It feels like a good day to put up a quote from my recently acquired copy of CV One Hundred and Five Years. I've been sitting by the piñon fire in my office reading this book. Makes our trials and tribulations seem pretty small in comparison.
The frigid winter weather that started New Year's Day 1886, and which included all of Kansas, had temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees below zero for most of the month. ONe storm followed another. Thousands of cattle died on the open range along with jackrabbits, prairie chickens, antelopes, and birds of every description. (Antelopes???) Animals froze even when sheltered in barns. It is reported that Ed Hewins had a loss of cattle from which he never recovered. Other ranchers suffered similar losses.
Some accounts say nearly 100 people were found frozen to death in their homes where they had exhausted all fuel, burned all furniture except their beds, then had gone to bed to try to keep warm. Many others died in the open while seeking shelter. A stage coach driver froze to death in his seat and the horses brought the stage coach in without the passengers knowing their driver was dead. Records do not reflect any loss of human life due to freezing in the Cedar Vale vicinity.
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Cedar Vale, Winfield and towns around this area cancelled school a day or two because of this recent ice storm, but as far as I know there was no significant power outages or tree damage. I'm told the main roads have been in good shape for several days though I have not ventured out to see for myself.
We were lucky this time. Oh...no frozen stagecoach drivers, either!
I'm particularly happy to know that the stagecoach drivers are all safe!
This is a true story, not legend. About 90 years ago a cowpoke/ranch hand from the S E A ranch down on the OK/Ks line north of Grainola OK was sent to Cedar Vale in mid winter to buy a load of cattle feed. His transportation was a big box wagon and a 4 mule hitch. The road in those days went straight east on the old Ark City road across the Irish Flats and crossed a canyon south of the hills which include Lookout Mt.
Well the cowpoke bought the feed, but ran into some buddies with whom he imbibed several drinks while in town. As a result he set out for homebase at dusk and in inclement weather. I guess he fell asleep because the loaded wagon got out of control and two mules and part of the wagon missed the bridge at the bottom of the canyon. Seems the cowpoke elected to sleep in the wagon due to the messy storm. Nobody got very worried about him til well into the next day since he probably stayed in CV. Well they found him frozen and still in the wagon. one mule had to be euthanized, and the others untangled and led home.
Ranching could be tough in the old days.
Thanks for the story, Don. Anybody else have stories or legends? Put them up here or start a new thread.
Don probably has more stories of the old days of Cedar Vale than most anyone. Keep them coming, Don.
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