, 1881-01-23
TILE lCE-AlNG.
Unlucky New Workers ."'See
Him Floating in the ~' =
Air"
Such Persistent Storm as Was
Never Known Before, in
the City. :
Such Condition Of Things as
Never Before Existed in
d Storm.
The Big Telegraphs Victims to the
Network Of Little Telephone
Wires. -
Electricians Confronted with
Tangled Web That Sym,
bolizes Ruin
i -.--
Mounted couriers Carrying Alarms
OF Fire to the Engine.
Houses.
Boston Inclined to Lecture on
the Subject Of Snow in
the Streets.
Terrible .Ava1anches in the Rocky
Mountains-Funeralo Of Seven
. Victims.
Shivering Settlers in Dakota Breaking Up
r.
Terrible .Ava1anches in the Rocky
Mountains-Funeral Of Seven
Victims.
shivering Settlers in Dakota Breaking Up
Bridges and Roadbads for Fuel
TIE METROPOLIS.

Special Disoateh to 7n< cAtcaao Tribune.
NEW York, Dec. 222.-The storm which
occurred yesterday-of which attempted to
inform you, but doubt whether the inforna-
ton got through, owing to the accumulation
Of business at the point where the wires
were intact-has finally died away, and We
are reapfng the results of its wrath It
would be impossible to give 4 complete de-
scripion Of the destruction that was caused
by the high wind and by the bur11ns0me
accumulation of ice on the telegraph
wises :; and poles, Us we'll as upon
the trees in the parks. In word, it
may be said that nearly every public
and private telephone line in this city was
destroyed, all communication with the out
side world entirely cut Oft. so far as the te1e-
graph lines are concerned, and New York al
most completely isolated This, Of course,
has proven great drawback to the business
Interests Of the city, but it has been so conf
plete that there was
NO ESCAPING IT.
The telegraph companies suddenly found
themselves bereft of tefegraphlc communica-
ton, not only West, but East and North as
we'll, and, willie they set at work promptly to
restore the lost connection, they have not
been, able to do so up to this hour
Is p. IN. Of Saturday.. The wires reaching
from New York to Jersey City were not in
terfered with by the storm, and are in good
working order. These are grouped In cables,
and lie on the north 1iyer-bed from shore to
shore, bit on the shore ends, where ex-
posed, the cables were sufficiently strong to
resist the action of the storm.
THE ONE PRIME REASON
for the interruption Of the telegraph COM
panies' lines in the city arose from the Inter-
ference with the wires by those Of
the various public and private tele-
phone companies. These latter wires
are much smaller than those used
By the Western Union, American Union. or
the Atlantic & Pacific Companies, and the
result is that they have parted In every d.
reclton, and hang over the main telegraph
wires like cards, and have become almost
inextricably tangled. When the number OF
these telegraph lines, as wellas those OF the
great telegraph companies In city like
New York is taken into consideration, the
almost utter ruin Of the system arising from
such causes Us have prevailed In the last
twcnty-four hours may be readily under
stood.
ONE OF THE GREATEST DANGERS TO THE
CITY =,
was the interruption Of police and fire alarm
communication. Last night but one station
was connected with headquarters> and to-
day the situation is the same This has ne
cessltated the return to the old system OF
patrolling the streets, and, in case Of fire, the
alarm. is to be carried to the nearest engine
house, and the police are used as patrolrnen
in connection with the Fire Department
There has been mounted patrol also estab-
lished, and In those districts where thare are
towers watch has been established. and
bells are to be rung according to the Old
fashion.
TIE DAMAGE DONE TO THE TREES
and strubbery in Central Park by the storm
was very great, and it will cost the city thou
sands Of dollars to make good the loss. As
soon as the thick coating Of Ice begun to
spread itself over tie branches and t,f1gs 1t
BECAME evident that there would be great
deal of destruction, and, in the afternoon, IS
the officers went on patrol, they sa" on every
hand the havoc which the storm had caused.
Along the Mall the stately old elms on either
side became covered with ice, and the gale III
its fury had swung about their lofty branches
until many Of them had broken oil, lnd Were
strewed over the frozen crust Of snow In
every direction It is feared th2t several OF
these trees will have to be cut down.
THE PRESS OF NEW YORK :
takes occasion to bring to the public mind
the necessity OF placing telegraph wires
underground instead OF strfnetng them in
the air. Such an arrangement wo21d render
INN possible. catastrophe of the present
description. The telegraph companies have
labored under many disadvantages the past
twenty-four hours. 1t has been necessary