Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-09-22
An Eventful Season.

most extraordinary in the history
of this country. Last winter was
one of the severest ever experienced
in the west. Snow fell to an enor-
nous depth, b!ockading highways
for weeks and months. and absolute
lv prohibiting all intercourse, IN
some instances, between country
villages and the rural popuatiea,
The railroad companies can testify
to tue expense Of thc snow embargo.
In some localities il cost them more
to keep their lines clear of snow
during the winter than it did orig
iually to grade the roads. Some
branch lines were not cleared for
weeks at time, aud even mail
facilities were cut Oft The tempera-
ture was lower than the general
average for fifty years, aud there
was succession OF snow storms
unprecedented in the settlement of
the west, This extraordinary win
ter was followed by phepomenal
spring and summer, The terrible
snow. cyclones of winter were sue
ceeded 10y destructive ireshets that
in some sections, notably in Dakota
and other portions of the extreme
frontier, swept everything before
them and ruined thousands oi fam
lilies. The extreme cold Of last win
ter has been supplemented by the
intense heat OF the present summer.
1t has been q season of extraordi.
nary contradictions and unlocked for
meteorological phenomena. One
part OF the country has been devas-
tated 10y floods, aud another portion
has been parched by excessive and
long g-continued drouth. The day
that New York reported to he "the
hottest Of the season." with 1t dozen
cases of sunstroke, aud the ther.
mometer at 100 degrees, there was
a heavy snowfall in the Black Hills
and a corresponding chiIliness o
1 temperature The water in the
streams has been lower in the Mid
die States than it was ever known
before. Destructive coniiagrations
have broken out in all quarters, and
more property has been lost by fire
than in any previous years no'
marked by the partial destruction
Of some great city. A tornado O
flame such as never visited an inhab-
tied section before, has swept over
a portion of the state of Michigan
ike the bosom Of destruction, and
the loss of life, as well as of property
makes the catastrophy the worst Of
its kind on record.
The moral forces of the universe
seem to have been as much disturb
ed as were those of the natural
world Crime Of all sorts has zap
idly increased, and capital odens es
especially have multiplied. The
Car of Russia was assassinated,
and similar and successful attempt
was made upon the life OF the Presi-
dent OF the United States. Disas-
trous shipwrecks, fatal railroad acci-
dents, explosions in mines, and
other murderous catastrophes have
followed each other in quick success.
sion.
The year has been an eventfnl
one in every respect; but il has had
its bright as well as its dark sides.
Some of the clouds have had n silver
lining The great law of compensa-
ton has not always been absent,
and nothing has been quite as bad
as it might have been. The railroad
companies, which feared their prop
erty was almost ruined by the excess
sive SHOWS last winter, and the
increased amount Of operating ex-
penses, are now making their stock
holders glad by reporting a large
excess Of net earnings over any
previous year. They are extending
their linee ia all directions, and
more miles Of railroad win be con
structed this year than ever before.
There is doubtless large defci. in
the grain crops, but there was an
increase of acreage and, prices have
advanced. Happily the