Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1858-02-12
"REMINISCENCES OF COLD
..asaaatf WEATHER. f .ahGs

Mr.. rKlngsbury, writing to the "Dan>
vile Independent FIJI. relates the fol-
lowing incidents Of the winter Of 1855 p
Thisltook place, on the 18th of December.
sThe weather on Monday was quite
warm, and fast softening heavy snow
on Tuesday il began to rain before day
and continued until d P. M, at which
time the ground was covered with water
and melting snowfall the small streams
wore full and the large ones were rising
rapidly ;, atthis, crisis there arose, large
and tumultuous looking cloud in the west.
with rumbling noise on its approach
everything congealed-in less than FIVE
to one of intense cold, and flowing water
to solid ice. One says he started his
horse ina gallop in mud and water, and
in riding quarter off mile,s hesw
bounding over ice and frozen ground i
Another. that in an hour alter the
change, he passed overka' stream of iwol
ieet in depth on ice which actually frcze
solid to the bottom and remained so un-
til Spring. The North Fork, where il
was rapid and so full as to overflow its
bottoms, froze so solid that night, that
horses crossed the next morning. and it
was thus with all the streams. ..l.r.. y
Mr.. Alvan Gilbert, with his men wsre
crossing the prairie from Bckmel's to-
Sugar Creek. with q large drove oflhogs. !
Before the clouds came over them, the !
hogs showed the greatest alarm and ap>
prehension OF danger. And when it ac-
tually came upon them, the hogs re(u<-
ing to go any further, began to Pile
themselves up 10 one great heap. as Their
best defence on The open prairie. Dur> !
ing the night six Of them persisted. and ,
those on the outside were SO frozen that
they had to be cut loose. Twelve others
died on their way to Chicago, in conse> !
quence Of being badly frozen. while ma !
ny lost large pieces of their flesh. M'.
Gilbert and his young men rode with his
frightened horses in full speed to house
i've or six miles distant all Of them hav. /;
ing fingers. toes, or ears frozen. and the !
harness So frozen that it could not be un. /
hitched from the wagon and scarcely from !
the horses.
Two m.n riding across the same prai
rie li!lle further west, came TO II stream
so wide and deep that they could not
cross it. The dread night came on. and
AIttf exercising III VAN 10 keep from
freezing. they killed one OF the horses.
rolled his back 20 the wind. took out his
enIrniIs. and thrust in their hands and
ieet. while they lay upon them. Ard so |
they would have, used the other horse bat !
for the loss Of their knife. Mr.. France.
the younger and more thinly clad, grad
ually froze, and died at day break, in
gren agony. The other. Mr.. tl'llreth.
at sun rise, rode The remaining horse over
the ice to house about 5 miles distant.
but SC. badly 'r' Zen that about one halt
Of each hand and foot came Clf.
How general or extensive lhc change
was is not known but on the illinois 1iy'
er. AS two men were crossing in u boat.
it froze in. and they exercised TO save
their lives. until the ice would Bear them
up. The dog that they left in the boat
was frozen to death, but the horse was
led off on the ice the next morning. On
the east side of Indiana, one man had SO
head Of hogs frozen to death. Many
similar facts might be related. but the
above are sufficient TO show that the
change was great, sudden aud general.