Winter of 1856-1857 (written in 1897)

BROWN

Posted By: Ken Akers (email)
Date: 5/31/2016 at 16:59:09

Audubon County Journal (IA)
Thursday, Jan. 28, 1897

Atlantic, January 27.--The severe
cold weather of the past few days has
put some of the old settlers in a remi-
niscent vein, and they all agree that
the winter of 1856-1857 was the most se-
vere that Iowa has ever had since she
became a State. On the 1st of Decem-
ber, 1856, the wind veered to the north-
west and for three days the snow fell
in such quantities that it was three
feet on the level, and in places it was
drifted to a depth of twelve or fifteen
feet. The four-horse stage coaches
which were run from Des Moines to
Council Bluffs were on runners for
thirteen successive weeks, and thirteen
weeks' sucessive sleighing is probably
the record of the state. There was a
heavy crust on the snow at times, and
fences interposed no objections to the
routes of the sleighs as the fences were
truly "out of sight." The thermome-
ter was down to forty degrees below
zero at times. During the winter the
afterwards famous John Brown accom-
panied a party of eighteen runaway
negroes through the country en route
from Missouri to Canada, Grove City,
two and a half miles east of Atlantic,
being one of the regular stations of the
"underground railway." The party
had three mule teams, and the adults
of the party were well armed with
rifles and Colt's revolver.