A Mother and Child's Preservation from a Collapsing House in Riverton

During a heavy windstorm in Riverton, Utah, on December 4, 1893, a woman and her child were sleeping in their house when the wind blew in the gable. Approximately 500 bricks and heavy timbers from the ceiling crashed onto their bed. The bed and the occupants were forced to the floor, where they were completely buried under the debris. Due to the bedding and the crossing of timbers, they were protected from being crushed. Despite a severe four-to-five-inch gash on her head, the mother was able to dig herself out and seek help, and the child was rescued with only minor injuries.

Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 56, No. 4, 22 January 1894):

On the 4th of Dec. a heavy wind storm visited Riverton, Utah, and blew in the gable of a house in which a woman and her child were sleeping. About 500 bricks and heavy timbers from the ceiling fell upon the bed, forcing it to the floor, and completely burying the occupants. Owing to the bedding and the crossing of the timbers, they were protected from being crushed. The mother, though receiving a severe gash on her head, four or five inches long, succeeded in digging herself out, and the child was rescued with only slight injuries.