USA > Kansas > Labette County > History of Labette County, Kansas, and representative citizens > Part 10
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In July, 1886. a family of movers stopped just before crossing the bridge north of Os- wego, and for some cause their team com- menced backing, and backed the wagon off the
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HISTORY OF LABETTE COUNTY
bluff to the right. The mother was badly in- jured and a little boy had his leg broken.
In April, 1892, the barn of William Kol- lenberger, of Elm Grove township, was struck by lightning. Five horses and two cattle were killed, and the barn, with its contents of tools, grain, etc., was burned.
Since the foregoing account was prepared, there have been a good many instances of de- struction of buildings by storms, by lightning and by fire, as well as other accidents to prop- erty and to persons. But none has come witlı- in my knowldge which I deem of sufficient general interest to separately mention here.
METEOROLOGICAL
1865 .- Fore part of season pleasant. July 4th, Neosho higher than has ever been known at any time down to 1885. Fall pleasant. Stock did well during winter, grazing on river bottom.
1866 .- About usual weather up to May. June wet; all the streams were overflowing. What little crop was planted did well where it was not killed by overflow. In September the grasshoppers came in great numbers, and ate up everything that was green, completely filling the earth with their eggs. Fall and winter very mild.
1867 .- January and February were very warm; the leaves were started in February, and grasshoppers' eggs were hatching this month. March was disagreeable, and colder than either of the winter months; it froze hard, and the young grasshoppers were all killed; they gave no trouble that season. Crops were not planted until the last of April. May and June pleasant. Latter part of June and July extremely wet; ground too wet to get on it with machines; grain had to be cut with cra- dles ; streams overflowed. Very dry during the fall ; streams got very low. A little cold weath- er during December.
1868 .- There was considerable cold weath- er during January, the thermometer indicating 3 or 4 degrees below zero, and the ice on the Neosho being six to eight inches thick; the cold extended into the fore part of Febru-
ary. February was milder ; some corn planted the last of the month made a good crop. A few showers during the fore part of March; snow and hail storms about the middle; it was a very windy month. Corn was generally planted about the first of April; cattle turned out to grass about the 10th. Several good showers during May. June was very dry, grass injured ; corn badly damaged by hot and dry weather; harvest commenced about the last of June. The middle of July the thermometer ranged from 110 to 115. The latter part of August was the first time the ground had been soaking wet for a year. September, heavy rains ; streams overflowed. Wheat sowing took place in October. Middle of November the ground was frozen. Latter part of November and fore part of December severe sleet and snow storm, and the same during the latter part of December.
1869 .- January and February were mild and wet; the Neosho was over bank; cattle did well on the range with little or no feed. February 25th was the coldest day of the win- ter; thermometer was 5 degrees below zero; little snow during the winter. March was windy, rainy and disagreeable; cattle turned on the range the first of April. Corn mostly planted the latter part of April. Plenty of garden truck the latter part of May and fore part of June; frequent rains during June. Wheat harvest commenced the first of July.
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August was dry and hot. Plenty of rains during the fall. Snow the 16th of No- vember, and December roth it fell to the depth of fourteen inches.
1870 .- There were several cold days in January, but 10 extremely cold weather ; sev- eral slight snows during January and Febru- ary. February pleasant. Quite a hard snow on the 12th of March; the last of March a good rain, which was the first hard rain dur- ing the spring. On April 16th there was a hard frost which cut down the corn and pota- toes. Wheat harvest commenced about the middle of June; latter part of June and fore part of July very hot. Latter part of July and fore part of August hot and dry ; heavy rains the latter part of August. The fall very sea- sonable. High water during the latter part of October. Several inches of snow the latter part of December.
1871 .- January Ist was pleasant; lettuce was growing in the gardens large enough to eat; January 12th to 15th heavy snow storms; extremely cold; snow 15 inches deep. Febru- ary 3d a heavy rain, accompanied by wind. April 21st heavy frost, which killed grass and fruit. Last week of June was very warm; thermometer stood at 90 to 104 degrees ; wheat harvest commenced the Ist of June. On the Ist of July a good rain fell. August and Sep- tember were dry. November 13th, the first freeze; 18th, first snow. December cold, with little snow.
1872 .- January cool, but generally pleas- ant; 7th, 14 inches of snow. February Ist, sleet and snow. March dry, and wheat suffer- ing. Middle of May a good rain ; last of May new potatoes were in market. Wheat harvest commenced about the 20th of June. Part of last half of December very cold.
1873 .- Fore part of January sleet; snow
and showers during latter part of month. Feb- ruary was fine, with showers of rain, and snow. Severe hail storms during April; one very severe on the 5th; on the 8th it snowed and sleeted all day; at night the ground was covered with snow to the depth of four inches. During May and June there were heavy rains; Neosho River overflowed; harvest commenced about the 20th of June. August was very dry.
1874 .- January pleasant, little snow or cold. Season all that could be desired for crops up to July. Chinch-bugs work on wheat some this year; harvest commenced about June IOth. July and August extremely hot; corn greatly injured; in August grasshoppers came. November 18th a sleet, and first freeze.
1875 .- January was cold, but little snow. More snow in February. Oats sown about the Ioth of March. Corn planting commenced about the Ist of April, and continued until June on account of two crops being eaten off by the grasshoppers.
1876 .- Opened with a hard rain; no snow during January ;' weather cold, but not severe. No snow in February, and considerable cold weather. March 19th, 10 inches of snow on the ground, and the weather cold. Year closed with a cold spell and hard snow storm.
1877 .- Fore part of January sleet and snow and weather somewhat cold, but generally the month was pleasant. During February and March there was much rain and roads muddy. Heavy rains in April and May. The fore part of May, Prof. Riley was in the county investi- gating grasshoppers ; the eggs were then hatch- ing. June 5th to 8th heavy rains and streams at high-water mark; houses on bottoms sur- rounded with water, corn crop washed out; June 28th one of the hardest rains ever known, accompanied by wind and hail. This season the corn was replanted two and in some instances
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three times. There was plenty of rain during July and August. November 8th wind and snow. December was wet and muddy; no snow during the latter part.
1878 .- January generally wet ; roads mud- dy ; wheat looked fine. February continued wet, but generally pleasant. In May the Neo- sho River overflowed; boats used for travel on the bottom lands; many families had to leave their homes and go to higher grounds; the San Francisco track was washed out; the streams were all out of bank. During June it rained almost incessantly; the ground too wet to harvest with machines; wheat cutting com- menced about the 6th of June; most of it had to be cut with cradles; much of it was lost be- cause of inability to get on the ground to har- vest. Latter part of July and August were dry and hot. No frost until the Ist of De- cember ; about the middle of December heavy sleet ; December 17th and following, Neosho frozen over-ice six to eight inches thick.
1879 .- The first part of January was cold. with six inches of snow on the ground; more snow during the latter part of the month. New potatoes in market about the middle of May. Wheat cutting commenced June 10th; rain during the latter part of June. July and fore part of August hot ; some fine rains. Good rains about the middle of August. The grass- hoppers created a scare in September, but did no great amount of damage. The fall was dry and warm; November 10th a good rain. The year closed with the ground covered with ice and snow.
1880 .- January warm; very little ice or snow. February, oats were sown and garden made. March was colder than January or Feb- ruary. April 28th, Prof. John Tice visited Oswego and lectured on cyclones; came to make scientific investigation on this subject.
Plenty of rain during May and June; crops look well. Summer very seasonable. Last part of August dry. October 7th, six inches of snow. November 16th, snowed all day, and was snowy and disagreeable until the 20th. December 23d, 12 degrees below zero; ice on the Neosho six inches thick.
1881 .- Large quantities of ice were taken from the river the fore part of January. Feb- ruary IIth, hard snow storm; 23 degrees be- low zero. March, snowy. The summer was generally dry and hot. Rains commenced about the first of October. November 25th, sleet and ice.
1882 .- January warm and muddy during the first part of the month, with cold weather the last part. February, a good deal of rain and little winter. May 12th, sleet and frost. Much rain during May and June. Hot wind in September. Considerable snow in Decem- ber.
1883 .- First part of January good sleigh- ing and cold weather; January 5th, 20 degrees below zero; the month generally cold, with plenty of ice and snow. Fore part of Febru- ary, a severe storm. The streams were all frozen from Christmas of 1882 up to the mid- dle of February ; generally frozen to the bot- tom, so that it was difficult to get water for stock; February 14th, ice commenced break- ing up; latter part of February, rained so that by the opening of March roads were almost impassable. Spring was very cold and back- ward. June was very hot; 14th, the streams were out of their banks. Good rains during July. November 12th. a hard freeze. De- cember 3d, five inches of snow, and more snow during latter part of the month.
1884 .- January Ist, 5 degrees below zero; ground covered with snow; January 3d, 15 to 20 degrees below zero; January one of the
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HISTORY OF LABETTE COUNTY
most disagreeable months for years. Febru- ary was also wet and disagreeable; February 12th, one of the very hardest sleets ever ex- perienced in this part of the country; many trees broken down. Spring did not really open until about the middle of March. May Ist, river high. Plenty of rain all summer. De- cember IIth, snow storm; latter half of the month cold.
1885 .- First part of January rainy; 23d, six inches of snow fell. February mostly cold, with considerable snow; March 17th, ground covered with snow, weather cold. This year was noted for its floods, no less than three oc- curring during the season. Heavy rains dur- ing April resulted in all the streams rising al- most, if not quite, as high as had ever before been known; by the 22d of the month all of the bottom lands were submerged and crops destroyed; fences were washed away, and very much stock was drowned. On May 8th there was a slight freeze, and snow; corn was re- planted, and very largely injured by the web- worm. In the latter part of June the rain again set in, and by the opening of July the bottom was a second time entirely overflowed, this time the water being several inches higher than had ever before been known; families had to be brought out of the bottom to save them . from perishing; many hundred acres of wheat that had been cut was washed away, and all crops that had been planted on the bottom lands were ruined; railway tracks in many places were entirely under water, and all train3 were for a time stopped. On the San Francisco road, east of Oswego, a train-load of cattle was attempting to cross, but was stopped at the Neosho River bridge because of its danger- ous condition, and before it could back up to high ground a large section of embankment had become washed away, leaving the train
standing in the middle of a lake several miles in width. An attempt was made to drive out a part of the stock; a number of them were drowned, and for days feed was shipped to the remainder of them in boats. Passengers and mail were transported from the east side of the river in boats for a number of days; freight shipments were completely blocked. The third overflow this season occurred in September, and while the water did not reach the height of either of the other two, yet all of the bot- tom land was inundated, and all crops thereon were destroyed. October and November were so muddy that farmers could hardly get into the fields to gather corn; in the middle of November the ground was frozen, and several inches of snow. December 25th, 10 degrees below zero.
1886 .- January opened warm: damp and a little snow the first few days; several days of quite cold weather about the middle of the month; moderate the last half. Quite a snow storm the first of February, but the month was generally pleasant. March was a cold month; several snow storms and little spring weather until the last of the month. April and May were pleasant and seasonable months July was a hot month. December opened and closed with cold weather; the thermometer standing several degrees below zero most of the month.
1887 .- January and February pleasant ; little snow and no very cold weather. March cold and quite a snow at the close of the month. July dry and hot. Good rains during August. November roth, first freeze; latter part of month cold. December moderate and little snow.
1888 .- A few cold days during January. but most of the month pleasant. February somewhat colder. Little spring weather until
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the middle of March; March 28th, ground cov- ered with snow. July very hot; corn dam- aged. November 10th, the first snow. De- cember a little snow; weather generally mod- erate.
1889 .- January quite wet ; little cold. Lat- ter part of February six inches of snow and several cold days. March and fore part of April damp and cold. July hot. December a very pleasant month.
1890 .- January 7th sleet and snow storm; later part of the month and first part of Feb- ruary very pleasant. Considerable cold weath- er during latter part of February and fore part of March. April dry. May 16th, a hard frost. June and July extremely hot and dry. Good rains in August; August 17th, a severe hail and electrical storm. September was cold. October 27th, the first freeze. November wet and cold. December 7th, eiglit inches of ice and snow; latter part of December mild.
1891 .- Fore part of January cold ; most of the month mild. February wet and very cold. March 7th, snow storm. Spring backward. June, river banks full. Fall dry and hot. Wheat could not be gotten in until latter part of October and fore part of November. No- vember 12th, quite a hard freeze; latter part of November and December pleasant and mild.
1892 .- Severe snow during January ; little weather that was very cold. Middle of March quite cold and considerable snow. Spring back- ward; oats not sown until April. Heavy rains in May; streams up. Latter part of June wet weather interfered with harvesting. August and September dry. Wheat generally sown about the last of October. November, good rains; month pleasant. December generally damp, cloudy and chilly, but no very cold weather till Christmas evening, when it turned cold and so continued for several days; several
slight snows during the month, but not enough at any time to make sleighing. Year closed with very little snow on ground, and ground slightly frozen.
1893 .- January was dry and cold. Ice, six inches or more in thickness, was put up at dif- ferent times during the month. Good sleigh - ing the middle of the month. During the first half of February there were several days of good sleighing and ice was in nice condition for putting up. While there was some cold weather in the last half of the month. most of it was pleasant and farmers were busy plowing. March Ist oats sowing commenced, but was delayed by rains so that sowing continued until past the middle of the month. The week fol- lowing the middle of March was unusually cold; the ground was too much frozen to plow during the forenoons for several days. There were several more rains during the last half of the month, and still others early in April. About the middle of April there was a heavy frost, which did much damage to fruit. The latter part of April and fore part of May there was much wet weather and many hard winds. which did more or less damage. Crops were looking badly on account of wet and cold weather. With the opening of June the water was high, and the Neosho was nearly out of its banks. There were several days of hot weather before the middle of the month ; about the middle of June harvesting commenced. The first half of July was dry, with only a few light showers; about the middle of the month were several good showers, which were a great help to corn. On July 30th there was a hard rain, accompanied with lightning which struck several buildings. The first few days of August were dry and hot ; there was a rain on the Ioth, and another on the 27th: still the corn needed more rain than it received.
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HISTORY OF LABETTE COUNTY
September was a dry and hot month; seeding was delayed on account of dry weather ; there was a fairly good rain near the close of the month. The dry weather continued through- ·out October and November. On October 15th ·occurred the first freezing weather of the sea- son, which was severe enough to kill vegeta- tion. During November, especially toward the close, there were several showers which were a great help to wheat ; the late-sown wheat had not come up until about the middle of the month on account of the dry weather. On December 2d a blizzard visited us; two inches of snow fell and streams were frozen suffi- ciently to make good skating. Quite a large amount of rain fell during the month; late- sown wheat now came up. A large amount of winter plowing was done before the close of the year.
1894 .- The first half of January was dry and mild; plowing was progressing. On the 18th there was a good rain, after which it turned cold and so remained for several days. The first snow of this year fell on the 23d, and the thermometer stood at 15 degrees be- low zero. In the first week of February there was good sleighing: on the IIth there was a hard snow storm that blocked the roads two or three days. The cold weather continued during the first half of the month; it then commenced thawing. and the roads became very muddy. Oats sowing commenced the Ist of March, and was finished about the 10th. There were two or three rains the first half of the month. The weather was generally pleasant during March until just before its close, when it turned cold and damaged fruit very much. Corn planting commenced about March 20th. There was plenty of rain during April and also during the first half of May. On May 21st there was a frost that killed all
tender vegetation, and another cold wave struck us on the 28th. Two rains occurred toward the close of the month. Harvest- ing commenced the first week in June. On the 5th there was rain, and in the north of the county a hail storm which damaged crops; on the 25th there was a severe hail storm in the eastern part of the county. July opened with hot weather. There was a heavy rain on the 8th, and another on the 28th, but prior to the latter it had become quite dry. The first 20 days of August were dry and hot; the dry weather was broken by a rain on the 21st. Another heavy rain occurred on September 2d. This month was favorable for preparing the ground and sowing wheat. The first part of October was wet, and on the 7th occurred the first frost. This entire fall was pleasant weath- er. On December 25th came our first snow, and the mercury sank nearly to zero. The closing week of the year remained cold.
1895 .- January was a cold month. About the middle of the month a large amount of ice, fully seven inches thick, was put up. Towards the close of the month a heavy snow fell, which lay on the ground a month; during the most of the time sleighing was good. During a greater part of the first half of February the weather was severely cold, the mercury reach- ing twelve degrees below zero on the 7th, and ice being put up a foot thick. About the mid- dle of the month it moderated, and the re- mainder of the month was pleasant. Oats sow- ing commenced the last of the month. There was a cold spell the first week of March, and hard rains from the 12th to the 19th. There were also rains the first week of April. Corn planting did not really commence until about April 8th. There were more rains during the rest of April. May was mostly dry. There was nearly a week of cold weather about the
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
middle of the month. There was a little rain during the closing days of the month, but not as much as the crops needed. Harvesting com- menced the first week in June. There were several good rains this month, from the fore part to past the middle. On the Ist of July there was a heavy rain and another on the 7th, the latter being accompanied by a small wind storm that did great damage all over the coun- ty. There was another hard rain and wind storm on the 10th of the month, and still other rains later in the month. July was, perhaps, the wettest summer month that has ever been known since the settlement of the county. August was another wet month; however, not quite so much water fell as during July. Sep- tember kept up the effort to establish a repu- tation of a rainy season. On the 8th was one of the heaviest rains of the season. The ground was so wet that very little fall plowing was done until after the middle of September. A small acreage of wheat was sown this fall, owing to the inability of farmers to prepare the ground on account of wet weather. Near the close of November four inches of snow fell and there was nearly a week of freezing weath- er. The cold weather extended into Decem- ber and furnished good skating. On Decem- ber 18th and 19th there was a heavy fall of rain and snow ; streams were full to their banks and in some places overflowing; much of the wheat on the bottoms was destroyed. The last week in the year was rainy and snowy.
1896 .- January was an exceedingly dry month : there was a slight snow on the 20th, accompanied by colder weather for a few days. but most of the month was pleasant. What little rain there was in January and the first part of February came in a way to make very muddy roads. Oats sowing was in progress the first week of March. Corn planting com-
menced about the Ist of April. There was enough rain during April: May was a very wet month. Wheat harvesting commenced the Ist of June. There were several heavy rains during the month. July was another wet month. The first half of August was dry and very hot, and by the middle of the month. corn was suffering for rain. On the 18th and 19th there was a soaking rain. September and October were favored with seasonable rains. Wheat sowing commenced the Ist of Septem- ber. There were some cold rains early in No- vember, and during the latter part of the month. there were several days of freezing weather, which continued into the first week of Decem- ber. December was dry and the weather mostly quite moderate to the close of the year, al- though there were a number of cold days.
1897 .- January Ist was a beautiful day, but in a day or two it turned cold and was damp and disagreeable several days. On the 20th there was a fall of two inches of snow. The last week in the month there was a good deal of zero weather, and a nice lot of ice was put up. February was a damp, cool, dis- agreeable month, with muddy roads. The damp weather of February was continued in March; there was a good deal of rain through- out the month. Oats sowing was commenced about the Ioth, and had many interruptions on account of the weather. After the first week in April the weather was pleasant. While some corn had been planted as early as the last week in March, corn planting in general did not commence until about the middle of April. There were two or three heavy rains during the month. May, June and July were all, wet months. Harvesting commenced the middle of June. The wet weather of July was mostly during the first half of the month. The last half of July was very hot, and corn suffered.
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HISTORY OF LABETTE COUNTY
some on account of the heat. The hot weather of July continued into August. Notwithstand- ing several rains, the ground was generally too dry to plow during the whole month of August, and the same character of weather continued throughout the remainder of the year. Wheat sowing commenced about the usual time, but on account of dry weather it was very gen- erally suspended until late in the fall. There was a general rain on October Ioth, but not enough to thoroughly wet the ground; farm- ers had to haul water for their stock and all other purposes during the whole fall, many of them having to go several miles. Much of the wheat did not come up until from the mid- dle to the last of November. There was a slight freeze on November 17th. During the fall there were a number of local showers, but no general soaking rain. On December 3d and 4th enough snow fell to make sleighing, and in the middle of the month there was an- other light snow, accompanied by a blizzard, but the weather soon moderated; the last half of December was very fine weather.
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