FOLKS

HAD BEEN TRYING FOR
A GIRL ALL THE TIME.

IT ALWAYS COME OUT BOYS.

SHE WAS FRAIL, BUT SHE
WAS A PRETTY LITTLE GIRL.

Floyd Coen: SHE WAS JUST
THE SWEETEST LITTLE THING

THAT YOU'D EVEREE S

SHE WAS SMALLER THAN RALPH,

AND SHE WAS ALWAYS JUST BUSY
DOING THINGS, JUST ALL THE TIME.

SHE WAS JUST A JOY
FOR ALL OF US.

AT NIGHT, SINCE MAMA
HAD A LOT OF WORK TO DO

WITH 7 BOYS AND WASHING
ON THE BOARD AND STUFF,

SHE NEEDED HER REST,

SO RENA MARIE WOULD
SLEEP CLOSE TO ME.

AND I'M GLAD I WAS
ABLE TO DO IT.

I SPENT AN AWFUL LOT
OF TIME WITH HER.

Narrator: THAT SPRING, 4 OF
THE COEN CHILDREN GOT SICK--

FLOYD, RICHARD, AND THE
2-1/2-YEAR-OLD TWINS.

ONE NIGHT, RENA MARIE'S
TEMPERATURE SKYROCKETED.

Dale Coen: WE WERE SITTING
AT THE TABLE EATING,

AND SHE JUST IMMEDIATELY
WAS BATHED IN WATER.

SHE JUST SWEAT--
HER HEAD JUST WAS...

WATER RUNNING OFF
HER FACE AND HEAD.

Narrator: SHE BECAME
TOO WEAK TO BE MOVED

FROM THE BED
IN THE PARENTS' ROOM.

THE DOCTOR WAS SENT FOR
AND USHERED IN TO SEE HER.

Dale Coen: WE WAS ALL AWAKE,
ALL SETTING AROUND THE FIRE.

I REMEMBER I WAS SETTING
IN BEHIND THE STOVE,

BETWEEN THE STOVE AND THE WALL--
PLENTY OF ROOM THERE--

AND SHE WAS CRYING, CALLING
FOR ME TO COME TO HER.

SHE CALLED FOR ME--NOT MAMA,
NOT DAD, BUT FOR DALE.

AND I...I HAVEN'T
REALLY EVER GOT OVER IT.

IT WAS BAD, BAD, BAD.

Floyd Coen:
DR. MEREDITH WAS THERE,

AND HE KNEW SHE
WAS PASSING AWAY.

4 OF US HAD DUST
PNEUMONIA AT THAT TIME.

I AND RALPH AND RICHARD
WAS IN BED ALSO.

THE HARDEST PART WAS WE WAS
IN BED OUT IN THE FRONT ROOM,

AND WHEN I HEARD THE DOCTOR
SAY, "DO YOU HAVE A BOARD?"

AND MY DAD SAID, "WELL, WE HAVE
LEAVES FOR THE TABLE."

AND HE TOOK THE LEAF TO THE
TABLE AND TOOK IT IN THERE

AND PUT HER LITTLE BODY ON
THAT LEAF AND BROUGHT IT OUT

AND SHOWED US BOYS
BEFORE HE TOOK HER.

AND THE DOCTOR PUT HER
IN THE REAR SEAT OF HIS CAR

AND TOOK HER
INTO THE MORTUARY.

BUT THAT WAS THE
HARDEST THING ON ME...

AND STILL IS.

SHE WAS SUCH A PERFECT
LITTLE THING.

Narrator: TWO WEEKS LATER,
THE COENS' FIRST GRANDCHILD,

VERLE'S SON DWAYNE,
DIED AT AGE 5 WEEKS.

HE AND RENA MARIE WOULD
BE TWO OF THE 31 PEOPLE

WHO PERISHED FROM DUST PNEUMONIA
THAT SPRING IN MORTON COUNTY,

POPULATION 4,092.

THE TOWN OF LIBERAL
LOST 9 TO THE ILLNESS.

IN THE 7 SOUTHWESTERN
KANSAS COUNTIES,

NEARLY 1,500 PEOPLE
BECAME SICK WITH IT.

SOME BEGAN TO BLAME THEMSELVES
FOR WHAT WAS HAPPENING.

ON ITS FRONT PAGE, THE "BOISE
CITY NEWS" PUBLISHED

A QUOTATION FROM THE BIBLE,
THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL--

"BEHOLD, THEREFORE,
I HAVE SMITTEN MY HAND

AND AT THY BLOOD WHICH HAS
BEEN IN THE MIDST OF THEE."

McCoy: SOME PEOPLE LEFT
ON ACCOUNT OF THAT,

THINKING GOD WANTED
THEM TO LEAVE.

AFTER THEY HAD THE DUST STORM
WHERE THE PEOPLE IN BOISE CITY

COULD SEE THE IMAGE
OF CHRIST INTO IT,

PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT
CHRIST WAS CAUSING THIS.

THERE WAS JUST LOTS OF TALK
THAT GOD WAS TORMENTING US

BECAUSE THEY PLOWED UP
THAT GOOD SOD.

Egan: YOU NEVER REALLY
ESCAPED THE DUST.

IT ALWAYS FOUND ITS WAY IN,

AND THAT'S, I THINK,
WHAT DROVE PEOPLE CRAZY.

ONE WOMAN TOLD ME
IT WAS LIKE A SNAKE.

SHE COULD HEAR IT SLITHERING
ALONG THE CEILING

AND THEN ALONG THE
SIDE OF THE WALL.

SHE SAID SHE JUST
WAITED FOR THAT SNAKE

TO STRIKE FROM ANY PLACE.

SHE KNEW IT WAS
ALWAYS THERE.

IT WAS THAT KIND OF
A PSYCHOLOGICAL BLOW.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT THAT
IT WAS AT LAST BEHIND YOU,

THIS MONSTER CAME ALONG
AND JUST CLOBBERED YOU.

Woman: "IT SEEMED THAT

"THE BLACK DUST
WAS ALWAYS WITH US.

"IF A QUIET DAY HAPPENED
TO BE OUR LOT,

"THE TIME WAS SPENT
SCOOPING OUT

"THE SAND OF THE STORM
OF YESTERDAY.

"IT SEEMED THAT WE LIVED
IN A LAND OF HAZE.

"THE ATMOSPHERE SEEMED TO ALWAYS
BE CLOSING IN AROUND US,

CREATING AN EERIE
AND UNEASY FEELING."

HAZEL LUCAS SHAW.

MOM SAID SHE HAD EVERY
CRACK STUFFED WITH RAGS,

AND SHE WOULD WET THEM DOWN.

SHE'D HANG SHEETS
OVER EVERYTHING

WHERE DUST MIGHT COME IN,
BUT IT DIDN'T KEEP IT OUT.

IT WOULD COME IN SOMEWHERE.

Narrator:
IN EARLY APRIL OF 1935,

THE SHAWS OF BOISE CITY,
OWNERS OF THE LOCAL MORTUARY,

BEGAN PLANNING
A DOUBLE FUNERAL.

THEY HAD JUST LOST THE
OLDEST AND YOUNGEST MEMBERS

OF THEIR OWN FAMILY
TO THE DUST PNEUMONIA.

HAZEL'S BEAUTIFUL, PRECOCIOUS
YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER RUTH NELL

HAD DIED JUST A FEW HOURS
BEFORE HAZEL'S GRANDMOTHER,

THE MATRIARCH OF THE CLAN,
HAD PASSED AWAY.

"GRANDMA LOU" WAS TO
BE BURIED IN TEXHOMA,

NEAR HER HOMESTEAD,
WHILE RUTH NELL WAS TO BE TAKEN

TO ENID, IN THE CENTRAL
PART OF OKLAHOMA.

THE MAIN REASON FOR THAT

WAS THE FACT THAT ENID
CEMETERY WAS VISIBLE.

THEY WOULD HAVE BURIED RUTH NELL
IN THE BOISE CITY CEMETERY

EXCEPT YOU COULDN'T EVEN FIND
THE TOMBSTONES, THE HEADSTONES

IN THE CEMETERY, IT WAS
SO DRIFTED FULL OF DIRT.

Narrator:
ON APRIL 14th, 1935,

THE DAY OF THE
DOUBLE FUNERAL ARRIVED.

IT WAS PALM SUNDAY,
A WEEK BEFORE EASTER.

AND THEY WERE EXCITED
WHEN THEY GOT UP THAT DAY

BECAUSE IT WAS A DAY
WHEN IT WAS CLEAR.

A PRETTY DAY.

AND IF YOU'VE GOT TO DO A JOB
LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW,

THAT'S A BLESSING TO YOUR HEART

IF YOU HAVE A NICE DAY FOR
A FUNERAL FOR A LOVED ONE.

Narrator:
THROUGHOUT THE AREA

AROUND NO MAN'S LAND
THAT MORNING,

AS MANY FAMILIES PREPARED
FOR CHURCH,

RESIDENTS WERE BEING GREETED BY
A GLORIOUS BREAK IN THE WEATHER.

Egan: THE SUNDAY ITSELF WAS
SO GORGEOUS AND WINDLESS,

AND PEOPLE CAME OUT
OF THEIR DUGOUTS

AND CLEANED THEIR SHEETS
AND OPENED UP THEIR WINDOWS.

IT WAS LIKE A DAWN.
IT WAS LIKE A NEW DAY,

AND YOU THOUGHT,
"MY GOD, THIS LAND CAN MAKE US WHOLE AGAIN.

MY GOD, THE WORST
IS OVER."

Narrator: IN FOLLETT, TEXAS,

TRIXIE TRAVIS BROWN'S MOTHER
HUNG LAUNDRY OUT ON THE LINE,

FLUNG OPEN THE WINDOWS OF HER
HOUSE TO LET IN THE FRESH AIR,

AND ANNOUNCED THAT
THE FAMILY WOULD ENJOY

THE REST OF THE DAY
OUT IN THE COUNTRY.

THE SKY WAS BLUE.
THERE WASN'T A BREATH OF WIND.

WE WERE JUST EXHILARATED,
THE WHOLE FAMILY,

AND WE COULDN'T
UNDERSTAND IT, EITHER,

BECAUSE IT JUST WAS
SO ABNORMAL.

MOTHER AND DAD DECIDED
WE WOULD TAKE A PICNIC,

AND WE WENT DOWN
ON WOLF CREEK.

Narrator: BY MID-DAY,
THE TEMPERATURE HAD RISEN INTO THE HIGH 70s.

BUT FARTHER NORTH, A COLD FRONT
SWEEPING DOWN FROM CANADA

HAD BEGUN MOVING SOUTH AND EAST
ACROSS THE GREAT PLAINS,

PUSHING A WIND BEFORE IT,

PICKING UP MORE AND MORE LOOSE
SOIL WITH EACH MILE IT TRAVELED.

DENVER, ON THE FRONT'S WESTERN
EDGE, WAS COVERED BY A HAZE,

AND TEMPERATURES DROPPED
25 DEGREES IN AN HOUR'S TIME.

A LITTLE LATER, IT REACHED
UNION COUNTY,

IN THE NORTHEASTERN CORNER
OF NEW MEXICO,

WHERE SAM ARGUELLO
AND HIS FAMILY LIV.

Sam Arguello: I WAS PLAYING
OUT IN THE FRONT YARD.

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY,
BEAUTIFUL SUNNY DAY.

ALL OF A SUDDEN,
I LOOKED UP, AND THERE WAS

A BIG BLACK, BLACK CLOUD COMING
IN FROM UP ON THE NORTHEAST.

WE WERE RIGHT AT
THE TURN OF A CANYON,

DEEP CANYON, I'D SAY
PROBABLY 60 FOOT DEEP

FROM THE TOP DOWN TO THE
BOTTOM--OR MORE THAN THAT.

AND WHEN THAT
THING CAME OVER,

I RUN INTO THE HOUSE
AND I TOLD THEM, I SAYS,

"THERE'S A BIG BLACK CLOUD
COMING OUT THERE."

EVERYBODY SAYS,
"THERE'S NO CLOUDS OUT THERE."

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL
SUNNY DAY.

BY THE TIME THEY GOT TO
THE DOOR, IT WAS JUST BLACK.

EVERYTHING WAS BLACK.
YOU COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING.

Narrator: THE RESIDENTS
AROUND NO M'N'S LAND

ALREADY HAD 4 YEARS
OF EXPERIENCE

WITH DUST STORMS
OF ALL KINDS,

BUT TO A PERSON, THIS ONE
SEEMED DIFFERENT--

BIGGER, BLACKER,
MORE SINISTER.

Robertson: WE SAW
THIS CLOUD COMING IN.

IT WOULD JUST ROLL IN--
BLACK, BLACK DIRT.

AND I'LL NEVER FORGET,
MY GRANDMOTHER,

SHE WAS PRETTY MUCH
CHRISTIAN, AND SHE SAID,

"YOU KIDS RUN
AND GET TOGETHER.

THE END OF THE WORLD
IS COMING."

AND BOY, WE--THAT WAS
LAW AND GOSPEL

BECAUSE GRANDMA SAID SO.

AND WE ALL GOT
TOGETHER, YOU KNOW,

AND WE WERE SCARED TO DEATH.

AND THAT CLOUD JUST
ROLLED LIKE THAT,

JUST KEPT COMING, AND IT
JUST GOT DARK AS COULD BE.

Wayne Lewis:
WE SAT THERE AND WATCHED IT.

I REMEMBER THE THING
ROLLING, THAT IT...

IT WAS LIKE A TORNADO
THAT WAS ON ITS SIDE.

Wells: ALL THE BIRDS,
EVERYTHING WAS FLYING SOUTH.

WE COULD SEE
THIS THING ROLLING IN.

MY BROTHER TOLD ME HE THOUGHT
THE END OF THE WORLD WAS COMING.

OF COURSE, THAT SCARED ME
HALF TO DEATH,

AND I WASN'T
SO SURE ABOUT IT.

Narrator: BY NOW,
IT WAS EVEN BIGGER

THAN THE MONSTROUS
"BLACK BLIZZARD" OF 1934,

AND AS IT MOVED
SOUTH AND EAST

ACROSS THE OPEN FIELDS OF
KANSAS, OKLAHOMA, AND TEXAS,

IT GOT BIGGER STILL.

IT WAS 200 MILES WIDE,
MOVING AT 65 MILES PER HOUR,

AND IT BEGAN CATCHING MORE AND
MORE PEOPLE OUT IN THE OPEN.

TRIXIE TRAVIS BROWN'S FAMILY
WAS AT WOLF CREEK,

IN THE MIDST OF THEIR PICNIC,
20 MILES FROM HOME.

Brown: WE NOTICED WHAT
LOOKED LIKE RAIN CLOUDS

FORMING IN THE NORTH.

RAIN CLOUDS HAVE A BLUE CAST
TO THEM, A NAVY BLUE CAST,

AND THERE WAS
NO BLUE IN THIS ONE.

IT WAS BLACK.

WE ALL GOT INTO
THE CAR VERY QUICKLY.

DAD AND MOM WET ANYTHING
THAT WAS IN THE CAR--

SHIRTS, TOWELS,
HANDKERCHIEFS--

PUT EVERYTHING AROUND
ALL OF OUR FACES.

AND WHEN IT HIT, THE CAR JUST
DID A JIGGLE FROM SIDE TO SIDE.

DON'T'MEMBERNY A
SOUNFRD ANY PEOPLE.

BUT ITAS WLACK.

IT WAS TOTLYALLACK.

Narrator:
IN GUYMON, OKLAHOMA,

THE PARENTS OF BOOTS McCOY
HAD DROPPED HIM

AND HIS SISTER, RUBY PAULINE,
OFF FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL,

PROMISING TO PICK THEM UP
WHEN SERVICES WERE OVER.

THEN THE STORM HIT.

McCoy: THEY FINALLY
STOPPED THE CHURCH

BECAUSE IT WAS
GETTING SO BAD.

PEOPLE WAS GETTING UP
AND LEAVING ANYWAY.

THE PASTORXC EED
EVERYBODY WITH A PRAYER,

AND AS WE WENT THERE,
THEY HAD A RAIL.

I CAN REMEMBER HOLDING
THAT RAIL AND HOLDING RUBY'S--

SHE WAS--SHE WAS
MORE SCARED THAN I WAS.

SO I JUST TOOK SISTER,
AND WE STARTED OFF.

Narrator:
THROUGH THE DARKNESS,

THEY STRUGGLED TO
MAKE THEIR WAY HOME

THROUGH BACK ALLEYS
AND NEIGHBORS' YARDS,

RELYING ON MEMORY
MORE THAN EYESIGHT.

THEY FINALLY MADE IT HOME,
BUT THE HOUSE WAS EMPTY.

THEIR PARENTS WERE
FRANTICALLY SEARCHING

FOR THEM OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
AND ALONG THE MAIN STREETS.

McCoy: THEN THE FOLKS CAME,

AND IT WAS SO DARK IN THE HOUSE
THAT THEY COULDN'T SEE US.

MOM WAS CRYING AND HOLLERED
THAT WE WEREN'T HOME

AND SHE WAS WANTING TO GO BACK
TO SEE IF THEY COULD FIND US.

I HOLLERED AND SAID
"WE'RE HOME," YOU KNOW,

AND IT RELIEVED THEM
QUITE A LOT.

THEN WE ALL JUST--JUST SAT,
AND MOM JUST CRIED.

WE HAD TO HUG MOM A LOT
TO GET HER TO HUSH.

Shaw: THEY HAD JUST
COMPLETED THE FUNERAL.

THEY HAD TAKEN RUTH NELL
BACK ACROSS THE STREET

FROM ST. PAUL'S METHODIST
CHURCH TO THE FUNERAL HOME,

AND THEY HAD JUST SENT
THE FUNERAL PROCESSION

WITH GRANDMA LOU
OFF TOWARDS TEXHOMA.

THEY GOT ABOUT...
A LITTLE BIT MORE

THAN 6 MILES OUT OF BOISE CITY

WHEN THE FUNERAL PROCESSION SAW
THE BLACK DUSTER BEHIND THEM.

Narrator: HAZEL LUCAS SHAW
AND HER HUSBAND

HAD NOT ACCOMPANIED
THE CARAVAN OF CARS

HEADED FOR GRANDMA LOU'S
GRAVESIDE SERVICE.

THEY HAD REMAINED BEHIND,

NOT WANTING TO LEAVE
THE BODY OF RUTH NELL.

THEIR YOUNG NIECE, CAROL,
HAD BEEN TOLD TO STAY WITH THEM.

MY COUSIN HAD BEEN
WITH DAD AND MOM,

AND SHE'D GONE
OUTSIDE THE HOUSE,

AND SHE SAW THE BLACK
DUSTER COMING.

SHE WAS JUST A LITTLE TYKE
IN THE GRADES,

I DON'T KNOW, PROBABLY
6, 7 YEARS OLD.

SO SHE HEADED FOR HOME, WHICH
WAS ABOUT 5 OR 6 BLOCKS AWAY.

BY THE TIME THE DUSTER HIT, DAD
DISCOVERED THAT SHE WAS GONE.

HE HOPED THAT SHE HAD
GOTTEN HOME ALL RIGHT,

BUT WHEN ONE OF THOSE
BLACK DUSTERS HIT,

THE STATIC ELECTRICITY
WAS SO TERRIBLE

THAT YOU COULDN'T MAKE
A TELEPHONE CALL.

THERE WASN'T SUCH A THING
AS RINGING UP YOUR BROTHER

AND ASKING IF THEIR CHILD
HAD GOTTEN HOME ALL RIGHT.

SO DAD GOT HIS FLASHLIGHT.

HE GOT DOWN ON HIS STOMACH,

AND HE ELBOWED HIS WAY
UNDERNEATH THE DUST.

THE VISIBILITY WAS SLIGHT.

YOU COULD SEE A LITTLE BIT
UNDERNEATH THE DUST.

SO HE ELBOWED HIS WAY

THOSE 5 BLOCKS TO
HIS BROTHER'S HOUSE.

FORTUNATELY, CAROL WAS THERE,
AND SHE HAD ARRIVED HOME SAFELY.

BUT DAD DIDN'T
WANT TO WORRY MOM,

SO HE CRAWLED ON HIS STOMACH

THE 5 BLOCKS BACK
TO THE FUNERAL HOME.

IN THE MEANTIME,
THE FUNERAL PROCESSION

THAT HAD STARTED TO TEXHOMA
TURNED AROUND AND RETURNED.

IN ORDER TO FIND A ROAD BACK,
THERE WERE 4 MEN IN WHITE SHIRTS

THAT HELD HANDS
AND STRETCHED THEMSELVES

ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE ROAD,

AND THE LEAD CAR GOT
RIGHT BEHIND THEM.

TOOK THEM A NUMBER OF HOURS
TO GET BACK THAT WAY

THE 6 OR SO MILES
THEY HAD TO WALK BACK.

THAT'S AS FAST AS THE
PROCESSION CAME BACK.

I THINK THEY GOT BACK
ABOUT 10:00 THAT NIGHT.

Narrator: APRIL 14, 1935,

CAME TO BE CALLED
"BLACK SUNDAY,"

AND NO ONE WHO LIVED THROUGH
IT WOULD EVER FORGET

THE STORM'S SIZE OR FEROCITY--

OR WHAT THEY DID TO SURVIVE IT.

AFTER HUDDLING IN
THEIR PARKED CAR

WHILE THE BLACKNESS
ENGULFED THEM,

TRIXIE BROWN'S FAMILY
INCHED THEIR WAY HOME.

Brown: WE COULDN'T GET
INTO THE HOUSE.

THE DUST AND DIRT WAS SO HIGH

THAT WE COULDN'T OPEN
THE SCREEN DOOR.

SO DAD HAD TO GO TO
THE GARAGE TO GET A SHOVEL,

AND HE HAD TO SHOVEL THE DIRT
AWAY FROM THE SCREEN DOOR

BEFORE WE COULD GET IN.

WE HAD LEFT THE HOUSE OPEN

BECAUSE MOTHER SAID,
"WE'LL AIR OUT THINGS."

SO THE HOUSE WAS TOTALLY
LOADED WITH DIRT.

Arguello: BY SUNDOWN,
BECAUSE THIS HAPPENED

ABOUT 1:30 WHEN THAT THING CAME
OFF THE TOP OF THAT CANYON,

AND BY SUNDOWN,
IT HAD GONE PAST

AND IT WAS JUST AS RED
AS IT COULD BE TO THE WEST,

YOU KNOW, WHERE THE
SUN WAS HITTING IT.

BUT IT WAS JUST RED ALL OVER.

MY GRANDMOTHER SCARED
THE TAR OUT OF ME.

I WENT OUT THERE, AND I
SAID, "WHAT IS THAT,

ALL THAT RED OUT THERE,
COMING ON THE WEST SIDE?"

SHE SAID, "IT'S FIRE, FIRE.

THE WORLD'S
COMING TO AN END."

AND I WENT AND CRAWLED
UNDER THE BED.

McCoy: THEY WERE TOUGH TIMES--
REALLY, REALLY TOUGH TIMES.

DEATHLY SCARY, YOU KNOW.

AN EERIE, EERIE TIME FOR OLDER
PEOPLE AND US KIDS, YOU KNOW.

WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE DEVIL
WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT.

Narrator: WITHIN A MONTH,
BOTH BOOTS McCOY

AND HIS SISTER
RUBY PAULINE

WOULD COME DOWN WITH
DUST PNEUMONIA.

HE WOULD SUFFER LUNG AILMENTS
THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

SHE DIED BEFORE
SUMMER ARRIVED.

McCoy: SHE WAS
MY BEST BUDDY. YEAH.

WE WENT THROUGH THEM HARD
TIMES TOGETHER, YOU KNOW?

Narrator: "AT LEAST,"
HER MOTHER SAID,

"SHE WON'T HAVE TO LIVE
THROUGH ANOTHER DUST STORM."

BY CHANCE, A REPORTER
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NAMED ROBERT GEIGER HAD BEEN
IN NO MAN'S LAND ON BLACK SUNDAY

AND MANAGED TO FIND
SHELTER IN BOISE CITY

DURING THE WORST OF THE STORM.

THE STORY GEIGER FILED
THE NEXT DAY BEGAN,

"THREE LITTLE WORDS--

"ACHINGLY FAMILIAR ON
A WESTERN FARMER'S TONGUE--

"RULE LIFE TODAY IN THE DUST
BOWL OF THE CONTINENT--

IF IT RAINS..."

BUT INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON THOSE
3 LITTLE WORDS, "IF IT RAINS,"

MORE PEOPLE FASTENED ONTO
THE 3 WORDS HE HAD USED

TO DESCRIBE THE PLACE THAT RAIN
HAD FORSAKEN: "THE DUST BOWL."

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
ANYONE HAD USED THAT TERM.

Riney-Kehrberg: BLACK SUNDAY
IS THE DIRT STORM

THAT EVERYBODY REMEMBERED.

IT WAS SO MUCH DARKER,
SO MUCH MORE INTENSE,

SO MUCH SCARIER THAN MOST
OF THE OTHERS HAD BEEN.

AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S
REALLY ANY COINCIDENCE

THAT THE OUTWARD MIGRATION
OF THOSE WHO WERE GOING TO GO

CAME AFTER BLACK SUNDAY.

Narrator: IN THE
MONTHS TO COME,

DUST STORMS WOULD CONTINUE

TO WREAK HAVOC ACROSS
THE SOUTHERN PLAINS,

WHILE THE PRESIDENT AND HIS
ADMINISTRATION WOULD STRUGGLE

TO COME UP WITH NEW STRATEGIES
TO MEET THE CRISIS.

IN THE HEART OF THE DUST BOWL,

MANY FAMILIES WOULD
DESPERATELY TRY TO HANG ON,

BUT SOME WOULD
RELUCTANTLY DECIDE

TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES BEHIND

AND TRY TO BEGIN A NEW LIFE
SOMEWHERE ELSE.

AMONG THEM WOULD BE A
22-YEAR-OLD ITINERANT SONGWRITER

WHO HAD FOUND REFUGE FROM
THE FURY OF BLACK SUNDAY

IN A SMALL HOUSE WITH
HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS

IN PAMPA, TEXAS,
JUST SOUTH OF NO MAN'S LAND.

HIS NAME WAS WOODY GUTHRIE.

Woody Guthrie: WE WATCHED
THE DUST STORM COME UP,

LIKE THE RED SEA CLOSING IN
ON THE ISRAEL CHILDREN,

AND I'M TELLING YOU, IT GOT
SO BLACK WHEN THAT THING HIT,

WE ALL RUN INTO THE HOUSE.

AND A LOT OF THE PEOPLE IN THE
CROWD THAT WAS RELIGIOUS-MINDED

AND THEY WAS UP PRETTY WELL
ON THEIR SCRIPTURES,

AND THEY SAID, "WELL, BOYS,
GIRLS, FRIENDS, AND RELATIVES,

"THIS IS THE END.

THIS IS THE END
OF THE WORLD."

AND EVERYBODY JUST SAID,
"WELL, SO LONG.

IT'S BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YOU."

I MADE UP A LITTLE SONG.

♪ SO LONG, IT'S BEEN GOOD
TO KNOW YA ♪

♪ SO LONG,
BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YA ♪

♪ SO LONG, IT'S BEEN GOOD
TO KNOW YA ♪

♪ THIS DUSTY OLD DUST
IS A-BLOWIN' ME HOME ♪

♪ I'VE GOT TO BE ROLLIN' ALONG ♪

♪ I'LL SING THIS SONG,
BUT I'LL SING IT AGAIN ♪

♪ OF THE PLACE THAT I LIVED
ON THE WEST TEXAS PLAINS ♪

♪ IN THE CITY OF PAMPA
IN THE COUNTY OF GRAY ♪

♪ HERE'S WHAT ALL OF
THE PEOPLE THERE SAY ♪

♪ WELL, IT'S SO LONG,
BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YA ♪

♪ SO LONG,
IT'S BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YA ♪

♪ SO LONG... ♪

Announcer: NEXT TIME
ON "THE DUST BOWL"...

Man: GRASSHOPPERS MOSTLY
WERE CRAWLING.

Announcer: A NEW PLAGUE
DESCENDS ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

Man: THEY ATE EVERYTHING
IN SIGHT.

Announcer: SOME FAMILIES
PULL UP STAKES AND MOVE ON.

WE HAD NOTHING LEFT.
THERE WAS NO REASON TO STAY.

Announcer: AND A PRESIDENT
MUST DECIDE

IF THE PLAINS
CAN BE SAVED.

Man: "MR. PRESIDENT,
LET'S JUST GET O."

Franklin Roosevelt: UNLESS
IMMEDIATE STEPS ARE TAKEN,

WE SHALL HAVE ON OUR HANDS
A NEW MANMADE SAHARA.

Narrator: DON'T MISS

THE CONCLUSION OF
"THE DUST BOWL"

Esperanza Spalding:
ONE TREMENDOUS THING ABOUT PBS

IS THAT IT MAKES ART ACCESSIBLE
BY PUTTING IT ON A PLATFORM

WHERE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
CAN ACCESS IT FOR FREE.

AND WE NEED IT.

WE NEED MUSIC. WE NEED DANCE.
WE NEED GREAT THEATER.

FOR OUR SOUL.
FOR JOY IN OUR LIVES.

A LOT OF PEOPLE FLIP ON PBS

AND HEAR OR SEE SOMETHING THAT
WAKES UP THAT INTEGRAL PART

OF BEING A HUMAN BEING
WHICH IS ENJOYING

THE ARTS OF OTHER HUMAN BEINGS.

SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR PBS
AS AN ARTIST AND AS A VIEWER.

Announcer: TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
"THE DUST BOWL,"

WATCH WEB-EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS,

EXPLORE OUR PHOTO GALLERY,

AND GO BEHIND THE SCENES WITH
THE PRODUCERS OF THE FILM,

VISIT US ONLINE AT
PBS.ORG/DUSTBOWL.

THE DUST BOWL IS AVAILABLE
ON DVD OR BLU-RAY.

THE COMPANION BOOK
IS ALSO AVAILABLE.

TO ORDER, VISIT SHOPPBS.ORG

OR CALL 1-800-PLAYPBS.

ALSO AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
FROM iTUNES.

♪ ...IT'S BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YA ♪

♪ SO LONG, IT'S BEEN
GOOD TO KNOW YA ♪

♪ SO LONG,
IT'S BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YA ♪

♪ THIS DUSTY OLD DUST
IS A-ROLLIN' ME HOME ♪

♪ GOT TO BE DRIFTIN' ALONG ♪