The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1881-04-21
AN EXTEAORDIN-ARY WINTER,

Men whose circumstances or habits
limit their observation Of passing T..
vents tu their Immediate surrounding
may imagine that the severe aud stormy
winter now passing away has been u
regularity Of the region they inl,abit.
People OF the new settlements Oh the
prairieS of Minnesota and Dakota, who
were, many Of them, poorly pre- pared
for the long, rigorous winter, attended
with deap snow and frequent wind
storms, and whose experience has not
been long in the country, may connect
this winter with their new place of res
idence, and be uhwiseiy discouraged
thereby. AS Il matter of fact, it has
been all extraordinary winter over all
| the continent. Deep SHOWS aud fierce
winds have prevailed over the Canadas
and thu Northern States aud Territ"r,-
IS. from the Atlantic to the Rocky
Mountains, and wherever there are
"r'r eOple or weak new settlements,
there has been more or less Q Altering,
exaggerated III publicity, however. Dy
individual and family experiences b.
lug III r.b'ted to all the &C ;upants Of it,
"lated T. gions.
In we'll established settlements of
Minnesota aud Dakota. even those
"hANh u'btV ASAIN"SVy U""u4 Vlll GO vctst >,
there may have been hardsl,l,s usual to
such periods Of storm and cold, but
there has been reported not one we'll
authenticated case Of great suffering.
The heaviest LOSSES in aIl this Hnrther
region h,vr occurred on the plains and
valleys of Montana. where deep SHOWS
rarely occur, and where l,ertlers resort
1T winters with their cattle and sheep.
Mo. r.
| ards Of sheep have persisted in Montana
from cold and starvation, aud the ex-
! traortiiuay cil +racter Of the winter there
may be inferred from the fact that il
the villages and citiss, where hay is
rarely in demand, it is now w0rti, forty
to fifty dollars per ton.
but it is not only in these northern
regions that the winter has txen severe.
The plains of Nebraska and Kansas and
the fields of Missouri have been cover
ed with deep SHOWS and the Inhabitants
have suffered from extreme cold and
freezing wi, ds. The dispersion of the
OklalIaIna +mig' ants, from the borders
of the Indian Territory, by the inclem-
ency Of the early winter, is familiar to
newspaper readers; and railroad mel,
a1e aware that the roads of Nebraska
and KANSAS have been as much Obstruct
Ell 10y winter storms as any other, while
the roads which have been least oh.
Structed are those of northern Mime.
sofa and northern Dakota. In the
Middle. Eastein and New England
States the winter has been more severe
than III Minnesota. The recent storm
and blockade in Illinois and Wisconsin
surpasses anything ever known in
Minnesota. The raYines and valleys Of
the Rocky Mountains are full of snow
and west OF the mountains, from the
Gulf Of California to the Cascade Range.
the season has BEEN full of cold storms.
In the Southern States, snow and mud,
frost and floods have alternated in
quick snct ession throughout the whole
season. In Florida early III the winter
the oranges were frozen solid on the
trees, and MinnpsOtians who have gone
South to escape the rigors Of our win
ter have been glad to come home to en-.
Joy the winter comforts of warm hous-
es and good fires. In Europe and in
Central America also the winter has
likewise been Of unusual severity. In
the West India island Of Antigua (onlv
seventeen degrees north of the pqmator.)
last month the coffee plantations and
standing cane were all killed by hea-
Wy frost. which formed the first ice ever
seen. so formed, by the Inhabitants.
IN short. severe as has been the
winter from which the New Northwest
10 now emerging. it has not been excep-
t'""al and of this region only. but has
prevailed throughout all the temperate
zone. In short time it will have PASS.
ed away AMI we shall have all the de.
lights OF Il Northern spring. without
mud and dangerous floods which will
aflict the regions south of us.-St. Paul
Globe.