Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-01-06
4 CENTURY AGO.
The Fine Cool Weather Enjoyed by
Our Great Grandfnthers in !Ss9
Albany IN. " Argus.

The winter of 1779-S0 began rs the
present one did, and before the slight
moderation in the atmosphere, Sunday,
many of the older residents, whose
fathers and mothers had told them
many tales of that terrible winter, were
Specializing rs to whether the pres
ent one would resemble it in other re-
spects. In 1779-S0 the cold set in
about the middle of November, and
continued until the middle of Febru-
airy, During that long period there
was not enough warmth in the suns
rays to melt the snow on the ground
nor to affect in the least the letters OF
ice that bound the creeks, ponds and
rivers. One snow storm followed
another until finally the ground was so
covered that it was difficult to 60 from
place to place, and the ice upon the
rivers Mt ali convenient points was
used by men and teams and animals
in place of roads. The cold winds
were so piercing that wild turkeys
were found frozen to death in the
! forests, and domestic fowls fell frozen
| from their rOOsts. The deer and
buffalo sought shelter from the blasts
around the cabins of the settlers, and
all kinds Of wild animals persisted in
| the forests for want of food, which was
| buried beneath the snow. The fierce
wolf and panther, which usually skulk-
| ed about the boundaries of the settle
ments only by night, now came near iii
! broad daylight in search of the bones
and ohal thrown from the cabins of
the settlers No rain fell, and the
pioneers were compelled to obtain wa
ter for drinking, cooking, etc, by melt
| ing ice and snow. The northern and
western rivers were tightly bound by
'rost, and even as far south as Nash
Vile the Cumberland was frozen over
with ice thick enough for the safe pas
sage of emigrant trains. The Della
ware, at Philadelphia, had ice three
feet in thickness, and Chesapeake bay
and Long Island sound were frozen
/ over.
| ANOTHER SIMILARITY,
between the present winter and that Of
| 1779-S0, was the mild autumn weather
that preceded it. When the cold be-
gan, in November, 1919, the leaves had
| hardly fallen from the forest trees, and
and many Of the trees and shrubs were
putting forth new growth. The same
condition of things was witnessed last
| fall, The winters of 1873, 1874, 1873,
17SS, 1892, 1896, and 1899 are all re-
| ported to have been very severe. 1t
is stated in Hildredth's Pioneer history
that on the Doth of December, 11SS,
/ the Delaware and Ohio rivers were
both frozen over and navigation was
suspended upon them until the 18th Of
the following March. In 1892, when
| the soldiers were sent TO the disastrous
| battlefield of General st. Clair to bury
the dead they encamped where Gin
cinnati now stands, January 13. The
snow was reported two feet deep upon
the ground, and the Ohio was so strong
/ ly frozen that soldiers rode their horses
across from Kentucky on the ice. The
| eth Of February, 1907, was known for
years as cold Friday, and was the
groundwork for many a grandfather 5
tale. On the evening Of the 9Th the
weather was mild, and rain began to
/ fall as night set in. In few hours the
rain changed to snow, which fell to the
depth Of six inches after which hur-
ricane began to sweep over the land.
1t grew colder and colder az the night
progressed, and the next morning the