Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1903-09-18
HAVOC ON THE FARMS
RAIN, FROST AND SNOW CAUSE
DEVASTATION.
Western States Suffer Losses ira che
Millions - Commercial Interests of
the Whole Country Will Be Affected
Corn Crop in Danger.

Snow, frost and rain have played
havoc with the crops in the western part
of the Mississippi valley. The damage
done through the cold wave, which came
sweeping down from northwest Canada,
is reported to be enormous.
Snow two feet deep covers the ground
in certain parts of North Dakota, and
around Winnipeg the storm developed in
to blizzard, before which neither man
nor beast could stand. Horses and 9TH
er live stock persisted at Hartney, near
Winnipeg.
The cold wave followed the transforms
that have caused rot and mildew in Min
nesota and in the Dakotas generally.
Snow has fallen as far south as Chey-
enne, which Monday night was freezing
under temperature of 30 degrees above
zero. Here are some temperatures for
Monday night:
Cheyenne, Wyo .3ol Concordia, Kan. 40
Lander Wyo. -. SO Des Moines ....... "a
Denver .........,s 40 Chicago CT
Dispatches from ST. Paul told of ruin
to wheat and flax III the Northwest
amounting to millions of dollars. Nearly
all the grain in shock. estimated at so
per cent, and all the standing grain is
buried under snow and water. Eight
inches of rain had fallen in forty-eight
hours. Railroad tracks have been wash
cd out and trains from the Pacific coast
have been for two days pushing through
deep snow and are reported ten to TWEEN
ty hours late.
The rain has nut a stop to thrashing,
and with a shortage of cash grain on the
market, farmers are greatly discouraged.
The grade of wheat that will be thrashed
later will be lowered generally.
In the Red River valley fields are so
muddy that it will be several days be-
fore the thrashilg machines can be NOV
ed. The situation is especially hard for
the farmers of northern Minnesota, as
their crops have ALREADY been severely
damaged By drought.
Much damage has been done in Wis
consin by rain, especially in the north
western part of the State. Rivers are
high. bridges have been destroyed and
dwellers on bottom lands have been driy
en- from their homes. Saw mills and pa
per mills on the Wisconsin river are
shus down because Of the floods.
The railroad reports say that more
rain has fallen in the western and north
western parts of the State in three days
than has fallen all the rest of the year.
Severe storms were reported from Spar
ia, Wis, where, it is said, hardly any
thrashing has been done for three weeks.
Many farmers in Iowa and Illinois, the
report will say, have given up hope of
more than a half crop of corn.
Iowa raised 29S,OOO,00O bushels Of
corn last year. quite a percentage Of
which was rendered unmerchanJabe by
the wet fall, which kept the crop from
maturing before frosts came. The au-
thorities in Iowa have not looked for
over three-quartcrs of crop this year
under the best conditions, the govern
ment report Of Sept. l suggesting Il yield
of 214 100000 bushels. At least half of
this promised yield could be cut off by
a hard freeze, meaning a loss to the farm
ers of Iowa alone on the present basis of
values, around so cents in Chicago, of
$50,0000O0.
Railroad officials share the present
alarm. The hopes Of a great wheat crop
in the Northwest have been destroyed
already by excessive rains and snow
storms, and if the corn crop follows the
same course the railroads will not be
able to keep up their earnings to what
they have been heretofore. While MGR
chandise traffic continues extremely good
that is also bound to fall off if the farm
ers are not able to spend money as freely
as they have been doing.