Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-03-27
THE NEWS IN BRIEF.

There lie serious suffering from lack Of
food 10 the mountain districts of West Vir-
ginia. A man who has Just ridden through
the region, visiting scores Of families, says
both men and beasts are in abieot want and
the suffering great Almost every family has
some food, but it Is OF a single vArieiy-such
as beans, and cruel made of coarse crushed
wheat. There are no steam mills, and no
water mills can run because the little water In
the streams Is frozen nearly to the bottom.
Corn aud wheat are 30 scarce that they can
not be fed to stock, much of which IL disc az
ed because Of lack Of food aud impurity Of
the water. The water used for cooking is
also impure. There ia vast deal Of sick
ness, and mortality Is large Medical aid is
hard to get, and the stock of drugs 10 the
small villages Is exhausted. The bad roads
add to the difficulty in the way Of giving aid.
Everything nearly must be carried on pack
horses. There is no demand for outside as
sistsuce, a. the state is able aud willing to
meet all demands.
Snow fell 10 the vicinity of Danville, Va,
aud in the adjacent portions of North CARROLL
ma Sunday morning to depth OF six inches
aud the night before 10 depth Of four inches
The fruit trees and vines are too back ward in
budding to have suffered injury. The wheat
crop which was previously reported ~ great
~ injured by the unusual and continued cold
Of the winter, will be benefited by these falls
OF snow. In the British provinces, especially
near the sea coast, there was one Of the WORT
storms of the season, at the b. ginning OF this
week. In Northern New York, in the vicini.
ty Of Malone, there was an almost unpreced.
ented blockade OF snow aud ice.
The Langham hotel at Chicago was burn
ed last Saturday night and three people we're
probably killed, either by jumping from the
burning building or by being crushed by fall
ing walls. The fire started at eight o'clock in
one of the lower rooms from the overturning
OF kerosene lamp. Tue restaurant Of the
house contained at the time 100 guests at
supper, and as many more we're in their
rooms. The former had no trouble In get.
ting out, but several of those in the upper
rooms had narrow escapes. The fire spread
with marvellous rapidity, and before a second
alarm was turned In the flames were bursting
through the roof. One woman was killed by
jumping from the fourth story into an alley
The hotel seems to have been a regular fire.
trap. The interior was a mass Of dry lum-
Der air. shafts we're judioiously placed wher-
ever they could do the most harm; there we're
labyrinths Of narrow passages, and stove pipes
ran through the wooden partitions into the
chimneys which were constructed alongside
Of the elevator shaft
The geological museum, quartermaster-
generals office and chancery Office In the New
Jersey state house at Trenton we're burned
last Saturday morning, with their contents,
clusing probable loss Of S75 OO0 10 the
quartermaster generals ofics q valuable mill.
tary library was destroyed, including roll OF
honor bearing the names Of soldiers who
were killed or died Of their wounds and we're
buried at the South, which cannot be replaced.
Mount Washington experienced terrific
storm Friday night. A northwest wind rang
ed from 100 to l40 miles an hour, and the
spirit thermometer indicated 4So below zero
Saturday morning.