USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 70
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A great storm, or, more properly, a series of storms, was inaugurated on the night of Tuesday, the fifteenth of January, 1861. The snow-fall which commenced during the early evening, was accompanied with a fierce wind from the northeast. A publie entertainment had called together a large audience at the court house, and at its close it was with great difficulty that the citizens made their way through snow drifts and the driving blasts, to their homes. Those who had come in from the country were compelled to remain in town all night, as the storm was too violent to be braved by man or beast, on the open prairie, with all traces of roads oblit- erated. The snow fell to a depth of from eighteen inches to two feet on a level, but was so drifted over the prairies and forced into the cuts on the railroad, by the driving wind which continued after the snow had ceased to fall, that an effectual embargo was laid upon commu- nication between town and country, as well as between the beleaguered town and more distant points by railroad.
The circumstances that intensified the privation of news from the outer world, which the citizens, not only of Independence, but of the entire county then suffered, can hardly be appreciated by the generation which has since come upon the stage of active life. Let it be re-
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membered, then, that already had Major Anderson aban- doned Fort Moultrie, spiking the cannon and burning the gun carriages, and, occupying Fort Sumter, was awaiting the instructions of the Government. The latest advices from Washington had announced the departure of the Star of the West, from New York with troops and munitions for the relief of Major Anderson ; her arrival before Charleston ; her attempt to enter the harbor ; the opening upon her of the batteries at Morris Island, and her subsequent return to sea without accomplishing her mission. What was likely to be the next act in the opening drama, was the one question which stirred the hearts of millions of patriots, scattered throughout the length, if not the breadth, of the land. It needs but a slight effort of the imagination to recall the burning im- patience with which the daily mail was awaited; the crowds that gathered about the post office; the eager questioning of those who were not so fortunate as to se- cure the latest daily ; the frequent reading aloud of the latest dispatches by some considerate, public spirited citizen. All these things are as of yesterday to men still in the prime of manhood, but the boys that hung upon those eager groups, attracted by an enthusiasm which they vaguely comprehended, now stand in the places of many a noble young patriot, whose life was offered on the altar of his country, and who fell doing battle for freedom and for right.
Wednesday and Thursday went by, and no mail; nor had the Tuesday's train returned from Jesup, then the terminus of the road. Friday and Saturday passed, and still no mail. Late Saturday afternoon the return train was reported to be about two miles west of town, bat_ tling with the huge snow waves, and anxious to reach the haven of the Independence depot.
Again the town went to sleep; feeling, no doubt, that if it might prove a Rip Van Winkle nap, and unseal their eyelids, when the world outside should be unsealed to their waking senses, it were a boon devotedly to be craved. About 10 o'clock on Sunday morning the shrill whistle of the eastern train startled the snow-bound den- izens of town and vicinity, and as it rolled up to the depot, everyone felt that the parted links which had iso- lated them so effectually, were again united and once more they were a part of the busy, moving, wide-awake world.
The train had been on the rails between Dubuque and Independence since Wednesday morning. It reached Dyersville Wednesday night, and Manchester Friday night. It was from 8 o'clock Saturday morning until 10 o'clock Sunday morning in making its way through drifts of marvelous depth and compactness, to this place. It was within two or three miles of the town on Saturday night, but, breaking the smokestack of the locomotive, Marion, it was compelled to stay on the prairie all night, the passengers and employes sleeping on the cars. The train had three locomotives attached, and was preceded by a huge but rude snow plow, with which, and a force of seventy shovellers, it had worked its laborious way as has been related. It went westward to Jesup in the afternoon, and returned to the Independence depot about ro o'clock P. M., on its return to Dubuque.
The mail matter brought by this train was, of course, only one day later than that already received, so that almost a week of possibilities in the past remained, upon which the citizens, anxious and impatient for news from Charleston and Fort Sumter, speculated and conjectured and over which, even before the flag and Fort Sumter had been fired upon, Buchanan county patriotism glowed at a white heat.
But the storm was not over. Frequent snow-falls and almost constantly prevailing north and northwesterly winds, put a complete quietus upon the operations of the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad company, for several days subsequent to the return of the trains as already described.
On Wednesday, the twenty-third, the train came through again from the east; but, after working for sev- eral hours, trying to foree a passage westward to Jesup, was compelled to return to Independence and stay over night. On the morning of Thursday, the attempt was renewed; but, after getting about four miles west, the engine was thrown from the track and remained in a snow-bank until Sunday, the twenty-seventh. The train from the west also made an ineffectual attempt to reach Independence on the twenty-third, but was compelled to return to Jesup. It returned to the encounter the next day, but old Boreas, having entered the lists against Monsieur Puff, upon whom, no doubt, he looked down with very much the feeling we may imagine an elephant to entertain toward a barking poodle flying at his pro- boscis, blew so long and so strong a blast, that the drifts were repiled almost faster than they were removed, and so, after getting within a mile or two of the engine off the track, it was compelled a second time to beat a re- treat and return to Jesup. On the twenty-seventh the engine was replaced upon the track and the train re- turned to the depot to await the daylight, so indispensi- ble to this peculiar style of railroad operations. The third attempt to bring the western train (Conductor Cawley's) through was successful. Boreas, having shown how easy he could do it, and being after all a jolly old roisterer, or as some of the shoveling corps suggested, having roared himself into an acute stage of bronchitis, allowed Monsieur Puff to proceed on his journey. It was not expected, however, that the trains bound eastward would reach Dubuque before Tuesday, as the road was badly blocked between Independence and Farley, and the time of its return was problematical. If the storm had spent itself, a few days would restore things to their normal condition-but, refreshed as a giant with sleep, the storm burst forth anew. During the first week of February, several falls of snow were added to the twenty- five or thirty inches already covering the earth, and, as at the beginning, a strong wind, which prevailed for several days, piled the surface snow into a new stratum of drifts, and closed the roads in all directions; thus cutting off once more the county seat from communication with the farming population, and making railroad locomotion an impossibility.
The editor of the Buchanan County Guardian sug- gested that if Uncle Sam would cut off the mail facilities
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of the seceding States, as effectually as the great storm had cut off those of the citizens of Buchanan county, secession would prove less palatable to the cotton con- federacy, than it appeared to be at that date.
Under date of Friday, February 5th, the statement was made that no train had been at that place since "last Monday week." These were the trains which we have already seen plowing their way eastward, and which reached Dubuque the fourth day from Independence.
On Wednesday, January 30th, a train left Dubuque for Jesup, and on Thursday had reached Masonville ; but the locomotive having cracked the head of one of her cylinders, the passengers, mail and express goods were sent westward by sleighs, and reached here Thurs- day night. On Friday and Saturday, the first and second of February, two engines were in the neighbor- hood of Winthrop, endeavoring, with a force of nearly one hundred men, to work through ; but, disabling some of their machinery, they were compelled to go back to Dubuque, leaving the Independents in a very dependent situation. Hear their touching lament ! "When we are to hear of, or get sight of them again, who can guess ?" " Merchants are getting pretty badly off for some kinds of staples ; editors are worried for 'copy ;' and the people are anxious for news."
It may be well to mention here, as proof that mankind are not degenerating with the terrible velocity some would fain have us believe, that even at that period, while this unequal contest was being waged, there were men who could hold the railroad company responsible for the failure of the mails. But, on the other hand, the prevalent feeling among all classes, seemed to be, that everything possible had been done to keep open the lines of communication. Conductors Cawley and Northrup were accorded the praise of having been indefatigable in their exertions to push their trains through the snow banks. They had not remitted their efforts day or night, nor had their efforts been wanting in intelligence or determined enterprise. Since the storm began, there had been scarcely a day in which the cuts would not fill up, almost as fast as the snow was thrown out. The company had expended thousands of dollars ; wasted a vast amount of energy ; destroyed their engines and frozen their men, without result. And yet these grave censors, sleeping in their downy beds, and failing to find their morning paper beside their smoking coffee, thought somebody ought to have done something ! Verily, it is well for these people that they are not a product of modern civilization, and that our reverence for what has been transmitted to us from the misty ages of the past prevents them from being regarded as un- mitigated nuisances.
On Saturday, the ninth of February, a warm south wind prevailed, and the vast accumulation of snow was rapidly diminished ; and this, hastened by a warm rain on Sunday, made pedestrianism literally a mode of navi- gation. Happily the danger which threatened from a too rapid conversion of the superincumbent burden of moisture to a liquid state, was averted by a change to cold on Monday, and another freezing up prevented the
tumultuous Wapsipinicon from indulging in what the "down easters " call a "January thaw." The quantity of snow, however, had been so far reduced, and what was left, put in so compact a condition that sleighing, on a good foundation, was at once established ; and the farmers, liberated from the four weeks' embargo, re- sumed their winter avocations, and the streets of the county metropolis were once more alive with traffic.
The following extract from an editorial, under date of February 26th, will show that this relenting mood of the storm king was of short duration :
Saturday was one of the most disagreeable days we have ever seen. The wind blew with immense force, taking the snow from the ground (doubtless a fresh fall of the ' beautiful,' etc.), and whirling it about in the air in clouds so dense, that it was impossible to see more than a rod or two. It was almost an impossibility for man or beast to face it, and almost every ore kept in-doors, leaving our town, on a day usually the busiest of the week, more quiet than it generally is on Sun- day. Certainly the present winter stands out boldly, as one of the severest ever experienced in the country.
We have had but two trains from the east since the fifteenth of January, and none since the twenty-third, more than a month since. Our people begin to feel like a youngster who had heen compelled to doff his first jacket and trousers, and go back to frock and petticoat. Instead of steam carriage and five hours to Dubuque, we have got back to horse teams and two days to the Mississippi. Instead of daily mail and express, we have gone back to tri-weekly and weekly posts. Instead of the shrill whistle and thundering rumble of the loco- motive, we hear the crack of the ox-whip and the scraping of the ox- sled. Verily our spurs are off ; our tail feathers out ; and strutting has become an absurdity. We're in short clothes again, and are not a bit bigger than such fellows as Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Waterloo and Cedar Falls.
But, presto! a short week, and the winter of their dis- content was passed. On Friday, March Ist, the inspir- ing notes of the steam whistle sent the long silent echoes flying over the frozen surface of the Wapsie. The iron steed, flinging from its steaming nostrils, upon the frosty air, long wreaths of vapor of dazzling whiteness, stood panting once more before a jubilant population.
The train left Dubuque on Friday, the twenty-second; and, after the most energetic exertions, succeeded in opening the road to Independence by the afternoon of the following Friday. The employes ate and slept upon the train and worked faithfully, and even with enthusiasm, to clear the track which, under the snow fallen since the thaw, early in February, was covered, in many places, with a considerable depth of ice. Superintendent Young remained with the train during the entire week, sharing the coarse fare of the men employed in the laborious work of extricating the rails from their long-continued ice-bath. And thus they closed up their long winter campaign, with a slight variation from cutting a road through snow banks from six to fifteen feet in depth.
Fears had been entertained that the railroad bridge at Independence had become insecure, since, through the expansion of the ice around the supports of the bridge, it had been thrown out of position. The workmen suc- ceeded, however, in getting it back to its position in time for the train to pass over it on Saturday, the second of March; and, as additional precautions had been taken to render it secure, it was believed to be even safer than before.
On Tuesday, March 12th, the cars which had been
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running regularly since the first day of the month, ran through for the first time to Waterloo, and from that date thereafter.
The following card, which explains itself, is inserted as a most suitable conclusion, embodying, as it does, many names of early citizens and the experiences it describes being a part of the history of the great storm of 1860-61 :
INDEPENDENCE, January 20, 1861.
We, the undersigned, for the past five days local residents in snow- banks upon the line of the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad, in this hour of our deliverance convened, most heartily subscribe to the following resolutions :
Resolved : That we do extend to Mr. James S. Northrup, con- I. ductor of the Dubuque & Souix City railroad, our unqualified thanks for his gentlemanly and courteous manner towards us at all times; also for his marked efforts to supply us with all necessary material com- forts, and his untiring efforts, both by night and by day, to bring us to our destination. And that although we may never meet him person- ally again, our earnest prayer shall ever be that he may long be spared to gladden many a heart by his manly bearing, as he has this day ours; and that when the giver of every good and perfect gift shall see fit to call him from our midst, that the sun of his life shall set in a fair western sky, as a bright emblem that his to-morrow shall be fair.
2. Resolved: That we find in Martin Hinman, engineer of the locomotive Dubuque, a faithful, gentlemanly, cautious, persevering and never-tiring officer, whose services should ever be held in the high- est esteem by every person who shall ever have occasion to pass over the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad; and that we feel that his services cannot be valued in money by any railroad company who may secure the same.
3. Resolved : That we would not be, and are not, unmindful of the kindness of the citizens of Manchester, who, upon being advised of our perilous situation in the snow, four miles east of their village, came on horseback to our aid, and manfully labored until they brought us to their beautiful haven, "where there was bread enough and to spare." Also to O. B. Dutton, station agent at Masonville (as well as others), who when we were truly "an hungered," at once set his household in order and gratuitously supplied us. May neither he, nor his children, ever lack bread.
4. Resolved: That we invite the press of Dubuque, Independence, Waterloo, and Cedar Falls, to insert the foregoing resolutions once in their weekly editions.
A. W. BOWMAN,
P. C. WILCON, W. B. MILLS, E. O. BARTLETT, C. RANKIN, JOHN S. NORWAY, E. A. WOODRUFF, J. F. DUNCOMBE, D. A. MCKINLAY, C. WILBORN, R. M. JOHNSON, JAMES WOODS, FRANKLIN MILLER, J. S. RICE, . R. P. FEWTON,
JAMES MILLER,
A. B. WORDEN, GEORGE BENTLEY,
W. L. BRISTOL, J. H. CORKERY, PATRICK SILLERS, A. NORRIS,
J. G COOPER, J. W. KING.
PROCEEDINGS IN RELATION TO THE DEATH OF SENATOR DOUGLAS.
The action taken by the citizens of Independence, on the occasion of the death of Senator Stephen A. Doug- las, at a time when treason had filled the land with indig- nation not unmixed with dark forebodings, is so honor- able to human nature, and so well illustrates the supreme value of patriotism in the esteem of all true men, that it seems highly proper that a record of this action should make a part of the history of the time.
A hotly contested election, in which the fallen states- man bore a conspicuous part, had, because of the greater interests involved, engendered more than the usual amount of bitterness. But when the danger which threatened the best government the sun cver shone upon, stood unmasked, the true patriot also stood
revealed-he was no longer a partisan-he stood shoulder to shoulder with all who loved and defended his country. And so it happened, that when the sad announcement was made that Senator Douglas was dead, a general gloom settled upon the community. A true patriot, who was throwing all his great powers into the service of the Government, when it seemed that not one strong arm bared in its defence could be spared, had fallen; and without distinction of party, all patriots mourned.
A call was made for a meeting of citizens at the court house, June 5, 1861, at 9 o'clock P. M., that all might meet to do honor to the dead. The large hall of the court house was filled to overflowing at the hour ap- pointed, and a deep feeling of a common loss pervaded the entire assemblage.
J. S. Woodward, esq., was called to the chair, and L. W. Hart was chosen secretary. The object of the meeting having been appropriately stated by the chair- man of the meeting, the committee on resolutions re- ported the following through their chairman, O. H. P. Roszell:
WHEREAS, by the dispensation of Providence we are called upon to mourn the loss of Stephen A. Douglas, a statesman cut off in the prime of life, a firm supporter of his country in its greatest danger, therefore, while we leave it for the historian to record the many acts of his public ife, be it
Resolved, I. That we regard the death of Stephen A. Douglas as a great national calamity.
2. That we recognize in him an honest man, a true patriot, and a great statesman; that in his death freedom has lost a friend and cham- pion, the constitution a chief support, and the Nation one of its bright- est ornaments and most illustrious sages.
3. That his death is specially deplored in the present distracted con- dition of the country, when the hopes of so many were resting on him as the man through whose possible influence order might be brought out of chaos, and our beloved country once again become united, pros- perous and happy.
4. That we sympathize deeply and sincerely with the family of the illustrious dead, and with our fellow countrymen, everywhere, in this our common bereavement.
5. That as a fitting tribute to his memory we renew in our hearts our allegiance to the Union, and our fidelity to the great principles of popular rights.
These resolutions were supported by eloquent ad- dresses from Hon. O. H. P. Roszell, Lorenzo Moore, Jed Lake, E. P. Baker, W. S. Marshall, W. G. Donnan, J. M. Hord, and L. W. Hart, esqrs. Rev. J. Fulton and others also made appropriate addresses, after which the resolutions were unanimously adopted.
A motion was carried that the resolutions and pro- ceedings be published in the papers ot the county, and a copy sent to the family of the deceased.
THE GREAT FIRE OF MAY 25, 1874.
A more graphic or faithful account of this lamentable disaster few pens could produce, and certainly few read- ers ask, than that which is here transferred to our pages from the columns of the first number of the Bulletin is- sued after that destructive conflagration.
"OUT OF THE ASHES."
After an involuntary suspension of one issue, the Bulletin again greets its readers, not with an apology, but with something akin to con- gratulation. In the widespread disaster which cast its murky shadow upon our beautiful city, on the morning of the twenty-fifth of May, no interest wholly escaped damage, and the press, so far as its means of communicating with the public was concerned, was pretty effectually
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wiped out. All that remained at daylight, of the eventful morning, of two well-provided and well-stocked printing-offices was a few broken fonts of type, the rest being represented by a heap of smoking debris. That, under these adverse and discouraging circumstances, the Bulletin, has been compelled to intermit but one regular issue --- that being sup- plied by a voluminous extra-is therefore a source of gratification and pride to its publishers, and we cannot doubt, from the expressions that reach us, of congratulation to the public. This ability, so soon after the total destruction of its resources, to resume its legitimate work, is partially due to good fortune, though our modesty shall not forbid tis to put in a claim for a little energy and enterprise in the matter.
While yet the flames were crackling and hissing among our finest business blocks, we measured the full extent of the calamity that had fallen upon our city, and appreciated the fact that the only way to overcome it and rise superior to it, was the maintainance, on the part of our people, of the most unfaltering courage, founded upon invinci- ble faith in the future of our city. Willing to set an example in this regard, that is, to show our faith by our works, we started for Chicago on the day of the fire, without money and with no definite idea of the extent of our resources, to purchase new material for the re-establish- ment of the Bulletin; not stopping to discuss the probable effects of the calamity upon business. We found all the business men of Chica- go, with whom we had dealt before, sympathizingly interested in the de- tails "of the disaster to Independenee, ready and willing to extend any aid in their power, and confident of the ability of our merchants and property owners to rally from the shock. The credit of our business community has not been weakened a particle, despite the late misfor- tune. We purchased an entire new outfit, the greater portion of which has arrived and is set up. The Bulletin is again an entity, and notwithstanding all that comes in the shape of ordinary dispensations, proposes to live and to chronicle the rise of our fair young city from the ashes of her sorrow, to a higher plane of prosperity and a larger growth than before. We have implicit confidence in the recu- perative power of our community, and we only ask our fellow citizens to realize that, though crippled, we are by no means ruined. Let us admit of no unprofitable repining, but put our shoulders to the wheel and, from the uncomfortable distinction of the most unfortunate city of lowa, let us earn the reputation of the pluckiest.
With this pronunciamento, breathing a spirit of calm determination and confidence which could not fail to be contagious, the editor of the Bulletin proceeds to give what may be called, in reference to previous accounts, the "official report" of the great contest between the fire fiend and the opposing forces, whose resources were taxed to their utmost to stay his all devouring progress:
THE GREAT FIRE.
Through the Bulletin extra of last week, and the very full and com- plete accounts in the Dubuque papers, the majority of our readers are probably already in possession of the particulars of the disastrous con- flagration which laid waste the business portion of our city two weeks since in which were involved the Bulletin office and contents. We pro- pose in this article to go over some of the prominent incidents of the calamity for the information of the readers of the Bulletin at a distance.
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