Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-01-25
Che FREEMAN.
MONTPELIER. VT,
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 25, 1882.
Letter from Minnesota.
FREFBnRN, Mimi. Jan. 12. '82.


mont you are having as lovely day as
we are having here. One could almost
wish il would be winter all the time IL to
day was but speci neu of its enjoyable
ness. A few in hes of snow fell last
night, inst enough to cover the hitherto
bare earth with u mrntle OF purest white
and which to-day gllstens AMI sparkles in
the bright sunlight. The mercury is
little below the freezing point, and the
merry sleigh bells are jingling every
where What is most remarkable for
Minnesota, especially at this season of the
year after snow s'Orm, there is no wind.
The air is perfectly q ,iet. rs if nature had
placed it under bonds to keep the peace
Even the dry snow that has lodged upon
the fences and the twigs Of the trees is
not disturbed And this is not solitary
example of the loveliness of the winter.
He has been smiling upon Us ever since he
cpmmencai his reign. Only twice has
the mercury been below z,rO. We have
had scarcely taste of the cutting north
west wind or the IN IRE chilling and dlsa
areeable southeast wind since the winter
commenced.
1t seems difficult te realize that 1t is the
same season of the year tn 1t it was twelve
months ago don't know bnt the same
contrasts are tu be nDticel in other part
of the country thtt are seen here, hut |
hnf
sofa was pr, e ni1ent in this particular.
Last win Gr for four long months the
mercury never reached the freczng-or
perhaps sho nd say the thawing point.
This winter it has thawed in the sunshine
more or less nearly every day. Last
winter we hal an ahundlnce of snow;
this winter but very title. Lest winter
the wind would give the snow no rest
when it cana mt W Dal c Iuse it 10 dance
most lively until in sheer self-'lefence it
would form itself into drifts a. hard as
old cheese, almost, and it took but an inch
of snow on the level to fl all the cus on
the railroad AMI block the trains, bidding
defiance to snow plows and laughing at all
precautions in the shape of snow fences to
quietly where it fills and gradually melts
away in the warm Sunshine. Compared
with the fury m bu1ter of last winter it
seems as respectful and innocent rs if il
wouldn't DO tnyb ly any harm for al! the
world. But perhaps it isn't wise to boast
TOO soon. for wa MT W have to take it all
back before winter is over.
But while we cLn discourse at length of
the agreeabIeness of or winter thus far,
we must tell different story if we would
speak of the fall preceding. Such long
continued and such drenohiug rains the
oldest inhabittnt had not known before.
Dav and night week in and week out it
poured and poured and kept pouring, as
if the very windows of heaven were open.
For some ten weeks this state of things
continued. Nothing like it had ever been
heard or dreamed of before. 1t was a
deluge unparalleled in intensity and dura-
ton. The whole country became one vast
bog, Along the streams the damage from
high water was immense. Travel with
teams h ID to b. suspended, and the rail
roads suff much. Trains were con
stantly being ditched and on but few of
the roads could they be run on time.
Things were discouraging. Farmers look
ed" blue" Tnr, shing could not be done
hnr ,, So ha he
to dry off, and even if there did come two
or three days in succession of fair weather,
which was seldom, the land had become
SO saturated with water that machine
could with difficulty be moved to the
stacks, and it it could it would be still
more difficult to operate it when it was
there. 1t is true that now and then Il job
OF threshng WIS done in spite Of the mud
and the rain, but the most Of it had to lay
over till the pleasant weather of winter
commenced.
had occasion to make trip of some
twenty ti\ e miles during the worst of the |
season, and am therefore qualified to speak !
with authority in reference to the difficult |
ties of travel during the time.
have II light, two-horse, democrat
wagon, and with no 10 ID and no streams
to cross | thought could succeed But |
was three days making the journey. /
have Travelled in The spring when the frost
was coming out Of the ground, but never
with tilhe OF the difficulty. doubt if
there was a dozen rods in the whole dis
tance where my hor-e could trot. 1t wa-
mud up to the knees-wallow, wallow all
the way. Wnen my Iurney WAS nearly
completed and | was beginning to con-
gratulate myself on my success the horses
stepp4d into what seem ID to be quick
sand slough, though there was no evidence
Of its character on its surface, and they
we're soon helpless and fast sinking.
sprang to their heads and managed to
keep them out of water, and although in
mud up to my h,ps [ succeeded in Olsen
gaging them from the wagon. With q
long chtin, auOthsr team AMI the help of
its owner everything was rescued from
that mul hole which ctme SO near swal-
lowing US up team and all.
Episodes like this were the order of the
day. A miller told me that there had been
thirty teams ~ the mill that day, and
some had been twelve and some even
fifteen hours on the road with only two
bags OF gram for load Of cour se moth
ing but absolute hun ger would drive them
to this suppose there were many on
the praries that suffered because they
could not get food to eat nor fuel to burn.
But iust before thanksgiving day t5e
rains ceased, the ground froze just enough
to bridge over mud holes and the sloughs.
The roads have become smooth. The
weather has been SO fine that farmers