Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 January 1907 — The Cold New Years Of 1864. [ARTICLE]

The Cold New Years Of 1864.

The Monticello Herald has a very interesting two column article about the Cold New Years of 43 three years ago, and which storm will be remembered and recalled as the worst ever known, so long as anyone is living who was then old enough to remember it. Most of the Herald's article is made of personal remembrances of the storm by various persons, including several who were in rem. te. parts of the country at the time, especially in the south in the U nion army, for that storm covered practically the entire country north, south, east and west. New Years day came on Friday that time, and the storm began on Thursday forenoon. The weather . was very mild and at first, the storm was more rain than snow, soon changing to snow in the round pellet-like form, the wind being south or south east and the atmosphere loaded with moisture. Soon the wind changed to northwest and snow ceased to be pellets and came down in huge wet bunches and so fast that that persons driving against it could not see their horses heads. And it hot only filled the drivers eyes faster than they could brush it off but it filled the eyes of the horses so that every few minutes the drivers needed to get out and dear it off, and also knock from the horses’ feet the immense balls of snow which made it almost impossible for them to travel. After nearly 24 hours of unparalleled snow fall, there came a sud den and absolutely terrific drop in temperature, accompanied by a howling wind from the northwest, and during which plenty of thermometers even in this section of the country reached as low as 30 to 35 degrees below zero. Not only did live .stock and fowls perish in vast numbers, but allover the country persons away from home were lost in the blind ing storm and perished in the bitter cold which followed, and in most instances were buried so deep in the snow that their bodies were not recovered unril general thaw set in towards the end of January. All roads were filled up and north and south ones especially, from fence to fence, and higher than the fences. The storm lasted three days, and on the fourth day the sun shone brightly, but the cold had not abated much until a day or two later.