The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-01-23
New York Times, 22d.l

New York Times, 22d.l
s,orn, Of rain and sleet. accompanied
viol,nt gales. visited this city and
Wsn;,v Yesterday, and did very great |
,',nogo 10 property, besides proving
,s'Srs,ce IN many kinds OF business and |
lens ANNOYANCE TO all who were obliged |
- to the fury OF the tempest. Telegraph |
Ii. and wires were broken, and the CITY |
~ durine most Of the DAY, isolated ffom |
,hc remainder al the world as Tar as tele' |
sacbic communication was concerned. |
Tn last instance Of the Kind occurred on
January !. 1873, hut the isolation then
WIS not as complete as mat o,
yesterday. The private lines and
npblic routes OF telephone systems
we're all Frustrated or otherwise INFER
fered WITH; the telegraphS connecting 'uo
courts and exchanges were rendered use
les, and the police and tre-hnes cou'u nv'
ho oneraied. A direct loss OF more tha"
sooN noo i believed 10 have resulted 10 the
telegraph and telephone companies, 10 Sas
+,Ei,r, az The indirect loss ewing 10 tne'r
iroh;,itv TO do the work thcv would other-
- have done. The lack Of the customary
N,,otic facilities az the Produce ana
Tn,,on Exchanges made 1t Impossible TO
.o,,,'o,, hr.ines. "A those places AFTER ABOUT
n N ond the number OF TRANSACTIONS
n, The stock Exchange was maze sur
rrisincly low for similar reasons III
ending news from The different ponce pre-,
cioc's mes scugers bad To De eulp'o!eu' anu
in Guarding against ire resort "a' nsu l"
~ method formerly in vogue OF having
3 ,~oynted fremen patrol the Street ana rae
rr>,.haS'e ~ the engine-houSes WIN nolces
,, 6rcs What took place at the lew hre>
,r,tcb Aid occur was sufficient TO show the
in.deouscy of these ancient methods. lhe
,,.us wore detained. and trouble was eN-
,..~iopced hy carriers I'm delivering ana gain
l,i,et beir letter. Accident. caused by 1all-
inc tclegraph-poles, by the broken enus VI
,vi,es swinging loosely from their usual las
t.niros. and bv iciclcS, were somewhat nu'
meronS: but they were generally nov "l d
..riou, nature. The annoyances 10 way
f,rer, were almost innumeraDic, the form
interfering very seriously WIN Wa'h'n1'
Trains on the elevated roads mel WIN ON!
shoht ocieniions. and travel on the surface
road. conl0 hardly be said 10 have been IN
,crfcrcd with. Details OF the storm ana It's
resnlt. are given in the subioined nara
tlves. ...,,,..,,
T,rr STORMS RISE AND PROGRESS.
The .i,ns Of Yesterdays storm in TINS
c,,v wore visible about 1880 in the morning
,vb,n q lew patteriDg drops OF ram caht
I'm followed by snow and Sleet. The tenn
-. nod been some DAYS brewing. On
w.dnesdav the region OF a low depression
~ tho barometer was most conspicuous ou
rho northern shores Of the Gull OF Mexico,
Ubence il was gradually sweeping hoith
ward. There was another area IN the he'su
borhood # Minnesota. whence II was creep
in,, toward the east. The two united some
yyIere near Ohio, and the great storm
,rhicb Drew ont Of their union Degal
- roIJ thence toward the Middle and New
Fngl,nd states. In this city the WIND nae
been gradually rising yesterday morninl
since midnight. and when daylight broke
was blowing forty miles an hour from th'
northeast The rain had turned to sleet
which was falling in torrents, and the lnnel
edge of the storm area fairly enclrcled tb'
civ and its suburbs. The centre was theI
al Pittsburgh, Penn, and was moving eaS
with great velocity. The temperature ros
70 during the night ara the thermome'e
registered go. As fast as the ra'l
descended it froze. and the siree's
sidewalks, and sroops soon became coy
cred with an icy sheet. The sides OF ouliu
ing~ were fairly glazed with the frozen mass
THE telegraph wires increased IN slz
until they were larger than clothes
line. Icices formed on them, and instea
Of hanging downward, as the conventions
iccle does, stood out at an angle nhder I'd
influence Of the driving wlDd. Inc tTce
took on the most curious shapes. IWlg
were magnlfied 10 double and treOle lhe'
usual size. the limbs became as trunks, an
the trdnkS grew into uhsightV oo!ects =
tremendous bulk. Even in the side streets
vhere the wind oply came and went j
nuds. the ice.burdened bOughs were set /
vigorous molten. and under their toI
heavy load Trunks swayed that woul
hardly how before summer hurr
cane The parks OF Madison, Unlof
and Washington Squares, ana at III
CIV Hall were transformed INTO forests Iu
foliage Of which was pure White. III
imh. sUeut the ground under their eno
nous weight Pedestrians scrambled und'
them and disappeared in the depths beyond
much ~ The players disappear IN Tue langie
growth OF forest >tage-settlng. lie wan
were Uttered with broken branches an
large limbs, yielding 10 the enoilho,
weight. snapped short of from the ;runb
Of hundreds OF trees. The rigging OF shT
stood out in startling relief IN the cal
morning light.
THE MOST ABSURD SPEcTACLES
were presented by those who were oDIlSe
10 be al their places 0f business early IN th
morning. Men crawled down their stooF
on hands and knees. and considered then
selves fortunate in being preserved to reac
the bottom with unbroken bones. waikiki
8 on the Sidewalk was next TO Impossible
and people took the middle OF the stree
Umbrellas were raised only TO be coate
4 With ice, and no amount OF peTsuaslo
could close them. What was LETT
4 them by the wind at this time W;
abandoned. ana they Uttered the gu
tiers like so many inverted toadstoot
The storm increased in violence, an
4 about 10 O'Clock its centre was upon u
city. The clouds swept across the SKY nh
so many race-horses, for the wind wa
blowing even harder than at dayhghl, an
the rain was again falling. People wei
seeking shelter in doorways and benin
friendly corners. The ice-sheets were tufi
4 ing 10 slush in the streets. and while III
footing was little more sure the walkin
was fully as disagreeable as IN the mornln!
1reacberous pools OF this slush formed o
every corner, into which pedestrians flour
dered as they CROPPED their way blindl
through the rain. AT last the telegrap
wires had accumulated an enormous weigl
Il OF ice. No better illustration OF the dang'
FL OF putting up poles in the streets
great city and loading them down vii
wires could be afforded than a sight OF u
condition OF the downtown streets. ia
clay and Nesey and Dey streets, and Pai
Place were Oyerbung with the icy rope
: m linz -, 4 fInx