The New York herald., 1879-01-04
PEOPLE FROZEN TO DEATH

xew yo-t a. zero what wealth ~ description IL
,mho-liel IN thess wortsi Hue faces. purple lips.
red noses. shissrinc ecdiss rushing franiicaily
throush fhe strcets o. escape Tho stinsins coid
frozen pipes and water Jugs. mtsn~e niseries OF
street travel sn general descrton OF the streets
by all thase not eui upon imperative business
h.se and Other f.siurss o. eatresne frgid weather
srs all toid ia the fsw words. New York al nero -
Not Cor three years h4a such cold bern experienced
hers a. visiiol NV Nort Yesterday On the 10th Of
January. is7s. the Thermometer stood a. hve below
zero. Yesterday u wAs II zero az Hudnuts at sir
o'clock in ihe morning. and At pls.es more
exposed. in uhe upper part OF the city. IL
was reported thai tho Thermometer had gone
down even several degrees below zero. Al Liberty
sireet restaurant stood al degrce below zero.
The amount OF keen physical suffering inflicted by
this extraordinary degree OF cold was very great.
Many people-particu'ariy those residing in frame
cottages the upper part of the city and at exposed
rorners-wcrc rUdly awakcned out o. their sleep rs
early three or four O'Clock in the morning when
the tremendous gale that blowing penetrated In
perfect sheets OF cold from which there seemed NO
escape.
srnASGE DOMESTIC INCIDENTS.
Children woke crying from the bitter cold and the
gusty wind that kept banging shutters and doors
rendered sleep to many who specially sensitive
TO cold utterly impossible. The swapping Of the
head of a nail in the outer framework by the frost
sounded in the dead of night like the loud discharge
of pistol. To the sicky the weak. the delicate. the
convaescent this Arctic cold came like perfect
scourge. Husbands and fathers and brothers had
TO rise in the dense darkness OF these
ghostly hours and move bedstcsds close 10 the
ires as their occupants were declaring that they
were 'pcrishing with the cold. one man. 20 the
knowledge of the writer. who occupied corner
hon efap a i'm York
vile, got up four o'clock, went down stairs and
fetched his ulster. in which he wrapped himself up
and went to bed again. and then he declared tho
weight of the heavy garment prevented him from
sleeping. Another gentleman. whose wife was an
invalid, and who. being rheumatic subject. was ex-
tremely sensitive to cold. had her head wrapped up
In shawl during the whole night and still she felt
the wind that whstled through all the crevices
and made her entire face ache with neu-
ralgic pains. until she finally rushed out Of
bed in despair, and, mufiing herself in double blan-
kets, down to the big re already lighted In the
parlor crying bitterly and declaring that could
not exist in this icehouse. "Oh. anything 90 get
warml" she moaned. Take me anywhere where 1
can get out of this dreadful cold What would she
have said had she been at Breckenridge Mimi.
where the temperature reported being AZ eight
o'clock in the morning "a degrees below zerog In
deed, New York was probably the warmest place
within a radius of many miles and nearly everybody
coming into the city from residence in the country
reported that it much colder at his home than in
New York. Mr.. Hudnut. the druggist. for instance.
said that at his country house. in Orange. n. j.. the
thermometer had even gone down TO 10 degrees below
Zero
"a NIpPISG EAGER AIR."
Hats told which way the wind blew. Unsuspect.
ing men, with their cold hands buried deep in the
uster rocIefs sud,lenIy turned corner and M sna-
denly their hats flew down the street. Foolish men
gave chase their absconding property while wise
men waited patiently until some kindly disposed pc
destrian stopped the flying hat and returned IL with
good-natured smile. Running after hats not
unattended with great risk to life and limb for the
ground had just enough hard upon IL 10 he
treacherous. and he who started out with much
confidence in his foothold has in
July into intimate contact with the
sidewalk. The wind whistled around the corner OF
Fourteenth street and University place with such
violence that persons who attempted to stand the
sidewalk and wait for blown into the
street Ladies usters looked like umbrellas blown
wrong side out. Wells detached themselves from
bonnets and ascended ncighboring telegraph poles
where they waved in defiance until cut into shrcds
II was bad day for Gainsborough hats The wind
took them broadside with such force that little Kid
gloved hands compelled to leave their warm
muIfs and cling to the futtering OF felt and
feathers Comparatively few ladies' ventured out.
and certainly those who went ont did not ven
tare second time. Misery loves company.
and misery enjoyed itself TO its hearts
rontent yesterday. Everybody suffering from the
same cause. No one could say to another. "Oh. your
nose red! Tor the other could return the coupli-
ment Men turned up their ulster collars and ran
sideways, with their heads bent down. while the
skirts of their coats acted sails. which whsked
them along at rapid transit rate There were plenty
tipped Some OF the ladies did not look badly,
but others had pnched and frozen look that not
becoming. And the men, with white frost ciinging 10
their boards and ustaches and their eyes red looked
~ though IL would take at least hour before blaz-
ing fire TO thaw them out
HOW THE POOR BoRE 1T.
The liyeried cOachmen shrank into the depths OF
fheir long fur capcs but did not dare to move mus
clio, while the less aristocratic Jehus from street
stands beat their bodies with thcr brawny arms aud
blew white breath upon their benumbed hnger tips.
Car drivers danced hnpromptu brcakdowns on their
narrow Platforms while omnibus drivers tied their
heads up in worsted scafs and turned down their iur
caps IL people with plenty of wraps found IL hard
TO keep warm, what about the people withoutS Hal.
clothed children shvered in protecting doorways
had their scant draperies almost torn from their
naked limbs. The wind played strange freaks. IL
blew hand carts down the street from in front OF
grocerymen's doors and tore signboards from their
posts. But who will not sing with shakespeare
Blow, blow, thou winter wind
As mans nsrsttnde.
Thy tooth is not so Keen.
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude,
Freeze freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite 9 nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the warp,
Thy sting ts hot sharp
As friend remembered not
DELAYS ~" ROADS.
Fortunate indeed the New Yorker who conld
Gay that this just the right sort OF weather for
him. But 10 every who sufficiently insonsi.
Bile and hardy 10 make such declaration there were
pt least hundred who entered their offices from tho
streets with faces all nipped up, ana watering eyes
and chatterng teeth and rubbing hands aud stamp
Ing feet. The horse were the yCriest
Ice carts, and everybody who could possibly
avoid them did so. Nevertheless many people were
absolutely compelled TO resort to them owing to the
delays on the IL railways The trains on the Third
avenue "L' ran very irregulary, owing TO many en-.
gines having been frozen up during the night, and
during the forenoon hardly any trains ran below
Franklin square, thus compelling hundreds OF bust
ness men 20 walk in the cutting wind down TO their
pfices near Fulton street. Hanover square. or the
Battery and 10 probably exaggeraion 20 say that
many would gladly have paid their fare nve times
over To have escaped this cruel exposure. The Insult
.-..,tL aiai.nu