, 1890-02-06
WINTERS IN IDAHO.
Some in the Early Days That
Were More Severe Than
the Present.
Sad Fate OF a Party Who Went
From Lewiston to The
Dallos.

The recent heavy accumulations OF
snow In all the mountain sections west
ofthe Rockies and the Interruption the
SHOW sturms have caused To railroad
travel and traffic have formed for several
weeks the staple of newspaper articles
anu have furnished ncvcr.fsliling topic
OF conversation every where. In tho
milwiuter dcnrth Of other news items,
caused 10y the non arrival OF mails and
the brcakIng of wires, this snow topic
las come as Got send, partially sup
ply ing a want which would have proved
cruelty oppressive had IL been absent
In all that has been said, the praise be-
slowed upon railroad companies and
their employees, for the heavy eX-
penscs incurred, for the difficulties
encountered aui overcome and for the
gen Uine horoiSm displayed, have been
welt and tuiiy deserved. These men
have done, and are still doing. stupcnd-
Gus work under apparently iuSurmouut-
Ublc difficulties. But as regards the
traveller, OF the day, they can have but
little conception Of the horlships and
dangers encountered by their predeces.
sur- Vt the days when the only means of
travel pCross these mountain range was
~ the iow-gu.ng stage coach In those
days a winter journey by stage from the
Dalles of he Columbia 10 [clton, Utah,
ON the Central Pacific railroad meant
something very earnest Und real COM
pared 10 what can be undertaken and
suffered at present.
The average winter in the region west
of tile Rockies, especially that In ldaho,
l. So mild that the present one may he
considered exceptional and phenomenal.
still there has been cOmparatiyCly no
low theimnmCtcE the only cause for
com Dinlnt being the unusual snow fall,
winch, in very many respects. Is an un-
disputed aud undi,guisod blessing.
Yet there have been, ut long intervals,
sou.e winters In Idaho. for which the
present serves only as gentle rrIninler.
The winter OF l,Gl.2 was excessively
severe; not so much on account ul deep
shows rs ut period OF several weeks
vi very low temperature Tor this region,
the thermometer being O.ten 30 degrees
below zero. This was the winter follow
ing the first discoveries IN che Florence
district in Northern Idaho, During the
entire winter, Notwithstanding tho in
clcmoncy ol the weather and the primi.
tive modes of travel, thcre was constant
com municntiOn between Lewiston and
Florence, und as ~ consequence, much
suffering and occasional deaths from cN-
posurU to the cold. Toward the close of
the 'Culd snup,' u party of q dozen or
more left Lewiston To 90 by stage to The
Dulles, II distance OF 300 miles. ON the
top OF the hill, after crossing the
JOHN Day river, the stage was compelled
to abandon the attempt to 20 on and re
turn ned with some oi the Passengers 10
the ferry housu on the river. Several of
the passengers. most OF whom had lnrge
amounts Ot gold dust on their persons
IN addition to their other huriens, deter
mined to proceed toward their dosti-
nation on foot, ns the delays along the
route thus far had exhausted their stocl;
OF patience, They were very anxious to
got to The Dallcs Un the way TO Portland.
The undertaking proved fatal to several
OF the party, ~ one 10y one they sue
cum ted to the fatigue of wading through
the snow and met death in the embrace
ot the intense cold
The winter Of ls1i-h was u season of
deep SHOWS ana long continued cold
weather, and was remarkable tor the
lcng,l, of time the mail and passengers
were carried ON runners Iy the stage
companies. There WAS much less suf-
iering than during the other winter men
toned as the country was better pre-
pared for the rigurs OF the seuson; still
lie Hardships and discom forts endured
10y stage drivers nnd the passcngers who
yenturcd to travel with them in open
slcighs for hundreds OF miles across
plans and mountains, were expert
cnces that those who participated in
will long remember. Early III the sea-
son snake river was ohs,ructed with ice
so tlIat the ferries could not he operated,
causing long aud annoylng delays in
crossing the stream. While the river
was only thinly frozen over passengers
were frequently Obliged to cross ON loot
on the ir'iil lee, leS'"ning the danger OF
hrcasing through ~ best they could by
,hvl ting their aSUirJuUuis between tie
ice and lie support afforded By the wire
cable. Later the river was frozen SO
that heavily loaded teams could cross
safely, and remained IN this condition
until the irst week IN Alurch.