To make the suffering even worse, most of the refugees had no where to go. Some huddled on the riverbanks where passing riverboat captains took pity on them and took them aboard. Others would find only caves to live in.
None who suffered through Order Number 11 would ever forget, including our three year old Lousannie, Grandma Elam as mom knew her.
So bitter were her memories, that 40 years later Louisa Young refused to allow her grandson, Harry S. Truman, to appear in front of her wearing his blue military uniform. (At age 11 the future president’s mother and her family were also burned out of their home.)
Ever since, this land has been known as the “Burnt District.” Two years later, a minister who traveled through the “Burnt District” described it simply and truthfully, "Man no longer existed there."
Click to expand...