As the weather gets interesting, the idea that this is the worst there has ever been gets passed around. This is seldom true.
We keep records to prove that, but how often are they consulted? I have talked about bad weather here before, but I ran across another interesting bad weather incident.
This story was told by Judge John Easter on the anniversary of a bad storm at Palmer Lake in 1858. The judge was one of the first to arrive at Cherry Creek, now Denver. He built one of the first cabins there. He, on this occasion before gold had been discovered, was traveling with a group of soldiers that were heading from Fort Garland to the fort at Laramie. The troops had been harassed along the way by Indians.
On the ridge at Black Forest they camped on Black Squirrel Creek during a snowstorm. In the blinding snows the soldiers took shelter as best they could. The soldiers remained isolated in the storm and when it broke they found themselves scattered all along the ridge. In the area they worked to gather the stragglers and find food. The day started with scattered clouds and patchy blue skies and seemed to be improving.
As often happens in this area, as evening approached, the storm returned. The group had still not found all of their members. The forest and the rocky ridges provided the only shelter from the storm. Throughout the afternoon and into the night the wind and snow increased.
The storm lasted for days. The morning of the third day the sun came out, and the wind eased up. The snow buried some of the tents, and on level ground the snow was 4 feet deep. Drifts in the trees were as tall as men. In searching for the scattered soldiers a small cluster of four men were found frozen.
Sixty pack mules were scattered in the forest as well, but a dozen or so were found frozen. As soon as they could they reorganized and started to move down the other side of the ridge toward the north. In the area on the Cherry Creek, where gold would eventually be found, they paused to regroup, eventually making their way up into Wyoming territory to Fort Laramie.
It is difficult to say if this storm was really the worst. This storm was in May, and the experienced residents in this area know how bad a spring storm can be. These soldiers were probably not really prepared for such a storm. Having food and shelter makes the difference.
So, when you hear about the “worst storm” it may be bad — but it may not really be the worst!