Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1910-01-19
SOME STORMY TIMES
OF BYGONE WINTERS
Other Years in the Past Have
Furnished Snow Blockades.
Parallels for Storms of 1909-10 Found
in Those of 1856, 1867
and 1850.

remembered as one of notable weather
extremes and many are inclined to
scott at the old settlers "reminiscences
concerning winters of even greater
severity. While it is perhaps true
that events of fifty years ago are
magnified when contemplated through
the mists of memory. nevertheless it
has been recently proven by eminent
statisticians that the greatest extremes
in weather were reached in the ffties,
sixties. seventies and eighties.
Southwest Wisconsin and the sur
rounding region have from time i'm
memorial been noted for the severity
of the winters. 1t WIS because OF
this fact that In the early lead min
ing days the miners from Missouri
and Illinois always went south in the
fall but returned almost to a man
in the spring. To the men from the
far East and from Englan1 and Wales.
the movements of tire lower Mississippi
miners resembled the migrations of
certain species of fish and for this
reason they dubbed them suckers. -
Those from a great distance, of
course, had 70 undergo the hardships
of the winter as best they could.
There was a scarcity of timber at that
time in many portions of Grant
county and the Englishmen and
Fasteners dug holes in the hillsides
in which they spent the winters. The
lower sides of these dugouts were
lined with sod and stones.
From this custom the nickname of
badgers was conferred upon those
hardy settlers who came to Wisconsin
TO stay and 10 whom the region was
beautiful despite the severe winters.
The nickname stuck we are
badgers to this day
Tradition has it that the winter of
1855 was the worst known to this
section. 1t is said that the ground
was frozen hard during the entire
month of April On the twentieth of
that month a team drove acrUss the
Mississippi on the ice. The winter
of 1884 is also spoken of as being
record breaker.
In the year of 1847 all previous re-
cords for strange and unaccountable,
behavior of "old Progs' were shatter-
ed. Every month of the year there
was frost in the ground. Great
damage was done to vegetables of all
sorts. The winter however was very
mild, all things considered.
The winter of 1867 was a ter
ror'' from start to finish. Snow fell,
it seemed, almost without cessation.
Strange tales are told of the billiards
of that winter which many OF the
scoffers simply will not believe. On
election day the ground was deeply
covered with 1.-The beautiful.
That winter witnessed practically
the determination of the deer in Grant
county. 1t seems the snow was cover
ed by deep sleet upon which dogs
and wolves could walk safely but
which broke beneath the weight of
the deer.
Many which were not hunted
down in this manner persisted
of starvation so that when spring
came, at last, the few deer that sur
vived made for happier regions
Quails froze and starved by hun
dreds then rs they are said to
be doing at present throughout Wis
consin. Little pyramids of frozen
birds were found here and there where
whole f1ocks had huddIed together for
protection.
Other wood creatures beside the
deer and quail could not survive the
winter. Following the year 1857 the
scarcity of prairie chickens was very
noticeable.
AmOng other things that makes
that winter OF '56-'57 memorable is
the fact that the first railroad blockade
in Grant county occurred that winter.
Before the heaviest SHOWS came certain
towns in the section were putting
on metropolitan airs and were COM
mencing to dream of a future great
ness. A railroad the first to enter
the county-had just started business
under the very inclusive name of the
Milwaukee & Mississippi. The
heavily crusted SHOWS, however, soon
tied up affairs on this ambitious line
as hopelessly as they have been this
winter on the q. & n. W. and forced
the settlers to a realization that
there are certain disadvantages to
railroad traffic.
Another long to- aforementioned
railroad blockade occurred the winter
after the railroad was run into Lam
caster. In January 1879 the narrow