First, there were some research dilemmas that were encountered while trying to dig up information about the weather that year (1838). No weather records date back to 1838. There are no temperature or precipitation records, no weather charts, and no river gage readings. The research therefore consisted of lifting anecdotes from diaries and other accounts, and many assumptions must be made in order to "connect the dots."
They really were functioning in a meteorological dark age back then. That same year, the Pennsylvania State Legislature made the first appropriation of public money for weather services in the United States, granting $4,000 to the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia to establish meteorological stations in each county. Such weather services weren't nationalized until 1870, and there are very few weather stations that collected measurements prior to then.
But there are several things we do know about the weather along the trail. The summer of 1838 in the region where the migration started (northern Georgia, southeastern Tennessee) was extremely dry and likely very hot (resembling the dust-bowl era of the 1930's).
It is possible that a very active tropical season was responsible for slowing passage during October, exposing the migrants to brutal winter weather.
A dramatic change in the weather occurred sometime early that fall, perhaps due to a rapid southward migration of the jet stream. The winter proved to be as cold and rainy as the summer was hot and dry.
Drought of 1838
There was not a snip of cold weather after March 1, 1838, possibly the result of an early summer-like weather pattern establishing itself (known as the Bermuda High). The Bermuda High is a semi-permanent meteorological feature that sets up during the summer (late May or June) in the Caribbean. Since wind travels clockwise around a center of high pressure, this typically places the Southeast under a warm, south wind during summer that pushes cold fronts away from our region. In 1838, it is probable that the Bermuda High set up much earlier than usual.
The Cherokee roundup began on May 23, 1838, as the Southeast suffered its worst drought in recorded history. Georgia was certainly suffering its worst drought of the century. By late June, the upper Tennessee River (East Tennessee) had become too low for navigation.
From June 6-19, the first group traveled the river trail to Fort Coffee. Low water forced them to travel overland from Arkansas. The drought didn't break until September.
Lt. R.H.K. Whiteley wrote:
The weather was extremely hot, a drought had prevailed for months, water was scarce, suffocating clouds of dust stirred up by oxen and wagons, and the rough and rocky roads, made the condition of the sick occupants of the wagons miserable indeed. Three, four, and five deaths occurred each day. To avoid the heat the marches were started before sunrise and ended at noon. Before the end of the month [June] there were between two and three hundred ill.
By June 17, the upper Tennessee River was so low that a contingent of 1,070 people had to travel by wagon and foot 160 miles to Waterloo, Alabama. Many of the wells and springs were dry.
It was decided that further passage would have to be delayed until September 1 or after in order to avoid the heat and drought. This would prove to be an unforseeable, but significant miscalculation. Unfortunately, the weather that fall and winter would prove to be just as harsh as the hot, dry weather had been during the summer.
In September, after the march resumed, it is said that the sun tortured people by day, while the cold of night caused their teeth to chatter, their tongues to stutter. This probably owed to an extremely dry air mass, which allowed for large fluctuations in temperature between early morning minimums and afternoon maximums.
The drought did not break until September 28, when the region finally received a heavy rain.
A rapid transition
Weather conditions then turned from one extreme to another. As one source notes:
The government called the area Indian Territory. In between stretched more than eight hundred miles of forests, mountains, swamps, and tortuous wilderness roads. Each day, the sun raged like a branding iron in the heavens. The countryside suffered from drought. The Cherokee prayed for rain, but none came. Streams and creeks dried to sand, and the people's throats burned with thirst. Still they marched. And every step took them farther away from the homeland. Diseases such as measles and whooping cough spread from one marcher to another. Frontier settlers who saw the once-proud Cherokee nation pass sadly in front of their homes wrote their relatives back East, "The poor people. They are dying like flies." Winter stuck. It was as cold and forbidding as the summer had been broiling. A howling wind engulfed the people in snow and sleet.
Still another historical account explains:
It was hot in the beginning and they drank water from the streams when they came upon them. Many people slept on the ground, and they gathered wood to build campfires for cooking meals. After two months it began to rain and the roads were very muddy. Wagons got stuck and some people threw away their belongings to make the load lighter for the horses and oxen. Many people became ill and died. As they moved north, the weather became very cold and ice formed on the water barrels in the morning. Food became sparse, and they relied on the resources around them for food. While they were waiting to cross the Mississippi River, snow fell. It snowed heavily along the northern trail and they had to cross many rivers.
A tropical influence?
October is normally the driest month of the year in these parts. Those Octobers that do bring abnormally wet weather are usually influenced by tropical weather -- tropical storms and hurricanes that enter the Gulf of Mexico, then make landfall along the Gulf Coast and track northeastward. These leftover storms typically bring heavy rainfall and strong winds, and the descriptions of weather conditions during the fall of 1838 suggest a tropical influence.
Furthermore, results from one research paper based on more than 75 storms from 1752-1868, show that the decade of the 1830's experienced a level of activity that is "unprecedented when compared with the modern record." In particular, 1837-1838 was the most active year for the entire period.
The terrible winter
Because the march to Oklahoma was slowed during October for many of the Cherokee, winter caught them on the trail, resulting in many more deaths due to exposure.
In October, 1838, the thirteen contingents of Cherokees crossed Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. The first groups reached the Mississippi River, where their crossing was held up by river ice flows.
According to Bob Stucky, a hydrologist at the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center, "[It] is very unusual to experience ice flows so early in the winter season [November/ December]. [It] must have been a very early and extended hard freeze in the Upper Mid-West followed by a rapid warm-up. ...[M]ost ice flows occur during the early or mid Spring season." (e-mail communication)
By November 12, groups of 1,000 began the 800-mile overland march to the west. The last party, including Chief Ross, went by water. Now, heavy autumn rains and hundreds of wagons on the muddy route made roads impassable.
Harsh weather ended up causing two-thirds of the removed groups to be stuck between the ice-flows of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers (Danny Farrow, "The Cherokee Trail of Tears," 4 December 2001).
By December, 5,000 Cherokees were trapped east of the Mississippi River by the harsh winter; many of them perished. The severity of that winter created ice flows on the Mississippi River, which made crossing into Missouri impossible. Trapped east of the Mississippi River, the Cherokees were forced to camp in southern Illinois to wait out the harsh winter. Survival was nearly impossible as shelter from the extreme temperatures was difficult to find.
Once the crossing did begin near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, it took nearly a month to ferry the river due to the ice-choked water. By the time they came to the White River, ice had formed along the banks, and they ferried the river. The dead were buried in shallow graves, because the ground was frozen.
Conclusions
Of the 17,000 Cherokee Indians who were rounded up for the westward migration in 1838, some 4,000 perished along the way or shortly after arrival in their new land. Most of the deaths were attributed to disease, although many of them died of exposure during the harsh winter.
Meteorologically, the summer, autumn, and winter of 1838 were highly unusual: record drought, followed by record tropical activity, followed by the early onset of an extremely cold winter.
The march should never have taken as long as it did, but the weather caused several delays. The summer drought caused the march to be delayed until September 1. Ice flows along the Mississippi River delayed passage into Missouri that winter, exposing the Cherokee to the extreme cold and the worst weather they faced during the entire march.
Additional recommended sources:
Cherokee Tragedy: The Ridge Family and the Decimation of a People, by Thurman Wilkins.
Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation, by John Ehle.
Note: For homeschool groups located in any of these counties primarily in Middle Tennessee, Mr. Rose is available to visit you with a presentation on a variety of weather-related topics, including weather conditions along the Trail of Tears.
Submissions:
Trinity Prep School notes that from centuries past, the commonplace book still has a place in our homeschool. (link)
Loni, pregnant with her 12th child, shares how making diapers will be part of the homeschool curriculum this year! (link)
Homeschool Heart Blog asks "Is creativity a separate aspect from learning? In our household we have found them to virtually be one and the same." (link)
Danielle Bean and readers discuss the meaning of socialization and its importance in a homeschooling program. (link)
The Harriet Tubman Agenda looks at "Violence: What do you expect? Part II." (link)
Ellen Crain discusses the financial vulnerability of non-earning homeschooling parents. (link)
The Cates once again advocate homeschooling in their latest blog post. (link)
A middle-aged homeschooling mother laments the demotion of the planet Pluto. (link)
A homeschooling mom ponders the role of school in nonhomeschooling families. (link)
Spunky Homeschool notes that timing and flexibility are the two of homeschooling's best qualities. (link)
The Frugal Homeschool Blog describes a mental math card game. (link)
The Thinking Mother tells about conversations with non-homeschoolers. (link)
Kathy gives her review of "A House of Tailors" by Patricia Reilly Giff. (link)
My Life in a Shoe expores the world with a $1.50 microscope. (link)
Rebecca discusses children and choices. (link)
It's back to school for the Huys, and here's what they're doing for history and science. (link)
Patti Miller shares her experience teaching a squirmy child and offers tips to help others. (link)
The Common Room tells us about teachers' manuals on eBay. (link)
Trivium Pursuit pursues similarities and difference. (link)
The Cates will be hosting the next carnival.
1 comments:
This is a fantastic job! Neat, tidy, and very interesting!
My husband's ancestors, some of them, were on that Trail of Tears.
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