TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State
TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State
TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State
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· Told <strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pioneers<br />
CA T ASTROPHIES<br />
A territory with a history <strong>of</strong> any length must have in its records<br />
events that try <strong>the</strong> spirit <strong>of</strong> its citizens. vVashington, divided as it is<br />
<strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong> great Cascade range, has two sections differing widely in climate,<br />
products and industries. The catastrophies that have stricken<br />
our territory are thus more or less limited in <strong>the</strong>ir area <strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong> mountains.<br />
Disastn)us Winter<br />
The first se\'ere stroke <strong>of</strong> ill luck was <strong>the</strong> hard winter <strong>of</strong> 1861-62.<br />
This winter was particularly hard on <strong>the</strong> east side and did its greatest<br />
damage to <strong>the</strong> cattle ranges. Snow so deep and cold so severe<br />
that range men lost practically all <strong>the</strong> stock in <strong>the</strong> territory. Settlements,<br />
as such, were so new that little or no preparation had been<br />
made to provide <strong>the</strong> stock with winter feed. Experiences <strong>of</strong> former<br />
winters had shown that outside range was ayailable through <strong>the</strong> entire<br />
winter season.<br />
Seeo'Jul lIard JVinter<br />
The bitter experiences <strong>of</strong> 1861-62 were S0011 forgotten <strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong> early<br />
settlers and <strong>the</strong> new settlers, seeing <strong>the</strong>ir stock forag'e winter after<br />
winter, thought it would not happen again. Almost two decades did<br />
pass before <strong>the</strong> second hard winter came. In 1879-80 snow began to<br />
fall on Friday night in early January and <strong>by</strong> Tuesday morning it<br />
measured from four to eight feet in depth all over <strong>the</strong> state. Olympia,<br />
Seattle, Bellingham and Vancouver on <strong>the</strong> west side, reported oyer<br />
four feet. Towards <strong>the</strong> mountain ranges in eastern Lewis, Snohomish<br />
and Skagit counties, depths <strong>of</strong> eight feet were reported. Mild<br />
wea<strong>the</strong>r came for a few days, s<strong>of</strong>tening <strong>the</strong> sno\v, <strong>the</strong>n followed weeks<br />
<strong>of</strong> freezing wea<strong>the</strong>r, forming a crust <strong>the</strong> liYestock were unable to<br />
break through. Again heavy losses in livestock were taken.<br />
On <strong>the</strong> east side <strong>the</strong> snow fall was not so heavy but <strong>the</strong> cold was<br />
more intense and damage to livestock was heavier because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
greater number <strong>of</strong> people depending upon that kind <strong>of</strong> farming for<br />
a livelihood. This heavy loss to <strong>the</strong> range men, coupled ",rith <strong>the</strong> opening<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> central part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> state to homesteads, saw <strong>the</strong> last <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
great herds <strong>of</strong> cattle and bands <strong>of</strong> horses.<br />
Ten years later, almost to <strong>the</strong> day, occurred <strong>the</strong> third storm with<br />
similar results.<br />
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