The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-06-26
The Cold Season of ISIG

years of age, in 1916, and well rcm.rr-
Der the privations endured BY tbs -at-
tiers in Contra: tfew York during GisSI
and the succeeding year. The CAST
winter reminded Mc of the winter Of
!S!0-lS, for it was cold and boisterous.
BY father had moved into this State
from Massachusetts, with large
family, and rented a farm in James
vile, Onondaga County. had to walk
a mile to attend school. so the storm of
! that long, tedious winter are firmly i'm
pressed on my mind.
AS the season advanced we had a
good yield of maple sugar, from sugar
bush on the farm, so we We're supplied
with that commodity. And by the way.
farmers in those days were more skill
full in sugaring OF than at present.
Loaf sugar was at thattime 81 a pound,
for prices went up during the war Of
1872, and were still maintained. On
that account maple sugar in the countr,
was used almost entirely for the table
and cooking. | have seen it as whita
and nicely grained as graduated sugar.
There was no fruit that season ex-
cepting strawberries, which were
sheltered by the clover and grass in the
meadows, and grew very nearly tho
size of ordinary cultivated Strawberries
We preserved gallons of those berries
and those, with dried apples, were til,
only sauce | recollect on the table thu,
year.
AS there were frosts every month in
the year, excepting August, the raSp-
berries, currants, gooseberries, and
blackberries were all cut off.
The garden was planted again as the
frost killed the vegetables, bat after
the third planting was frostbitten, it
was to late to raise anything. No corn
was matured; | do not recollect
whether any ''set'' or not. but when the
hogs were shut up to fatten there was
when they were killed there was no
lard, and the pork was so lean it had
to be fried in butter. Ny father went
forty miles to buy wagon-load of
potatoes for winter use.
Grass, clover and wheat did well, so
we had plenty of milk, cream, butter
and bread, but when a COW was killed
to salt for winter there was no tallow
to make candles.
There were of course no apples,
peaches, plums or pears.
Severe thunder-Storms, accompanied
with high winds, prevailed during the
summer, and | recollect nv father
having to brace himself against the
outside sitting-roOm door, and add his
strength to the fasteningS to prevent it
from being blown open. Those were
north or northwest winds. There was
a fire on the hearth almost every even
ing during that summer, and when the
neighbors dropped in to spend the even
ing the weather was prolific topic of
conversation. The cause OF the unpro-
pitious season was believed to be the
numerous spots on the sun. l remem-
Der well smoking glass over candle to
look at the sun many times during that
summer.
Father was by trade a worker in
iron. and had a forge" or bloomery
where he manufactured bar-iron. One
afternoon in June the BOYS went after
the cows, and as they walked along the
road one of them almost stepped upon
a rattlesnake coiled up ready to strike
My brother was so frightened he gave
a tremendous jump, which cleared the
snake, and they all ran home. Father
took a mink trap with him and cap
tured the snake alive, and as he wanted
to keep it he took it into the forge
where it was warm. The night was
cold and frosty, and at midnight when
the men quit work he put the cage on
the warm anvil so his snakeship should
not get chilled.
The doors and widows were open.
and the next morning they found theiI
prize killed by the cold.
The succeeding wear was quite as dis
astrous to the farming community.
There was such an unprecedented rain.
fall that the summer received the name |
of the wet season, and frostS were quite |
frequent. We raised plenty of pota.
toes, beets, carrots and parSnips that |
year, but fruit was again cut off, There |
were two large orchards on our place |
and father had built fires in the stumps
each frosty night until the 18th OF |
June, think it was. On that day, |
which was Saturday, mother and the
girls had been very busy baking and |
cooking for the Sabbath, so there was
a large fire in the kitchen. During the |
day, which began warm and pleasant,
a heavy thunder shower had come up,
with high wind and hail.
which beat the wheat and grass fiat:
and when it cleared OF, the north wind
lowered the temperature very fast, but /
no one thought of frost, until nine in the
evening, when someone came in and
said all the puddleS of water along the
roadside wer1 frozen over as thick a.
Father went ont and
fired the stumps again, but it was too
late.
The children climbed the trees in the
orchard over and over again to see If
some fruit had not escaped the frost
for apples were as large As good-sized
DlumbS when they were cut Off. but
without success. To our great surprise,
)ne day in August, one of nv sisters
Ound n large sweet harvest apple on
he ground by the kitchen door One
If the boys quickly climbed the tree.
md on 4 branch which hung under the
'aves by the kitchen, he picked peck
If apples. They were very large AMI
delicious. The foliage was injured b,
he June frost, but had grown out again
dense. and had etfectually
creeneG them. On the limb of a peach
rec, sheltered by the carriage-house
'aves, we found two large ripe pea hes.
When the wheat was fit to cut it
aimed almost necessarily. What was
ut could not be dried to bind in
heaveS, and that which was uncut
edged with the rain, and it all sproutei
nd began to grow. il
The flour we used that winter was