1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson. I'm Holly Frying. This episode is 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: coming out on Christmas Day. We looked around for something 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: Christmas Eve to talk about. Past hosts have some great 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: ones in the archive. There's Who Was Good King WinCE's Loss, 7 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: There's the Christmas Truths. There's one on whether Oliver Cromwell 8 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: really canceled Christmas, and there's even one on Saturnalia. And 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: thanks to a request from listener Leanne and our earlier 10 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: episode this week on Laura Angles and Wilder, this year's 11 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: Christmas episode is about the terrible winter of eighteen eighty 12 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 1: and eight one, which was immortalized in Laura Angles Wilder's 13 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: The Long Winter. Laura, both real and fictional, was going 14 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: on fourteen and the winter that she wrote about was 15 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: a real event, and in the book, our first inkling 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: of how bad this winter was going to be is 17 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: while they're cutting hay in hot weather and Laura and 18 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: Pap find a muskrat house that has very thick walls, 19 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: and Paw says that this is a sign that a 20 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:16,400 Speaker 1: very hard winter is to come. They keep on harvesting 21 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: the hay through September, and then they wake up on 22 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: October one to a really heavy frost. They rush to 23 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: get as much of the harvest in as they can, 24 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,400 Speaker 1: and Pa goes to hunt, but he can't find any 25 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: geese or other birds anywhere. The first blizzard, that's the 26 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: first blizzard hits in October and it lasts for three 27 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,040 Speaker 1: days and nights, which is bad enough to stop all 28 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: the trains. And on the fourth day they find several 29 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: cows outside so heartbreaking with their heads frozen to the 30 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: ground thanks to the ice that was formed by their 31 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: own breadth, with the moisture in their exhalation froze on them. 32 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: Pap saves them. So it's hard. It's so very sad. Uh. 33 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: Not long after that, in a depiction that is quite 34 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: problematic by today's standards, a Native American man tells a 35 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: bunch of folks at the store that a big winter 36 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: is coming with seven months of blizzards. His his physical 37 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 1: description and his use of language today people would say 38 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 1: are pretty heavily stereotyped. The Ingalls family moves into town 39 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: for the winter, where they hope they're going to have 40 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: a little bit of an easier time a bit, and 41 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: the blizzards do indeed continue for months and months, with 42 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: various alarming adventures and misadventures to go along. Uh. There's 43 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,919 Speaker 1: frequent talk about whether the worst is over and when 44 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: the trains might be running again. The cover copy of 45 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: the book that Tracy used for a lot of this 46 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: research is shockingly merry his children having a snowball fight 47 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: on it. They're sledding. It looks like the jolliest, most 48 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: enjoyable and delightful time ever, But we know that it 49 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: was a little bit rougher than that. Um. In reality, 50 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: it's really quite oppressive. Coal and food were becoming increasingly 51 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: scarce as long as the train can't get through, and 52 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: for a while, even when the weather is good in 53 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: the story Uh and good enough for school, school is 54 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: canceled because they don't have enough coal to heat the building. 55 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: Some of the series most memorable tidbits happen during this 56 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: hard winter, like having to break the ice and the 57 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: water basin to wash their faces in the morning, carrying 58 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: flat irons upstairs to warm the beds, mob bringing frozen 59 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: washing in from the line, and Almonso, who was not 60 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: yet known as manly trying to hide his seed wheats 61 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: so that his brothers won't sell it to other people 62 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: who run out of food. And as things get worse, 63 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: the Engles family has to twist their hay into sticks 64 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: to burn. When they have nothing else for fuel, Almonzo 65 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: Wilder and Cap Garland make a heroic trip to buy 66 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: wheat for families that will otherwise starve. There's also the 67 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: thing that everyone mentioned to me when I said we 68 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: were doing a little house related episode, and that is 69 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: that they had to grind grain in the coffee mill 70 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: all day to make enough flour for dinner. This would 71 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: have made a flower that was not at all like 72 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: bread flower. It was more really more like a coarse 73 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: graham flower. And of course, as always happens during the 74 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: Northern Hemisphere, Christmas happens during winter. A few days before Christmas, 75 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 1: the mail actually comes through and everyone is overjoyed. The 76 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: family gets a letter from a reverend saying they should 77 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: expect a Christmas barrel from his church, and knowing that 78 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: the odds are long on that barrel actually arriving by Christmas, 79 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: they decided to save the church papers and youth companions 80 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: that have all come in the mail to open on 81 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: Christmas Day. The girls also start trying to figure out 82 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,359 Speaker 1: how to get some actual presents. Once they tally up 83 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: all their money and go shopping, it turns out there's 84 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: really nothing to be bought. They do find some suspenders 85 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: for Pa, and Laura decides to give things she's already 86 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: knitted and embroidered for herself to her mom and sisters. 87 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: Grace also gets a toy, and Ma gets two cans 88 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: of oysters, which were basically the last of the provisions 89 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: at one of the stores she used to them to 90 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,479 Speaker 1: make oyster soup for lunch. Everyone including Laura, gets a 91 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: piece of candy that Pa had brought ahead of time, 92 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: but that's all that Laura gets. Christmas night, they run 93 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: out of kerosene for the lamp, which means the rest 94 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,520 Speaker 1: of the winners is gonna be dark and sad. The 95 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: blizzards go on and on and on, and it's made 96 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: before a freight train brings anything new to the town. 97 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:25,919 Speaker 1: But on the upside, they get to have Christmas again, 98 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: complete with turkey and cranberries, and Laura finally gets a present, 99 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 1: which is beautiful yarns and embroidery silks uh and she 100 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: can use them up to replace the things that she 101 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,040 Speaker 1: gave away to mom and her sister. I'm actually kind 102 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 1: of conflicted about this, this present for Laura, because she 103 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: wasn't the fondest of sewing. So in a way this 104 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: present is work well, but she couldn't have bought those things. 105 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: She is grateful for it and in one of the 106 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 1: many examples of what we might consider good values. So 107 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 1: it's a very sweet story in the end, and in 108 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: spite of the danger and oppress in the middle. But 109 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: how much of that blizzard after blizzard after blizzard, in 110 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: this kind of sense of good gracious, when will the 111 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: train come? How much of that is real? There's a 112 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: short answer, spoiler. This really was a real weather event. 113 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: People during the time called it the hard Winter, and 114 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: even the starvation winter. Hard Winter was actually Laura's original 115 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: title for the book, A nine four History of South 116 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: Dakota reads, the Great Blizzard in the middle of October 117 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: eighty was the initial performance of a of a winter 118 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: unprecedented and never succeeded in severity in the history of 119 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: Dakota or the Northwest. Heavy snows and severe storms came 120 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: at frequent intervals, rendering train service unreliable and uncertain, hindering 121 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: the removal of crops and the shipment into the country 122 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: of supplies of fuel and groceries, and in some places 123 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: even the telegraph wires were under snow, so complete isolation 124 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: this meant, which is the town on where they were living, 125 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: did not start keeping weather records until eighteen eighty nine, 126 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: but yanked in South Dakota, which is about a hundred 127 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: and ten miles to the south did. Yankton reported lows 128 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: as cold as thirty two below zero fahrenheit that winter, 129 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: and even though there were days when the temperatures rose 130 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,119 Speaker 1: above freezing, they didn't last long enough for a real fall, 131 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: and so what had melted within refreeze into ice. The 132 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: rotary snow plow had also not yet been invented. This 133 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: was a steam engine mounted plow used specifically for clearing 134 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: railroad tracks. It was kind of like a vertically mounted 135 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: fan carrying scoops that basically threw the snow out of 136 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: the way as it moved. The first design came out 137 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty nine, but it wasn't really viable. Working 138 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: version of it didn't exist until eighteen eighty three or 139 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four. Would have been really, really useful had 140 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: that been a couple of years faster and without this 141 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: piece of equipment to keep things going. Blowing snow quickly 142 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: filled up the cuts through hills and mountains where the 143 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: train tracks ran, packing into ice and making them completely impassable. 144 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: Plus people's efforts to clear the tracks when the weather 145 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: allowed for it just made things worse because they made 146 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: these very high snow banks on either side, and that 147 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: allowed for more drifting and packing as the wind blew. 148 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: The train's inability to get through was really what made 149 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: this winter so hard, and it brought the population of 150 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: the area so perilously close to starvation. Because the blizzards 151 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 1: had started so early, the harvest was already small, and 152 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: no trains meant that there was no way to supplement 153 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,960 Speaker 1: that small amount of food people had been able to 154 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 1: bring in from their crops, so the Angles and It's 155 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: had even harvested pumpkins that were not ripe yet, just 156 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: so that they could get them in before the freeze. 157 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: There are archival pictures of trains stuck in the snow, 158 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: with the snow on either side of them taller than 159 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: the train cars. One of these was taken in March 160 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: of one near sleep Beyond, Minnesota, which is the name 161 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 1: Aim that fans of the series and the TV show 162 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: will probably recognize, And this meant was also a really 163 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 1: new settlement at this time, so a lot of people 164 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: had not cleared as much land or enriched it for 165 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: better crops yet, and a lot of the people also 166 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,719 Speaker 1: did not have firsthand experience of the weather there. This 167 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: terrible weather condition also meant that animals were scarce beforehand, 168 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: having having already taken shelter thanks to their instincts, and 169 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,439 Speaker 1: they became pretty much impossible to find as the winter 170 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: wore on, and the book there's this one moment of 171 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: hope when word spreads of an antelope herd near the town, 172 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:39,200 Speaker 1: and that hunt is unfortunately unsuccessful, and it's one of 173 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: the very few large animal sightings the whole time in 174 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: Laura's account. And as people ran out of fuel for burning, 175 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: they broke down their outbuildings that they didn't crucially need, 176 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: so fences and bridges too, along with the Ingles method 177 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: of twisting haynd sticks, all went towards just keeping a 178 00:09:57,360 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: fire going, yes, saying were having something to cook on. 179 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: But communities and families banded together so that they could 180 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: ensure that the what they did have was fairly distributed 181 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: and to pull their resources as much as they were able. 182 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: On February two, a blizzard started that lasted for nine days, 183 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: and it dropped so much snow that some buildings were 184 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: in snow up to their roofs. People had to tunnel 185 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,319 Speaker 1: through the snow in some locations, and people who were 186 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: still on their homesteads had to tunnel to their barns 187 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: and their other outbuildings. The one thaw started in April, 188 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 1: started in October, and the thaw started in April the 189 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: long time. Towards the end of the book, Laura references 190 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: the Chinook winds, and these are winds that that go 191 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: down the eastern slopes of the Rockies. They warm up 192 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: along the way and then they move across the plains 193 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: and they're responsible for bringing warmer weather and thawing to 194 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: the area. This eventual faw actually led to severe flooding, 195 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: and some of the was simply the sheer volume of 196 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: water from the snow melt, and some was from ice 197 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 1: jams in bends and narrow places in the rivers, and 198 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: several towns actually flooded and the course of the Missouri 199 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: River shifted as a consequence. Some of the records that 200 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: were set during these floods still stand. They have never 201 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: seen a flood comparable. The roads and crops were also 202 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: damaged as a result of the flooding, which made the 203 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 1: recovery a lot slower, And even though it was called 204 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: the Starving Winter, there actually weren't many reported deaths from 205 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 1: starvation or freezing. Oddly lucky. So we've mostly been talking 206 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 1: about what this winter was like for the predominantly white 207 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: settlers out on the frontier, and that's because most of 208 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:45,079 Speaker 1: the written records that survived today are from that perspective. 209 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: But this was naturally also an enormously difficult winter for 210 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: the Native Americans in the area too, and in some 211 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:54,559 Speaker 1: ways it was even harder since by this point in 212 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: American history, many Native Americans had been removed to reservations, 213 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: completely altering the way of life and in many cases 214 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 1: robbing them of the means that they had previously used 215 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:08,319 Speaker 1: to sustain themselves through hard winters like this. The Great 216 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: Sioux Reservation at this point in history spanned roughly the 217 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: western half of what is now South Dakota, and that 218 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 1: wasn't really a fraction of the amount of land that 219 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 1: that that group had lived on before. One piece that 220 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: we do have is a ledger book drawn by Lakota 221 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: artist and spiritual leader black Hawk, and that was created 222 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: after he worked out a deal with William Edward Canton, 223 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 1: who was an Indian trader and what was then Dakota Territory. 224 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 1: And here's how Canton's daughter, whose name was Edith M. Teal, 225 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:44,319 Speaker 1: described this arrangement. Black Hawk, chief medicine man of the Sioux, 226 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 1: was in great straits that winter, having several squaws and 227 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: numerous children dependent upon him. He had absolutely nothing, no food, 228 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: and he would not beg father knew his condition. He 229 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:59,439 Speaker 1: also knew that black Hawk had a wonderful dream, so 230 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: he sent him and asked him to make pictures of 231 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: his dreams, offering to furnish paper and pencils and to 232 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: give him fifty cents in trade at the store for 233 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: each sheet that he brought in. So, after drawing a 234 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 1: couple of the images from his dream, black Hawk moved 235 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: on to drawings of other things relevant to his daily 236 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: life and the Lakota customs, as well as pictures of 237 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: Crow warriors, who were traditional enemies of the Lakoda and 238 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: in the end, he made seventy six drawings and earned 239 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: thirty eight dollars in trade at the store, although as 240 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: we discussed earlier, it's not completely clear how well stocked 241 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: the store would have even been, but it probably helped 242 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,079 Speaker 1: him out to uh, you know, get some provisions for 243 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 1: his family. Yeah, and this, uh, this lender book actually 244 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: survives today. They're scans of it on the on the 245 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 1: internet that we can link to from our show notes. 246 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: One industrious person is actually fact checked whether Laura angles 247 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: Wilder's description of the weather actually uh adds up to 248 00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,439 Speaker 1: what the weather was really like, or whether it's a 249 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 1: sort of embellishment. And before we talk about that, let's 250 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: take a moment talk about our sponsor. So speaking of Laura, 251 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: let's go back to fact checking her story, right, So, 252 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: National Weather Service meteorologist and pH d student Barbara Mays 253 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:16,960 Speaker 1: Bapstad fact checked the book. What she did was she 254 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: crossed referenced meteorological records from nearby cities including Omaha, Nebraska, 255 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,720 Speaker 1: and Des Moines, Iowat. These are not really that nearby, 256 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: but they are the nearest by cities that were keeping records, 257 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: as well as a few military forts in South Dakota, 258 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: and based on historical accounts that she found, this winter 259 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: got between eleven and fourteen feet of snow on top 260 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,880 Speaker 1: of ice. According to her work, the three day blizzard 261 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: that marks the start of the Long Winter in the 262 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: book really happened from October fifty and in the book 263 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: the children are trapped by a blizzard while at school 264 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 1: on December six. That also seems to have really happened 265 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: on December two through the fourth, So pretty close there, 266 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: if not. I mean, a couple of days off is 267 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: not that much, no, especially when you're reconstructing it from 268 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 1: memory many many years later. There was also really a 269 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: blizzard on Christmas Day that year. The trip to get 270 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: wheat that al Monzo and Cap took probably happened on 271 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: February six, based on the clear night in the full moon. 272 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: Bausta did all this fact checking after rereading the book 273 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: during a similarly severe modern winter, which also had a 274 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: thaw that led to flooding, and coincidentally, they had to 275 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 1: roll out some of the few remaining rotary plows still 276 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: in working order during that particular event, and she theorizes 277 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: that this winter was caused by the jet stream pulling 278 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: Arctic air deep into the Midwest plus an al nemeo year. 279 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 1: That jet stream pattern is called a negative oscillation of 280 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: the North Atlantic oscillation. Without the negative North Atlantic oscillation, 281 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 1: it would have been a warmer winter than normal, and 282 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: wetter for that matter, rather than wetter and full of 283 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: the lizards. She has presentations on all of us at 284 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 1: her website, which you can watch. We will link to 285 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: them from our show notes Love a little history and 286 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:09,080 Speaker 1: meteorology coming together. There's also an interesting trivia bit. According 287 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: to Bousted, this winter event was actually one of the 288 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: things that led to the prevalence of quote blizzard as 289 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: the word that means a blinding snowstorm before it meant 290 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: a knockout blow, and it was first used in relation 291 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: to weather in eighteen sixty two. So I made fun 292 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: of the cover of my copy of The Long Winter 293 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: because it does not at all suggest my family and 294 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: are nearly starved and my future husband almost died trying 295 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: to get wheat for the town, and said, it looks 296 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: like they're very happy. Let's go play outside winter. And 297 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: while that is kind of incongruous with the material that's inside, 298 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 1: it turns out that even though it was a very 299 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: lean winter. A lot of the people are on the 300 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: frontier kind of thought of it fondly. They were mostly young, 301 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: healthy people, which helped them make it through. And according 302 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: to the history book that we discussed earlier, they said, quote, 303 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: it is the almost universal testimony of the pioneers that 304 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,919 Speaker 1: they have never gotten more real enjoyment out of a 305 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: winter than they did from the winter of the Big Blockade. 306 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,640 Speaker 1: Shortly after the big snow of February, a thought came 307 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,399 Speaker 1: of sufficient power to soften the surface of the drifts, 308 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:19,439 Speaker 1: and an immediate freeze followed, forming an impenetrable crust, and 309 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 1: thereafter slaying was superb. This condition continued until the twenty 310 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: six of April. I would imagine, if you are having 311 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 1: a horrific, seemingly never ending winter, never ending winter, a 312 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 1: deaf version of slaying sounds great. Yeah. Well, and then 313 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 1: a thing that is kind of hard to remember sometimes 314 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: is that being on the frontier um four settlers was 315 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:47,919 Speaker 1: basically twenty four hour day work essentially, I mean not 316 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: really twenty four hour day, but was a constant labor 317 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: and chore. And if it come to this point that 318 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: you were basically snowed in and you couldn't get any 319 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: provisions and you couldn't do anything. We had a break 320 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: from all the work that was a little it more 321 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 1: substantial than the normal reduction and workload that would happen 322 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: during winter from not being planting and harvesting crops. Well. 323 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: And it was also a big community building thing because 324 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: they did all throw in their resources together and kind 325 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,720 Speaker 1: of shape equally. And I imagine it formed some really 326 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 1: interesting and meaningful, you know, long term relationships amongst people. Uh. 327 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,439 Speaker 1: This history book is also kind of glib about the 328 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,160 Speaker 1: like positive side of all of this flooding um, which 329 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: is that most of the frontier towns that were affected 330 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: were so new that there was very little to be lost. 331 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 1: When all of it was lost, it hits some more 332 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: established cities very hard. But in its tone is sort 333 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: of like it was a good thing they hadn't had 334 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 1: time to do a whole lot of work here because 335 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:45,960 Speaker 1: you know, it all got washed away. It's like the 336 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 1: bright sidiest way to look at it. It was extremely 337 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 1: bright siding. So yes, do you also have some listener 338 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,159 Speaker 1: mail for us to enjoy? Have some listener mail And 339 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 1: it's a quick one. Uh. It is from Emma and 340 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: Emma says, Hi, guys, I really love your podcast. My 341 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: name is Emma and I'm fifteen, and I got very 342 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: excited listening to your podcast on Audrey Lord because she's amazing, 343 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,640 Speaker 1: and because through that podcast I learned that she went 344 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: to my high school. Hunter is very different now. We 345 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: are no longer an all girls school, for example, but 346 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: knowing that someone is inspirational as her went here makes 347 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 1: me feel like all of the stress we are put 348 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 1: under is worth it. The poetry club Audrey Lord loved 349 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: is no longer a club here at Hunter, but my 350 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: friend and I have decided that we need to remedy 351 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: the situation and restarted as soon as we can. Love 352 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: the podcast. Thanks for the two great episodes, Emma. Thank you, Emma. 353 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:37,960 Speaker 1: I love an email still much. That made us both 354 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:41,359 Speaker 1: smile a whole lot. It seems like a nice happy 355 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 1: note to end on for this Christmas Day podcast. If 356 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 1: you celebrate Christmas, Mary, Christmas, did you not happy? Whatever 357 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: you celebrate, Yeah, happy holiday or specific Holiday'd be hopefully 358 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: not horrible with her. You're in a cold climate, yes, 359 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: if you're somewhere warm. In summary, happy happy summer Christmas. 360 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 1: I always think of that ten mentions on called Fightline 361 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: and the Sunnow, which you may or may not like 362 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:14,639 Speaker 1: depending on how you feel about holiday. Um Yes, happy 363 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,480 Speaker 1: holidays to everyone. Feed. If you would like to write 364 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 1: to us about this or anything else, we're History Podcast 365 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:23,760 Speaker 1: at Discovery dot com. We're also on Facebook at facebook 366 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: dot com slash History class Stuff, and on Twitter at 367 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,719 Speaker 1: missed in History. Are Tumbler is missed in History dot 368 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,879 Speaker 1: tumbler dot com, and we are on Interest. If you 369 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: would like to learn more about what we've talked about today, 370 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 1: come to our website. Put the word blizzard into the 371 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: search bar and you will have an article called ten 372 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,120 Speaker 1: Biggest Snowstorms of All Time. These are all even bigger 373 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: than this swamp. They're also individual snowstorms and not an 374 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: entire season worth of snow. So do all of that 375 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 1: and a whole lot more at our website, which is 376 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:58,879 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com. The more on this and 377 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics, because it has to have works 378 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: dot com. Audible dot com is the leading provider of 379 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: downloadable digital audio books and spoken word entertainment. Audible has 380 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 1: more than one thousand titles to choose from to be 381 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,359 Speaker 1: downloaded to your iPod or MP three player. 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