The Portland daily press., 1886-01-30

CITY OF PORTLAND, I
MAYORS OFFICE Jan. 20, 1885,.
To the Citizens of Portland:
The very arduous labors of the fremen last
night at the two disastrous fires, have left them
greatly fatigued and IN addition to this the %,
the Accommodations of snow and ice, at well as the
interrupted condition of the fire alarm wires, COM
bne to make the situation grave one in case of
further fires.
therefore call upon all citizens to use the ut
most precaution in the care of their fires both at
danger may be reduced to minimum.
j would also suggest, so long as the present con
ing of the electric lights, every citizen contribute
to light the street on which he lives, so far as
possible, by placing lighted lamp in window
J. w. DEERING, Mayor.
At the Signal office.
At the signal service station Observer Kin
ney reported he experienced terrible day
Thursday and more so during the night.
When making his trips to the roof to take
observations he had to go armed with an
| axe with which to cut open the hatehways
and signal offices. The new storm signal
| flag was torn in shreds and fell into the
| street. and the lantern had to be tied to the
mast He states that the rainfall was II
inches.
The Telegraph Companies.
The Western Union Company had one
wire working all right between Portland and
Boston via Rochester & Worcester yester-
day. A special engine, with crew of
twenty-five men, was sent to make repairs
between Portland, Brunswick and Lewis
ton. Large crews were also sent out over
| the two divisions of the Boston & Maine. A
very large force of specials were employed
in repairing the city wires of the company.
| Up to 10 a. M, on the direct lines, the CEN
tral office here could only call Pine Point at
the west and MorrilPs Corner at the east.
The Baltimore and Ohio were also doing
their best in repairs, but we do not under
stand that any of their wires were working
The Telephone Company.
The Telephone Company said that as soon
| as there was a let up, in the hold of the ice
on their wires, they could repair so that in
two days probably the city, State, county
and other public offices, the newspaper
| offices, and business houses, the railroad and
steamboat offices could all be connected. 1t
| will take longer time of course to put all the
| subscribers telephone communication into
as good condition as before the ice storm.
| The company's damage is estimated at 81,
/
| 900.
Evergreen Cemetery.
The damage to the cemetery was not as
bad as first reported. Superintendent For
| saith says the arbor-vitae and evergreens
| stood the storm the best. One large wagon
load of debris is the extent of the damage to
| the trees between the main entrance to the
cemetery and the receiving tombs. The
| great maple at the corner of Mrs. Calligan' S
lot is split in two, and several, over at the
| further side of the yard, have their tops
| broken. Mr.. Forsaith says the damage, in
| proportion, is much less than in town. Not
monument or slab is broken.
The Storm at Cape Elizabeth.
A ride to the Cape showed that substan-
TALLY the same condition of things prevailed
there rs in the city. The elms were in al
most every case found to have lost many Of
their branches, and frequently the whole top
was broken off. In Knightville the snow
was Uttered with fragments. Next to the
elms the naples appeared to have suffered
the most. Large branches were snapped off
and lay scattered about. The birches along
the road were almost invariably bent over,
their tops frequently touching the ground.
The large willows over by the old brewery,
were bent over and their branches and twigs
so snarled as to make an almost impenetra-
| BILE thicket. Sometimes the road was almost
| impossible by reason of trees and brushes
bent down into it by their load of ice. The
oaks stood better, but many of them had
| succumbed to their tremendous load. Young
and thrifty apple trees, as a rule, escaped
| ;,,;,, h,+ old fraa hod do
moraIized. The branches of the spruces were
bent down until they hung almost perpen-
| dicularly, but very few had been broken off.
| The Welding yet tough nature of their fibre
enabled them to resist the immense pressure.
| The pines suffered considerably.
At Cumberland.
The fruit trees it is thought were damaged
worse than the trees in town because tne ice
was heavier on the branches.
Storm at Saccarappa.
This, and the neighboring village, shared
largely in the destruction of shade and frult
trees Thursday evening by the accumulation
Oh Ice Nearly every tree, large and small, on
Main street was more or less broken. On
the corner OF Main and Bridge streets very
large beautiful elm, one of the old landmarks
in the village for half century. is complete
ly stripped of its limbs.
The residents on Spring street have all
ways looked with pride upon the stately
trees. whose broad branches formed de-
lightful archway. These are torn and
broken, leaving here and there only the un-
slightly trunk. In some localities windows
were broken and chimneys thrown down,
Such an exhibition of destruction to shade