The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-03-03

be The Great Storm Of 1884
From the Cleveland Herald we clip the
following interesting phase Of the great
storm which hcralded the New Year:
Accounts are now in from Lake Superior
to the Gulf Of Mexico, giving, with more or
less detail, the history ofa storm which
swept over the United States on the, first
day of the present year. At New Orleans
ice IS reported to have been two and one.
half inches thick. In the country east Of
the Mississippi this storm Travelled from
south westto northeast, and appeared eve-
rywhere under about the same circnrnstan
ces. MeteoroIogists, philosophers and
weather wise men have settled the question
by observation, that there are laws in refer
ence to storms as we'll as everything else in
nature. They take uniform path, which
is generally curve, along wGich they
travel. >"
In Che Mississippi Valley the prominent
winter gales haye a route almost. as well
fixed as the ch,nnel Of the great river it
self They originate in or near the Rocky
Mountains. taking southerly or south-eas-
terly course. Here is where they acquire
that biting cold which causes them to be so
fatal 10 man and beast. On the bleak
prairiesand sandy barrens this side the
Rocky Mountains animal life ls soon ex-
tinguished wherever tits exposed to this
.merciless blast. In its southerly course it
bends to the east, generally crossing the
Mississippi River above the mouth of the
Ohio, but this year far below. At Chatta-
nooga it came from the southwest. The
lower bend of the curve was probably near
the mouth of the great river. below New
orieans'sss adf srfr.H'ts1 5gI dVHIi pfT
Like all great storms. it was Remarkably
uniform in its various phases at different
and remote places. At i0ntonagon, THE
Lake Superior Minor says, there was fall
ing snow on the 3lst of December, chang
ing on the next day to furious hurricane.
The cold became intense, snow continued
to fail and the wind to blow for three days
For six DAYS the storm abated very little,
the thermometer ranging from minus a9 to
minus 80 Fahrenheit. Depth of snow be-
tween two and three feet. ysa- fagegggr,,rqss
~ In this region the prelude was fall Of
rain changing to snow. AT Cincinnati 1t
was warm, murky and rainy on the s LIST,
the thermometer at 5 p m. being plus so ?
A brisk wind sprung up in the evening
from the s. 8. West and at 10, pm. the
thermometer had fallen 400 or to plus 10 ?
Snow began to fall and on the st of Janu
ary the mercury had sunk to ten degrees
below zero. For many days it did not rise
above plus "a ?. Here the wind continued
to blow gale from Southwest and west
southwest. In Ohio the fall of snow was
not remarkable. s}nTg 3hE
The storm commenced a. Chattanooga
and Nashville in much the same way. The
last day of the year was dark. drizzling and
rainy. In the evening about bedtime,
sharp gusts arose from the southwest,
which suddenly grew cold. On New Years
morn there was clear sky, bitter wind.
frozen ground, and ice strong enough to
bear up man. In Tennessee the thermom
eter averaged from zero to minus six for
several nights There was but little snow,
which, however. remained upon the ground,
clothing the mountains in white. To the
most Of the Inhabitants this was rare
view; ;-''-'' -''''''- r' --''''.' ....
Around the south end OF Lake Michigan
the gale began somewhat earlier than at
Cinncinnati. Before night of December
3lst. although the snow was not very deep,
it had drifted so much as to obstruct the
railroad trains. During the night they
were entirely stopped and buried in the
drifts. Thus from the Gulf oc Mexico to
Lake Superior, on line corresponding
nearly with the meridian, from Mobile to
Ontonagon, through about fourteen degrees
latitude, This remarkable storm ragged with
ncar.y the same time. ola sGHrH y II,
The recent one of the 10th and Goth Of
January. was much mnrA severe in this VIC
unity, but was only local. Tn depth Of
snow, and the obstrpcticrs by drifts tex
ceedad anything Of which the oldest settlers
have any remembrance. radius Of so
miles from Cleveland includes. however. the
space over which It was particularly violent.
on the sontl shore Of Lake Erie. On the
east the trains were not much impeded till
they reached Madison. IN Lake Ghanty.---
On the south between Alliance and Raven
ma and ct the southwest at Shelby. To
the west the first material distractions were
found at Bellevue in Erie County.
A Western corresp ondent Of Harpers
Magazine gets off the following excellent
joke 81 was travelling ip Virginia by
stage, and, spending the night = country
tavern, was greatly entertained by the talk
of the stage drivers and Others sitting by the
bar-room fire IN the evening. One,old cod
ger worked off a good thing. when L was
down to the fair, good many years ago.
said the old fellow, 'there was prize offer.
Al 4 Il