New-York tribune., 1873-01-01
THE SNOW BLOCKADE.
DIsC0URAGING EFFECTS OF WARMER
WEATHER ir

the streets presented appearance than yester
day, although locomoon was attended with less diff
Guilty than on the day OF the great storm Broadway
and few Of the main thoroughfares present fair ap
pearanoc but In the majority Of tho narrow sreets es
pecay those in the lower part OF the city the snow has
drifed badly and business is very seriously impeded
All the fears and stages still drawn by double
teams and the rule holds good with the express
companies and many firms Even as IL is, hardly more
than half the usual quantity OF freight delivered at
various depots and steamboat piers Chambers-s, from
Chathamst TO Broadway, is almost impassaoe. There
large drifts in front of the Courthouse and Stewards
Wholesale store and there hardly hour yesterday
that one or fe teams were not stuck In the drifts
Broadway, fs8m the Battery to Fourteenthst, s com
psratveY clear thanks the efforts Of superintendent
horne q the Street Cleaning Bureau In the Bowery
and thel Tin avenues the snow is piled up In great
moud either side OF the tracks, but the latter are
kept nnaratively clear by the efforts Of the car
panies The tracks OF the crOss-town lnes-potaby
those Of the Grand and Desbrossesst., Houston and
Avenue G, Grand and Fortysecond-st., and Twenty
third-st Companes-aze kept free OF with great
difficulty and either side it is piled up TO q great
hght To those who propose to make calls in carriages
sleghs to-day this state Of things will prove great
Inconvenience .f
The Street Cleaning Bureau hayeldone an immense
amount Of work during the past four days Broadway,
from the Battery to Thirty yfourtst, has been gone
Cnce, and all the except layer Of about six
inches in the middle OF the street has removed
That this not taken away because that portion
Of the snow so mixed with sand and dirt to rem
der 10 probable that 1t would interfere with navigation
by partially filling up the slips where it might be
dumped. Yesterday work was begun again on Broad
way, and 1t will be again cleared from the Battery to
Canalst. by this morning The thus removed will
not be thrown into the rivers.
There have been many who advocated the use Of salt
10 clear this thoroughfare by melting the 1t
computed that bushels salt costing $780, would
have cleaned 1t that the residue could have been
taken away with comparative ease and at greatly re-
duced expense The corporation ordinances however,
forbid the sprnklng Of salt the streets and superin
endent Thorne would not allow IL TO be used. The cart
men employed by the Street Cleaning Bureau find great
difficulty In making their daily collections OF ashes and
garbage by OF the condition Of the streets Many
OF those in the Fourth Sixth Tenth Fourteenth and
other Wards were rendered impossible by the drifts
and as consequence, no collections can be made.
there should be heavy and continuous rain. sud
numbers Of cellars would be fiooded, Causing great
the diifculties travel.
DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSPORTATION.
Down town, in the business quarters where many OF
the streets quite Narrow the inconvenience greatly
felt In clearing the sidewalks huge banks Of had
piled up along the curbstones, and In many
covered the entire roadway To this has been added in
numerous Instances quantities shOveled from the roofs
all this ocomOton was, at the BEST diff
cult and under the influence OF the rain and mild tenn
perature OF yesterday 1t became still Horses
and vehicles sank into the snow as though were go
much quicksand, and II was oftentimes with much
indeed was the snow that heavy wagons cut through
in many places TO the pavement or settled TO their
% the Of wcS he %sTe
comparatively few, better, but none too we'll Speed
was out Of The question and drivers GENERALLY Ssrs
an impatient Jehu who would urge mis- jaded animals
into dull rrot, from which they quickly lapsed, how
fufn
order If tie day, where the teams were single, and
little merchandise as possible was handled
being both and crowded seemed TO present the
most obstacles to travel On Fultons the snow lay TO
considerable depth, and very soft and yielding,
rendering the ascent exceedingly aborous Numerous
jams occurred here from teams stuck fast One poor
horse, before wagon pretty well loaded with window
glass was noticed vanly struggling TO pull through,
while various vehicles either side delayed for
some time Southst. peculiarly bad In many
places the snow had shoveled into the road
way increasing the depth and forming frequent ridges
Through these progress WAS exceedingly dificut and
horses were brought constantly 10 standstil, even
with moderate loads One two-horse truck, with only
soft spot from which the horses were unable to
It. Four horses, too. often found much difficulty,
draw load OF sugar out OF O hole. Whips were freely
used and the strongest expetives were freely INDUCED
The horses however, were so completely tagged out
that they Jud frequently their beating annch-
ingy ana efused TO make further efforts TO pull Many
with w-banks, and travel through them almost
suspended. This especially the case with the mar
lower part O1 the city, Sucn
Front Water Pearl, Greenwich Washington. &C.. where
banks sometimes completely filed the roadway. On
Westst. less trouble than elsewhere was observed as
the able mainly to travel In the cartraeks
OF the Belt Railroad, which we're kept well open during
the day.
ASNoYANcEs OF PEDESTRIANS.
Pedestrians Jared very little better than horses The
rain as it first FELL quickly CONCEALED aud formed thin
but very slippery coating Of ice upon the sidewalks
rendering walking quite difficult and dangerous Later
as the temperature changed, the and ice melted
and formed very disagreeabe slush. The crossings
were in still worse condition. being covered in most
places ankedeep and with the soft, slippery sub
stance, though Efforts were made in TO keep
them clear Another great source OF discomfort was the
constant rickng Of water from the roofs Of build
ings and the awnings especially from the latter many
OF which project about midway across the walks and
t6e backs OF acHess passerb Icces dropping from
the Of houses, and thrown from the roofs
also added to the annoyances and sometimes TO the dan
Pools Of formed in numerous places where the
snow had been banked up against the walks and pre-
damp, dismal atmosphere and the wretcbed Walking,
the day far from being enjoyable for promeIang,
and few beyond those drawn out by necessity sere
Tne terry.eoats, though running pretty resulariI,
the rivers. which impeded them greatly at times and
caused frequent delays.
CURIOUS INCIDENT.
An amusing incident IN connection with the weather
occurred last evening at the restaurant of Smith &
Green, in Beekman-st, near Nassau. About O'Clock,
while number OF persons were quietly dining, sound
of something heavy falling, with sudden crash Of
dishes heard In the Kitchen followed Immediately
by the rush OF steam into the dningroom. general
stampede for the door quickly entued, walters and
guests dropping everything In their alarm, the idea pre-
vang that the boiler had exploded or the roof fallen
in. In few moments, however, the fright subsidized
and disclosed the fact that large piece
OF Ice weighing about 20 pounds had fallen from the
number Of dishes Of meats. &C. which stood upon the
shev0s and and breaking one Of the pipes
FRO ~ Qame
creating lively sensation, destroyed ell the meats
which had been prepared for the evening meal, and
obliged many TO 60 elsewhere 10 dine
k HRAvY SHOWS IN PREcEDNG YEARS
The following Ia record Of SHOWS Of depth greater
than six inches, for tho past Is year, taken from the