Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1873-01-18
OLYMPIA. SATURDAY MORNING. jim. IS. 1873.
A NOTED CONTRAST.

Middle and Western States, is the sub
iect of universal comment. ard the
daily Geographic reports teen with ac-
counts of the hardships and casualties
that have resulted from that cause. a
letter from S. NJ. Pe.tingill n Co.. the
well-known Advertising Agents of New
York city. dated Dee. 26, 1872, says:
" Yesterday (Christmas) WAS beautiful
day. To-day is fearful-teriible snow
storm. Snow two feet deep. This
was the beginning of the severe weather,
which has continued up to this time
and extended over so vide district.
River navigation has been closed with
ice. and several Eastern harbors have
been frozen over, and vessels driited
out to sea by the floating mass, wharves
and docks have been destroyed, and
many steamers on the Ohio and Missis-
sippi rivers have been wrecked by the
breaking up of an immense ice-gorSc.
which hoated down with irresistible force
upon them. Land communication has
faxed scarcely any better. Trains have
been DELAYED for many days on all the
principal thoroughfares, and the tele-
graph lines have been broken down by
the accumulation of ice upon them.
The streets in New York, Brooklyn,
Philadelphia, Memphis, Cincinnati, st.
Louis, and other cities, have been block
AIDED by snow, and business in conse-
quence has been almost suspended,
while at Salt Lake an immense ava
lanche overwhelmed train of teams,
buryiny thirty-four human beings, only
a portion of whom were extracted
alive. At Memphis and Little Rock
the supply of coal was entirely exhaust
ed, and the inhabitants suffered in
tensely from cold and want of the
common necessaries of life. This is
but brief recapitulation of few of
the dread consequences that have re-
suited so far, and the latest dates report
snow still falling in the Western States.
At Salt Lake it is eight feet deep and
slides have been Of frequent occurrence,
but without any serious loss, since that
reported above.
While it will be readily conceded
that the present Winter is an cxcep-
tional one, even for the colder dis
tricts, we cannot but draw an agree
able contrast with the most favorable
seasons East and our Winters here.
where vegetation never ceases and
flowers are ever in bloom. The Their
mometer has seldom indicated colder
temperature than 32' at night, the
present season, AMI many of the days
have been warm and pleasant as those
OF midsummer. The present week has
been fair average of those preceding
it; and Monday and Tuesday We're de-
hghtful, the sun shining brightly, with
a full moon at night, rendering objects
visible for miles around. The remain
der of the week has afforded the usual
variety OF sunshine and shower pecu-
liar to our climate. None complain.
and the late residents rejoice that they
have exchanged the risors of their for
mer homes for the mild climate and
pure health-giving atmosphere of Puget
Sound.
1t will be difficult for the people of
the frozen regions East to believe that
our statement is literally true, and that
we really have little or no Winter in
this high latitude. The theory adj
vanced by Senator Sumner, in his speech
on Russian America, is at least sup
ported by conditions which he cites as
the result Of known forces in nature.
and goes far to explain the phenomenon.
He refers to the thermal current in the
Pacific ocean, corresponding to the
UulI otream on the lower Atlantic
coast, having its origin in the heated
waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as the
most important cause of the mild Win
tiers on this coast. This flow is some
times called the japanese current, hav-
ing its origin under the equator, amid
intense heat. The temperature of this
body of water varies from 500 to 500
and exercises n great power in moder-
atins the temperature of the air and
water along the whole line of coast to
Lower California. A secondary influ
ence, producing the same result, is af-
forded in the confguration of the coun
try -" the lofty and impenetrable
barricadc of mountains, by which the
islands and harbors are protected from
the cold of the north" Our Cascade