Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-02-15

While it was written with no y
intention of being made public, .
yet his life has been filled with
such varied experiences, dating :
from his birth in England. boy :
hood, soldier, clergyman, legis-
lator, ETC., that we find much
which we believe will e. -ead =
with interest by the publs2x ID =
we will therefore from tins h. =
time as space permits publEN<
sections of this autobiography, =
should 1t prove of sufficient in
terest to continue.)
CONTINUED from last week.
In the memory of the oldest in
habitant, the winter of 1857, in
what is now the middle west, has
never been surpassed for severity
and suffering. For many weeks it
was intensely cold and the snow
was quite four feet deep on the
level; in many places the highest
fences were entirely out of sight
for days. The Rev. Landon Taylor,
a prominent pioneer preacher OF the
Methodist Episcopal church, who
had been sent as a, missionary to
the settlers along the Missouri riv-
er in the fall of 1856. says of the
situation in western Iowa: ION
the first day of December, 1855,
winter commenced with snow from
the northwest, increasing in sever
ity until the afternoon of the sec
ond day, when the climax was
reached. About 2:UU p. M, / start
ed from my office for dinner about
ten rods distant. When about one
rod on my way / became lost, not
being able to see my hand before
me, and the storm cutting my
breath, i halted and aueried:
strange IL / should perish within
a few feet of my door. But thought
as am facing the storm northwest,
If / return southeast / will strike
my office, and this happy idea
brought me into safe quarters. The
storm continued for three days and
snow reached the depth of four feet
on the level, accompanied with a
crust so hard as to bear up a man.
i mis- was truly snow blockade, for
no one could travel for weeks and
the people being short of provisions,
many had to subsist on hominy and
a few potatoes. Such was the depth
of snow during this winter that in
some instances it was dangerous to
venture far from home, in view of
the hungry wolves. A negro had
been out little distance from home
chopping, when on his return he
was driven by pack of wolves into
a fence corner, where his remains
and his axe were found. with six
dead wolves lying by his side"
While the houses of the poorer
people were mere shanties of boards
and very cold, there was always
plenty of fire wood so they could be
kept comparatively comfortable, ex-
cept in the EXTREMIST weather, when
1t was impossible TO keep warm
even by piling the old double-deck-
er cook stoves which also served as
heaters full of wood. We were liv-
ing at that time in one of those
shanties which my father had put
up, in the hazel brush at the out
skirts of the town. The severe cold
and deep SHOWS had driven what
game had not already perished, in
to the towns for food and shelter,
One morning just as my mother was
opening the back door to throw
out a pan of dish water, flock OF
quails which had been feeding near
the house flew up to escape threat
ened danger. Unfortunately just at
the moment when this occurred a
young hunter who mad been on the
trail of the birds for some time,
raised his piece in a direct line for
quails and the door and fired at
the moment when it opened, not
seeing my mother in his eagerness
to shoot the birds and taking no
thought of the danger of firing in
the direction of the house. 1t was
fortunate the gun was loaded with
nothing heavier than quail shot. foI
II 1t had been. mother would surely
have been killed, as she received the
entire charge in her face. neck and
breast. 1t was a long time before
she fully recovered from the shock
which, as may we'll be imagined. was
very severe; but we were all thank.
full she escaped with her life.