The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-05
THIS STORY LEADS.
Will Some Old Timer Please Come
Forward and Beat 1t.
A LONG, SEVERE COLD SNAP
Wind Carried All the Snow Out OF
the Valley and Back Aeain-Hoist-
ing Stock Out of the Stable
A Summer Thermometsr

Special Correspondence of the Standard
Livingston. Jan. 3.--Judge ]. p, Lily.
the venerable trail blazer. who. for
nearly a quarter of a century. has re-
sided on the upper Yellowstone.
dropped into the sheriff's office on
New Years day for a friendly chat.
Always loquacious, the judge on this
occasion let his memory so back to the
winter of 1875, and grew reminiscent
concerning the weather of that period.
You Livingston fellows" said he.
may think the wind blows here pretty
hard and pretty often, and you do a
whole lot of kicking IL the mercury
gets out of sight occasionally, but you
don't know what wind and cold wealth
err are. If you had been up the yell
lowstone in Paradise valley 20 years
ago. you would have seen and expert
enced a blizzard that was a hummer.
i remember the storm as though 1t
were but yesterday. 1t wasn't any of
your gentle Livingston zephyrs. 1t
started in to blow about the first of
December, and never let up for min
ute during that month and most of
January. 1t blew 40 miles an hour for
90 days, and grew colder every day. 1t
not only blew the snow all out of the
valley of the upper Yellowstone. but
also swept IL all off the mountains as
far as the eye could reach. Suddenly
the wind veered around into the east,
and-you may not believe II but It's an
actual fact-the snow all blowed back
and settle down in Gallatin valley on
the other side of the mountain range.
That was the winter that the people of
the Gallatin valley thought they were
going to be completely showed under.
1t was the snow from the Yellowstone
valley and off the surrounding noun
tains. 1t just settled down on the
other side of the range, and IL took
seven days for ii all to come down. I
1T is a matter of history that dur
ing the winter of 1876 snow fell contin-
uously night and day in and around
Bozeman for one straight week. Talk
about wind; why. 1t blowed so hard
that we couldn't saw wood out doors.
The first time we tried 1t our long
broke in two. The two pieces of the
saw went sailing away in space, and
we could hear the gnashing of the
teeth above the fury of the storm.
Mine years ago" continued the
Judge, I'VE had a green Christmas. 1t
was almost as warm as summer, and
the doors Of our house were open all
day. We were in the midst of thresh--
Ing operations, and ii looked as though |
we were going to have a long spell OF
splendid weather. That night q sud |
den change occurred and heavy |
snow storm set i'm.
"It showed for three DAYS and three 7
nights, at the end of which time the \
snow was eight feet deep on the level. /
After this 1t grew warm and then sud /
denly turned cold, crusting the snow so 1
hard that cattle could walk anywhere /
On the surface. The weather grew cold /
n and colder. The polar wave extended |
the whole state; the mer-
Jury dropped completely out of sight. /
BY our spirit thermometer it register
I'd "A degrees below zero for ~ hours.
When the storm commenced our work
lorses We're in the summer stable, /
nearly half a mile distant from the L
winter quarters. We had to get them
Tut of the summer barn or else they
would starve to death, for we had but
'ery little feed in Or near the stable.
rhe snow was even with the top of the
'arn, 50 we rugged a derrick on top OF
he crusted snow. took the roof off the
table and hoisted the horses out, led
hem on top of the snow to the winter
table, took a small section of the roof
fl that building and lowered the ami
nails with the derrick.
THAT was the winter" said Judge
lilly, that a Deer Lodge county
ancher sent 20 New York for a Their
1ometer and received ii just before the
old wave struck Montana. He hung II
ut, but as the cold increased in in
ensfty the fluid sank rapidly and final
y disappeared in the bulb, the lowest
egister being something more than so I
egrees below zero. The rancher sent
he instrument back to the New York
nm, along with a letter. The letter
lad: This is probably a good sum-
Ter thermometer. but IL amt worth
= In Montana In the winter time"
a
can be cured by the use of |
hiloh's Cure. This great Cough Cure Is
10 only known remedy for that terrible