Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1881-02-17
COLD WINTERS.
The winter or ~ $50 The Cold Friday OF
February 2, 1897.

The winter or "a ;9-s0-Ihe Cold Friday OF
February :, 1897.
The winter Of 1779-S0, says the Al
bany ATUus. began as the winter OF
1SS0-8l did. The cold weather set In
about the middle of November, and
continued until about the middle OF
February. 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 fet-
tiers 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 go from
place to place, and the ice upon the
rivers at all convenient points was used
by men and teams and animals in place
OF roads. The cold winds were so pierre
ing 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
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 skulied about the bound
aries Of the settlements only by night,
now came near in broad daylight in
search Of the bones and offal thrown
from the cabins Of the settlers. No rain
fell, the pioneers were compelled to OBJ
tain water for drinking, cooking, etc, by
melting ice and snow. The Northern
and Western rivers were tightly bound
by FROST 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 Delaware,
at Philadelphia, had ice three feet in
thickness, and Chesapeake Bay and
Long Island Sound were frozen over.
Another similarity between the winter
Of 1880-81 and that Of 1779-80 was the
mild autumn that preceded it. When
the cold began, in November, 1873, the
leaves had hardly fallen from the trees
and shrubs were putting forth new
growth. The same condition of things
was witnessed last fall. The winters of
Of 1888, 1884, 1875, 1888, 1892, 1896,
and 1899 are all reported as having been
very severe.
It is stated in "Hildredth's Pioneer
History that on the Goth of December,
1888, the Delaware and Ohio rivers were
DClll 1lOADl ONCAs 0hW A~fAS5"pAoh ""p
suspended upon them until the 18th OF
the following March.
In 1892, when soldiers were sent to
the disastrous battlefield of General ST.
Clair, to bury the bead, they eneamped
where Cincinnati now stands, January
%. The snow was reported two feet
deep on the ground, and the Ohio River
was SO strongly frozen chat the soldiers
rode their horses across from Kentucky
on the ice.
The 7th of February, 1907, was known
for years MS cold Friday, and was the
groundwork for many grandfather 8
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 hurricane
began to sweep over the land. 1t grew
colder and colder as the night pro-
crossed, and the next morning the trees
in the forests were cracking like the re-
ports Of guns, and everything was bound
in letters of ice. There was no Their
mometer to register the cold, but the day
comes down in history and tradition as
cold Friday