The year 1886 opened with severely cold weather and snowstorms even heavier than the winter of 1880-1881.
A series of cold spells and heavy snowfalls culminated in the first week of January, when a huge snowstorm accompanied by high winds hit the central plains. Drifts of six feet or more were common and the temperature dropped to 30 degrees below zero in some places. Many prairie homes had been quickly and cheaply built, leaving settlers ill prepared to protect themselves from such cold. The snow and wind were so fierce that people became lost a few yards from their homes.
Nearly 100 Kansans froze to death during the storm. Neither were the settlers prepared to protect their livestock. Cattle turned their tails to the wind and "drifted" for miles across the open range until they dropped from hunger or exhaustion. Losses were high, up to 75% in some areas, and consequently some large western Kansas cattle companies were bankrupted. Business and rail traffic were paralyzed for weeks. The force of eleven Union Pacific locomotives was unable to "buck" through and cut in the snow near ...
Natural conditions contributed to the cause of the Dust Bowl. During the year of 1936, North America was dealt an extreme am...
During the 1870’s the United States experienced great changes with the end of the Civil War. America was going through a period called Reconstruction. Tensions were fairly high and an air of freedom was present throughout the nation. By 1877, it was obvious the United States was beginning to develop into a recognizably modern economic system of making, earning, spending, and living (Brown 60). In 1880, “over half of American workers worked on farms and only one in twenty worked on manufacturing” (Brown 59). Farmers outnumbered factory by a large number, but factories were still abundant. Child labor occurred after the Civil War as well. By 1872, more than 10,000 children were employed in Philadelphia’s industrial workplaces. That number was even larger in cities such as New York, and it increased as the years progressed (Brown 60).
The decade from 1880-1890 was an interesting time for America, giving rise to great advancement in architecture, inventions and businesses. For instance, such now famous companies as Sears Roebuck Company, DeBeers and Johnson & Johnson opened in this time (Timeline). Also, the Brooklyn Bridge, the largest suspension bridge in the world was set up in 1883 (Museum). This decade saw another milestone for architecture, the skyscraper. The first skyscraper, built in Chicago out of an all-iron frame, was completed in 1885.
However, life was not easy for the settlers, who often lived in pioneering conditions as they struggled to establish their farms on what had really been almost virgin grazing land, part of the enormous Tooma and Maragle stations. Natural disasters also challenged them. In 1949, soon after the settlers’ arrival when most were living in makeshift huts or sheds, six inches of snow fell, so stock had to be
The collection that I decided to research was the Soule Family papers. In this collection the context was a lot to do with the railroad that George worked for. A popular topic that was discussed in a lot of the family’s papers was the weather. In the writings of George and Ada, there were a lot of talk about snow, and how cold it was while they were living in Grand Forks and Harvey. George particularly talked about on the railroad that there would be enough snow piled up that it would make the trains get stuck. Ada’s writings were mostly about day-to-day tasks like chores, homework, and again how cold the weather was in North Dakota during February and the winter months. The Soule family collection captured the life of North Dakota in the late 1890s like a picture, the severe weather, and the hardships of money. North Dakota is a very hard working state and is comfortably ordinary place to live and that’s what this collection captured best.
Robert Henri urged his students in Philadelphia and New York to reject idealism and to focus instead on reality, whether it be banal or harsh. “Draw your material from the life around you, from all of it. There is beauty in everything if it looks beautiful to your eyes. You can find it anywhere, everywhere.”
3. See Eleanor Atkinson, “The Winter of the Deep Snow,” Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society 14 (1909), The title was changed from “The Winter of the Deep Snow” to “The Year of the Deep Snow.” The Prairie State: A Documentary History of Illinois, Colonial Years to 1860, ed. Roberts P. Sutton (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976)
During their western voyage, the group notoriously known as the “Donner Party” inevitably became trapped in a snowstorm in the winter of 1846 and 1847. Originally, the group set out for California in search of new opportunities. Figure 1 shows the path that the party followed to arrive in their set destination. After departing from Springfield, Illinois, the Donner’s first stop was in Independence, Missouri where they joined the rest of their traveling companions. The party had then planned on arriving at Fort Bridger to join another expedition, but they were too late and the expedition left without them (Johnson, 1). They left from Fort Bridger on July 31, 1846 using their own navigation skills in hopes of landing at their destination (Diamond, 2). When an unfortunate snowstorm hit, the group was left stranded. To make matters worse, they were split up between Truckee Lake and Alder Creek. They struggled during this time for they had few supplies and a limited food source. Of the 81 person party, only 45 survived the horrendous conditions (Johnson, 1). That number of casualties may seem fairly typical based on the condit...
Technology was a lacking factor on that January 12th day of 1888, which did not give those people warning on what was coming their way. Forecasters that were subject to human error did not have access to information that could have been provided by the Army. Certain weather terminology was forbidding to use for the fear that some cities were immune to these storms. During that day of the blizzard there were no advanced warning signs (outside of the temperature dropping) that the worst blizzard was about to occur, technology had not yet reached that point. If on that day or any day, the Army would have made weather a top priority some of those children could have been saved or at home with their families instead of dying alone in the snow. Forecasters could only get weather information the day of or twenty-four hours before. Many of the weather disasters were not accurate, so if there were any weather predictions good or bad, the people had no choice to believe it. Both parties really did not know any more than the
(6) The suddenness of the winter storm caught people by surprise. A roar “like an approaching train” was all the warning the storm gave. (130) The roaring wind and snow brought darkness and dropping temperatures. The people who were inside when the blizzard struck faced a dilemma. Staying inside and doing nothing seemed “heartless,” but going into the storm “on a rescue mission was likely to be fatal to the rescuer and useless to the lost.” (143) The people who were unfortunate enough to be away from home, whether they were at school or working with their livestock, had to make a difficult decision. They could either risk trying to make it home or chance it out and stay where they were. Schoolteachers had to decide whether to send the children home or keep them at the school. If anyone ventured outside, he or she risked frostbite, hypothermia, and likely
Then, to make matters worse, in the mid-30s the environment and weather were not ideal for f...
The North and South in the years 1800 to 1860 were divided into two different territory which showed their different morale and lifestyle. Both factions conflicting ideas towards the issues affecting the nation. The compromise was made impossible by 1860 due to disagreement over states' rights, intense growth in sectionalism and dispute over the morals of slavery. During the time, the north underwent major social, industrial, and economic changes known as the Antebellum Period. The industrial economy took place in the North while the cotton kingdom took place in the South. The southern states wanted to expand slavery to other countries, while the northern states wanted to limit slavery to the South. In the Election of 1860 when Lincoln was elected, he believed slavery was wrong and made efforts to hold the Union together, Attempts such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Great Compromise of 1850 to bring reconciliation the North and South were made which led the Tariff/Nullification Controversy. In the early 1800s, the South and North faction made attempts to compromise but f...
I stepped out of the chilly November air and into the warmth of my home. The first snowfall of the year had hit early in the morning, and the soft, powdery snow provided entertainment for hours. As I laid my furry mittens and warm hat on the bench to dry, I was immediately greeted with the rich scent of sweet apple pie, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and the twenty-pound turkey my mother was preparing for our Thanksgiving feast.
On January 12, 1888, the Children’s Blizzard hits part of the Northwest Plains. This blizzard is also known as the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard or Schoolhouse Blizzard (Potter). The name is associated with schoolchildren’s because it was mostly children trying to go back home, that froze to death along their way. It was such a beautiful day, just like one of those days someone would have in April, that no one would have suspected such a bitter snowstorm to come. The blizzard came when a cold, arctic wind from Canada met with the winds that came from the south. Everyone, including the kids, were dressed up with short sleeves. Just like how somebody would wear on a hot, spring day. The air from Canada carried heavy snow and harsh winds along with it, causing the hurricane (Blizzard Brings Tragedy to Northwest Plains). The Children’s Blizzard hit both of South and North Dakota (back then in 1888, it was one territory), Nebraska, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, causing lots of heartbroken and unexpected deaths (McLeod).
captive by a sheath of frost, as were the glacial branches that scraped at my windows, begging to get in. It is indeed the coldest year I can remember, with winds like barbs that caught and pulled at my skin. People ceaselessly searched for warmth, but my family found that this year, the warmth was searching for us.