The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1878-06-21
Great Snowstorm.
THE LARGEST WHICH HAVE OCCURRED IN
ENGLAND FOR THE PAST 200 YEARS.

In 1874, says writer in an English mag
azine, snow fell in England for IL days.
But this was far surpassed by the winter of
1884, which appears to have been the Sc
verest ever recorded in this country. This
was one OF the occasions when the Thames
was frozen over, and a fair held thereon.
the river was frozen from December to Feb
ruary. Trees were split in the forest by the
violence of the cold nearly all the birds
perished, and the heavy SHOWS made the
roads in some parts of the country absolute
ly impossible.
The winter ofl70S.9 was notable for its
three months continuous frost and snow.
Ten years later snow storm on the border
lands of Sweden and Norway caused ter.
rible disaster. The Swedish army was |
marching on Drontheim. They were over
taken on the mountains by a snow storm, SO |
severe that seven thousand of them perished |
and the expedition had to be abandoned.
The Norwegians have the credit of the in
PRODUCTION of soldiers trained to vancouver
on the snow, and shod with kind of snow
skates, but under such circumstances as
these they too would have struggled against
the warning elements in vain. The snow
storms of that season reached to England
and in the South and West snow fell for
several days in succession early in January.
and, as one of the sufferers remarks, there
was very hard frost for long thyme, be.
sides snow very often, and all things very
dear, so that half penny rowle weighed
just crown piece, and two turnips sold for
a penny, and coal sold for 4Os. quarter
and all these things, notwithstanding soc
deare, was very bad in kinde.'
) Nearly half century passed before there
was any snowfall in England at all approach
, ing this but in February, 1862, it showed
t for eighteen days without ceasing. The
g eighteenth century closed as it began, with
!, a succession of "hard winters" Looking
v through the records of these times, we can
. well understand the oft.quoted remark Of
r the oldest inhabitants" that since they
e were boys the seasons have changed. The
a seasons have changed. The winter of 49,
II was one of the most severe of the series
|
d date until April 2. 17S5-177 days-ther,
l. were only twelve days on which it did no
/. either freeze or snow, or both.
r The winter of 1914 was long remembers
n in many parts of England as that of tn
l. Great Frost" All over the country tn
|. mail coaches had to cease running, and il
6, many instances were abandoned in the snow
It the letters being sent on by the guards o.
IL horseback. And even this means of con
IL veyance proved unavailing in some local.
Or ties, for when the snow lay four feet deep i
is the streets of the great towns it may be fair
Of ly presumed that it proved a much more sc
I'd rious obstacle in the country.
W Another remarkable snow year was 1S2C
es that fell on the moors and fells of the Mort
or and on the great plateau of Dartmoore wa
j. enormous, and several lives were lost. S
IN far as Great Britain is concerned, no sno
a storm for the past hundred years has az
lg preached in violence and extent that of d.
cember, 1886. After it had been snowin
d. heavily for two days by the evening of tt
IN 26th the wind increased to a hurricane. Th
nv fall of snow that night was four to nine fee
n. and some of the snow drifts, were twent
ch thirty, even fifty feet in depth. "The mail
all all business and correspondence were stop
e- ed nearly week, until the multitudes EN-
ch ployed had cut way in the snow, whiC
-e- was equally great all the island over"
.ss Since then we have had several Writers
of which there have been heavy falls OF sno
10. and some in which the mail coaches in va
or ious parts of the country had to be dug o
IA. of the drifts, as happened to the once
al. nous "Quicksilver" mail so recently
in 1912. One nights snow fall was sutice
he to bury the coach, and it took seventy m
bal working all night, to cut way Through
,ed drift, and allow it to proceed.