The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-09-06
TO ADVERTISERS.
The Deep Snow I'm Illinois.

DIR. j. G.. Bergen, of Sangamon county,
Illinois, has contributed to the Z" Old Set
tiers Society" of that county the following
interesting account of the deep snow that
fell in that region in 1880. We coudense it
from the Illinois Journal: GA sf5 80 .
The autumn of 1880 was wet, aud The
weather prevailingly mild until the close Of
December. Christmas eve the deep snow
began to fall. That night it fell about a
foot deep. ID found the earth soft, grass
green and some green peach leaves on the
trees. The day was mild. The snow con-
tributed greatly TO the amusement of the
hoys, and called forth the hilarity of all who
had sleighs or sleds, or could rig jumper
with a store box or crate. - p 4
As the snow fell night after night, and
week after week, these implements, if they
lost in novelty, gained in utility. Serious
preparations were made, 10y increasing the
size and strength of the sleighs and doubling
teams, to break the way to mill and wood,
for household bread, fuel, proyender, and
corn. Esq. Enos, one of the wealthiestmen
in the place, holding the Office of Receiver
of Public Moneys, turned out with a great
the destitute. With wolf skin cap on his
head, Yankee frOck buttOned close TO the
neck behind, reaching below his knees,
belted over great coat beneath, with leg
ging protectors and OK goad in hand, he
rolled up the bodies of limbs of trees, some
of them more than fifty feet long, TO the
door of the writer, for which he aud his
family shall receive our thanks while life
lasts. The same kind act he did to many
others. His timber was nearest the town.
Woodmen feiled the trees, rolled them on
J the sled, ana the benevolent veteran left
| them at our doors. fz.frtr-rrrr
Snow succeeded snow, interclIanged with
/, sleet aud fine hail, which glazed and harden
ed the surface Nine long weeks witnessed
| this coming deed snow, until in all these
parts its depth averaged four or five feet.
! Woe was the day when teams met on the
single beaten track! The plunging of horses
NOT TO speak of the screams of the bellies
within, the laughs of Young America, OF
the wrath of teamsters.
During the nine long weeks, the ther-
mometer ranged close TO zero; few times
it went twenty below, and the water drop
ped from the caves only two days, 50 intense
was the continued cold. When the snow
feIl there was no frost in the ground. The
sap of the trees had not been forced by the
cold TO the roots. The consequence was, the
peach trees were universally killed; apple
trees and nurseries mostly shared the same
fate The summer before, had seen wagon
loads OF peaches in several orchards. Such
a sight has never greeted our eyes since, in
these parts.
/ In March, this vast body of snow disap.
peared, mostly in three days. There came
a storm of rain from the south, preceded anG
accompanied with strong, warm wind, and
the whole mass settled, melted and flooded
the country, as if it was an immense ocean
This was checked by sudden cold, not til
the prairieS were bare and bleak, save wher,
they were skirted and crossed by roads,
There the snow, which had been packed in
to long, solid blocks of ice, by the travel
presented a singular spectacle, as if they
were intersected and boundby white ribbons
Some Of these remained far into April
Great hardshipS and suffering were endu
: led that winter 10y man and beast. Wher
the snow came it found most of the corr
standing on the stalks. The fall had beer