This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.
I have never worried much about whether the chicken or the egg came first, but I admit that I have wondered whether God created thorn bushes and then thought up roses as some sort of a reward or whether He made roses, and then added thorns just to be mean.
That's why I'm fascinated by Illinois' "Year of the Deep Snow." Was God angry with the pioneers who had begun to settle in the new state of Illinois, or did He merely set the stage to show off his providence?
It was Christmas Day, 1830, when the snow began to fall over all of central Illinois from the Mississippi River east. It kept falling for a week, then two, three—on and on until the end of January 1831. When it stopped, the snow stood three feet deep on the level, with drifts that covered entire cabins and barns.
Then came a day of heavy rain followed by weather so cold that the rain formed a crust of ice over the snow. Then, more snow, and a temperature that never rose above twelve degrees below zero for weeks, made colder by a constant fierce north wind.
The scattered settlers already isolated from each other by distance, were trapped in their homes, unable to reach produce stores or mills. The crust of ice over the snow gave way when anyone tried to go anywhere. The mills themselves had stopped working when the rivers froze up all the way.
That crust of ice, however, turned out to be providential. Deer and other game animals could walk on the crust only a short distance before their sharp hooves broke through, trapping the animals where they fell, and freezing them so that the meat kept. The hungry settlers had only to go outside and pick up good steaks and stews. Much like the Children of Israel and their manna. And so, the settlers survived to brag to their grandchildren about the Deep Snow in Illinois.
Now, my only question is, why was this spectacle wasted on so few people back in 1831? God could have gotten a much better return on his investment today, with television reporters, visits by politicians, weather reports, animal rights activists rescuing the deer, and T-shirts—all white, of course, except for the lettering: "I survived the Deep Snow."
Rock Island Lines with Roald Tweet is underwritten by the Scott County Regional Authority, with additional funding from the Illinois Arts Council and Augustana College, Rock Island.
