The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1896-12-03
THE WINTERS ICICLHS
The Coolest Weather Known In The
History Of The Northwest.
THE MERCURY GOES DOWN TO %
Popuiists Puts Up an Opposition
Municipal Tieket-Partiai Pro-
gram Of the Convention OF North
west HcrticuIturfsts.

The "banana belt" has been badly
ravished in the past ten days. Our
boosted climate has had q spell Of tan
trums that has surprised and displeased
everybody who has core in contact with
it. True, it hasn't been merely local
storm, but it has been source OF wonder
how it could cover such great stretch OF
country and still have enough left to sup.
ply Yakima SO bountifuly. Our winter
usually sets in about Christmas time and
lasts until February. but when it begins
about the Goth of November with viru-
lence heretofore unknown, and is still a
humming in the early part of December,
it should not be matter of surprise that
most Of our people have been wearing a
look of supreme dissatisfaction. There
are some, however, who would undoubt-
eddy grin if they were not afraid their
faces would freeze that way. These are
the plumbers, clothiers, dealers in wood
and coal, and owners of fat hay ricks
Personal discomfort cut but little ice with
them as they noted the swollen state OF
their Golfers. The question of fuel has
been one of the toughest problems that
has confronted our people. During the
most severe weather stoves needed re-
penishing every few minutes and the
supply of both wood and coal quickly
ran short. Not enough of the latter
could be obtained from Roslyn and Gle
ers of wood took advantage of the oppor-
tunity and sent the price up to $4.25 a
cord. Consumers, who had no wood spent
many bad half hour, while those who
were more forehanded did not escape
without some discomfort for they were
obliged to stay up most OF the night to
see that their woodpile didn't take legs
and walk away.
Stockmen were another class who were
sorely troubled. Most of them had ar
ranged for enough hay to weather any
ordinary winter but the way the present
one started in put them on nettles. There
is plenty of hay in the country even for
long winter but it is not all in conyen-
lent locations and even this early hay
from Tampico is being shipped to Prosser
TO supply sheep men. The price is still
low and on Tuesday Mr.. Peatross said he
could buy it for 81 per ton. This is but
a small advance considering the condi-
tons. Frye & Bruhn are feeding thous-
and head of sheep on the Cowychee and
large band of sheep on the Ahtanum
aud the way feed goes is caution. So
far there has been only one instance
| where there has been any special hard
ship entailed upon the stockmen and that
was when Dominick was caught
in the most severe part of the storm
while driving his band of 5000 sheep
| from Prosser to their feeding ground on
the Natcheez. He finally pulled through
all right but il was an experience he
doesn't care to repeat.
The lowest temperature as regi stored
by the government thermometer, on the
"ioAOcf w a5 WI OhtufQd1 iaSty Wit6u iDt
mercury dropped to 20 below zero. e.
lensburg papers state that it was 20 de-
grees below at that point, and the Ore
gonian says that at Portland it was cold
er than has been known in "a years. The
| question now being asked is regarding
the duration OF the winter. Earlier ia
the season Hon. Edward Whitson pre-.
dicted mild winter but since then he
has been so badly frostbitten that he has
failed to open his mouth on this subject.
Numerous white owls have been caught
in the past couple Of weeks and this the
Indians declare is a sure sign of long
and hard winter. The melt IN the hog
and the breast bone of the goose also car
ny out this claim aud one Of the old tim
ers says hay will be worth 500 ton be-
fore spring opens up.