(257) AS stated in Chapter IV, the climate of Antelope County has been modified to a considerable degree since the first settlement was made in 1868. Perhaps as good a brief description of the climate of Nebraska as it was known in the early days as can be found anywhere, is the one given in the New American Cyclopedia, published in 1863, page 155, Volume XII, which reads as follows:

     "The altitude of the country, considerable greater than that of the Mississippi Valley, secures to it a dry, pure, salubrious atmosphere, free from fogs and humidity. The climate is remarkable for the number of bright, clear, sunny days throughout the year. Rain is not abundant, the summer and autumn being comparatively dry. The extreme heat is one hundred degrees. This is tempered by the prairie breezes, and the nights are always cool. The winters are usually mild and open, with but little snow. The extreme cold is from ten degrees to fifteen degrees below zero in moderate winters, and from twenty to thirty degrees below zero in severe ones. High winds prevail in the spring and at times throughout the year, sweeping unobstructed over the plains."

     It was generally known that the annual rainfall throughout the state was light and that it gradually diminished toward the west. It was supposed by the pioneers who first settled along the Missouri River that the country was fit for farming only for a distance of from fifty to sixty miles back from the Missouri River, unless it might be the valleys of the larger streams. One of the very early settlers of Dodge County, Mr. L. H. Rogers, who came to (258) Nebraska in 1857, told the writer that when he settled near Fremont he supposed that his cattle and those of his neighbors would have perpetual free range over the high lands adjacent to the Platte valley. It was thought at that time that the table and rolling lands of the state would never be cultivated, excepting those lying within fifty or sixty miles of the Missouri River. This same idea was pretty generally held by the pioneer settlers, even by those who came as late as the sixties, only the limit of cultivable high land was constantly being pushed farther and farther west. Many, if not all, of the first settlers of Antelope County had grave doubts about the climatic conditions and it was a question often discussed as to whether there was rainfall enough, except in favorable years, for successful general farming. There were certain conditions then existing that were not at all encouraging. In digging wells and cellars, the subsoil was generally found to be perfectly dry; there was no grass heavy enough for hay anywhere on the high lands, and generally scarcely enough on the low lands to supply the wants of the settlers. The first crop of wheat in the county was raised by Crandall and Allen Hopkins in 1870, on land broken in 1869. Crandall Hopkins' wheat yielded ten bushels per acre, and his corn was almost a failure. Sod corn in 1869 was a pretty good crop, but 1870 was a dry year and it looked bad for Antelope County, especially as the crops at Norfolk and farther east were good. It looked as though we might be beyond the limit of a good farming country. High winds were frequent, especially in the spring months, and often blew for three days at a time. The snows of winter were blown by the severe winds into the ravines and low grounds and when melted were carried off into the ravines and streams. The rains were apt to be more violent than those of recent years and not of as long duration. Vegetation being comparatively scanty, there was little to retain the moisture as it fell, and the air being dry, evaporation was rapid. Severe storms both in winter and summer were more frequent than at the present time. (259) Gradually a change came. Cultivated lands absorbed the moisture as it fell. It was found that by keeping out the prairie fires, the vegetation thickened up and greatly increased, enabling the soil to retain the moisture by preventing evaporation and by holding it from running off into the ravines. As a result, the subsoil gradually became saturated with water until now it is never in the dryest seasons as devoid of moisture as it was forty years ago. New springs have broken out in many places, and the little tributaries of the Elkhorn have permanent water farther up their courses than formerly. The native blue stem grass grows rank on the high lands, affording abundant hay, where before it was fit only for pasture. The air is more humid and dews more frequent and heavier than formerly. Dry winds in summer and severe blizzards in winter do not now occur as often, nor are they as severe as in former times. A three weeks' drought in the growing season, while it is still injurious, is not nearly as destructive as formerly, for the reason that the subsoil gives back the moisture that it has been collecting in the past, and which before the country was improved would all have run off into the streams or been absorbed by the thirsty atmosphere. Hence it is seen that there has been a considerable change in climatic conditions. And yet it is not probable that there has been an increase in the rainfall. The changes in climate that have taken place are due to the fact that a much larger part of the moisture that falls now soaks into the subsoil than formerly, the reason for this being already given. The United States government began to keep a record of the rainfall in Nebraska in the year 1849, but the record was not made full and complete until 1866. From these records the rainfall throughout the state does not seem to have increased. According to these government reports the line showing a mean annual precipitation of twenty-six inches passes through the southeast corner of Antelope County, running in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction, while the line indicating a precipitation of twenty-four (260) inches runs through the northwestern part of the county, thereby indicating for the county a mean annual rainfall of about twenty-five inches. Mr. George S. Clingman of Oakdale has kept a record for the government since the year 1888, reporting daily, and has furnished such items as are necessary for this chapter.

     Table showing the monthly and annual precipitation at Oakdale for 21 2/3 years, 1888 to 1909 inclusive:

         From this table it will be seen that the mean annual precipitation at Oakdale for 21 2/3 years has been 24.91 inches; that the greatest rainfall is in June; that next in order come May, July, August, April, and September.

     It also appears that a little over 71 per cent of the (261) moisture of the year falls from April to August inclusive, coming when needed during the growing season, and that a little over 80 per cent falls during the six months tom April to September inclusive; that a year like 1907, which had less than eighteen inches of rain, may be a year of good crops, when preceded by a year of bounteous rainfall, and when the rain that does come is given when needed. It has come to be a matter of general belief that with the kind of soil we have in Antelope County, with its ability to absorb and retain moisture, the normal amount of rainfall is ample to produce and mature good crops.

     Table II shows the monthly and annual mean temperature at Oakdale:

     The coldest month on record, January, 1888, mean 4.6 degrees.

     The warmest month on record, July, 1901 mean 81.6 degrees.

     Coldest year on record, 1888, 2.4 degrees below normal.

     Warmest year on record, 1900, 3 degrees above normal.

     Highest temperature on record 110 degrees, July, 1894.

     Lowest temperature on record, 40 degrees below zero, January, 1892.

     (262) The following table shows the date of the first autumnal frost and of first killing frost.

     There is only a difference of eight days between the average dates of the first frost of autumn and the first killing frost, and the average of the two is September 20th. The frosts, however, have almost never occurred on an average date. Note that no September in the twenty-two years has been free from frost; that when the first killing frost is deferred till October a light frost may have occurred weeks before.