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One of the most remarkable and startling events that ever took place in the early history of Fulton county and Illinois was the big snow that fell in the winter of 1830-’31. Perhaps no event has ever happened in the history of this western country since its settlement by white men that has caused so much suffering among the people and animals as did the "deep snow."

The old settlers will remember many things about it, but another generation has come on the stage of action since then, and they may be interested in the history of that event and some of the circumstances attending that dreadful, long, cold winter.

The snow commenced falling the latter part of December and continued off and on for about a month, and when it ceased falling the snow in the timber, where it did not drift, was about three feet and six inches on the level, and in the prairies along the fences and in the hollows, where it had drifted, it was ten and fifteen feet deep. The snow lay on the ground about three months and during that time the weather was intensely cold. During many days the mercury ran from ten to twenty degrees below zero. Before that time the winters had been so mild and

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with so little snow that stock seldom had to be fed more than from four to six weeks during the entire winter, and wild hogs kept in fairly good order from off the mast (acorns). During the whole winter the farmers had been in the habit of gathering only what corn they needed to feed their stock in the fore part of the winter, and the consequence was that the greater part of the crop was in the field when the deep snow came. The farmers had made no provisions for such a catastrophe and there was great suffering among the people. A great deal of their stock died, while the wild hogs, deer and other wild animals in the forests were nearly swept out of existence. The Indians came in great numbers from the high lands and settled on the Illinois and Spoon river bottoms. They brought with them their droves of horses and ponies, and kept them from starving by chopping down small trees of soft wood, such as basswood, cottonwood, elm and soft maple. Their ponies would not only browse upon the limbs and bark of the trees, but would frequently eat up the whole tree. So the Indians got their ponies through the winter with very little loss.

The winter of the deep snow was in many ways favorable to the Indians. The snow storm drove great herds of deer from the prairies and hill country to the river bottoms, and the Indians killed great numbers of them. The deep snow was but little impediment to the Indians in traveling, for they had snow shoes with which they could walk or run over the snow as well, almost, as the whites could go over the bare ground. The snow shoe was made by bending a hickory stick in very much the shape of an ox-yoke; the bottom of the bow would be covered with strips of deer skin to be tied firmly onto the ankles and feet. These shoes were about as heavy as heavy boots. When an Indian in snow shoes got after a deer that had to travel in snow three and one-half feet deep, the Indian was pretty sure to get the deer and cut his throat. The snow was also a great advantage to the Indians in hunting the otter, mink and muskrat. These animals would come out of their dens and leave their tracks or trails in the snow, and the Indians could easily track them, when they could be caught. And it was the same with the fox and raccoon; they could be

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tracked to their holes in the hills or in trees, when the Indians would spear them out of their holes.

I have heard my father say that he had a bigger trade with the Indians than in any winter before or after. I have no doubt that the same was true of the Phelpses.

One of the prominent camping places selected by the Indians during that winter was on Spoon river about two miles below old Waterford. They had there erected some twenty wigwams. The young readers of The Democrat may be interested in learning how these wigwams were built. A common sized wigwam for a family of eight or ten persons would be about 12x16 feet in size. Small saplings would be cut and set firmly in the ground, big ends down, in rows three feet apart, all around the plate (12x16 feet) to be enclosed. Then the limber tops of the poles would be brought together and fastened with hickory wyths or strips of leather. Then small poles would be tied lengthwise to the saplings, making a cross-barred and solid frame. The whole would then be covered with heavy matting that had been woven by the squaws from the coarse swamp grass yet to be found on the bottom lands. This completed the wigwam, and it had the shape of a hay stack. An opening was left as a door way and this was protected by a blanket. A pit 2x3 feet in size and eight or ten inches deep would be dug in the center under the wigwam for a fire-place, and there was an opening at the top for the smoke to pass through. The Indians were quite comfortable in these wigwams, with their blankets and furs, in the coldest weather. They never used bedsteads, tables or chairs. They usually sat on packages of skins or sacks of feathers. The whole family usually took their meals out of a wooden tray, using knives and wooden spoons, but no forks. In cold weather they kept their fires burning night and day.

Among the Indians that camped at this place was a chief named Osopin (in English, Raccoon). He had traded with my father when he kept store in Lewistown, and also after he started a store in Havana. He would often buy goods on credit, and was always punctual to pay for them at the time agreed upon. My father entered his name on the ledger, "Raccoon Osopin," which

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was both his English and Indian names. He was a good friend to my father, and brought many Indians to trade with him. My father often made Raccoon handsome presents. I remember that he once brought him from St. Louis a tomahawk with the handle striped off in red, white and blue, with an iron pipe on the hammer part of the tomahawk, there being an opening through the handle, so the chief could use his beautiful tomahawk as a pipe in which to smoke his tobacco. Raccoon was greatly pleased with this princely gift.

I often helped my father in his Havana store while he was trading with the Indians, and so became very well acquainted with Raccoon and his boys. They took quite a liking to me and had often asked me to go to their wigwam and take a hunt with them. My father had brought a small Indian pony for me to ride when I went hunting. So when the deep snow had been sufficiently beaten down into a road between Lewistown and Havana, I started one day with my pony and gun for the Indian camp on Spoon river. When I got there I found that the young Indians had all gone hunting, and only Raccoon was left to take care of the wigwam. While I was warming at the fire he produced a buckskin roll of sinews that had been taken out of the legs of deer. When an Indian kills a deer he always takes the sinews out of its legs to use in place of thread in sewing their moccasins, mittens, etc.; and they also use these sinews about their persons as charms, or for "good luck," as they call it. So Raccoon tied a bit of sinew in the buttonhole of my vest. He said it would insure me good luck, and that I would become a brave hunter. After staying a couple of hours I started back home on my pony. I had not gone over a mile when I saw a large deer standing on the ice in a little lake near the road. He was browsing from bushes, and did not see me. There was a large tree about eight yards from the deer. I tied my pony to a tree and with my gun in hand crept silently toward the tree, keeping it between me and the deer. Then I rested my gun against the tree, took good aim and fired. The deer fell, but immediately jumped up and commenced to flounder around in the deep snow. I saw that I had only wounded him, and was terribly afraid that he

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would get away. I never thought of reloading my gun and shooting him again as I should have done, but left my gun at the tree, and with my knife in my hand ran as fast as I could to the deer. It was jumping around in the deep snow, and I slipped up behind it and cut its ham-strings, which stopped its jumping. It then settled down in the snow, and I got it by the ears and cut its throat. It was soon dead. I little realized the great danger I had encountered in attacking a wounded deer, but found out, after I got older, from talks with old deer hunters, that a wounded deer was the most dangerous animal that runs in the woods. I was then but a little past thirteen years old, and small of my age, and if the deer had turned upon me he would have stamped me to death. The next problem I had to solve was how to get my deer home, for if I left him there the wolves would eat him before morning. I was three miles from home, about north of what is called California Bend in Spoon river. It was about February 1^st, and the weather was terribly cold. But I took my pony and gun to where the deer was lying. I took my saddle girth and placed it around the pony’s breast instead of under his belly, and with the halter strap hitched the deer to the stirrups. It made a very good harness. I then got on my pony with my gun and started for Havana. It was a hard pull for my little pony to get the deer out of the deep snow, but when we got onto the beaten trace it was easy sledding. I crossed the Illinois river on the ice and got home a little after dark. It was the first deer I ever killed, and I was very proud of my success. When Raccoon came in, a few days later, and I told him of my success, he was much pleased; he patted me on the back and said I would be a great hunter. Then he pointed to the bit of sinew he had tied in my button-hole, saying it was the cause of my good luck.

The Pottowatomie Indians that lived about Lewistown and Havana were soon moved to an Indian reservation in Kansas by the government. During Johnson’s administration thirty years later, word was sent to Washington that some of those Indians were in a starving condition. My brother Lewis, then a member of Congress, was appointed with two other members of Congress to go to the reservation to investigate the matter. Arrived there

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he found a good many Indians he had known in Fulton county, and among them our old friend Raccoon. There was great rejoicing among those Indians when they found out who my brother was, and they had a doleful story to tell him of the hard treatment they had received after they had been driven from their good hunting grounds on Spoon river.

I shall have more to say of these Indians in a future letter.

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