Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-03-17
AN EASTERN BLIZZARD

here.
The eastern blizzard of 1883 will
be remembered and be spoken of by
the oldest inhabitants when the
rest of this generation shall have
passed away.
Think of business being suspend.
ed in New York city in March, all
mail and telegraph communications
broken up, trains snowbound, thous-
ands of men shoveling day and night
to clear the tracks and the streets to
allow travel to 60 on, the East River
frozen up so that thousands of PEG.
pie cross between Brooklyn and N.
Y. ON the ice !; the wrecking of locomo-
tives; boats capsized, houses de-
molished; vessels driven ashore and
in distress, and many lives lost by
freezing, drowning, want and expos.
ure. At Philadelphia the signal ser.
vice denoted temperature of 10
degrees below zero and the velocity
of a northwest wind at from thirty.
five to forty.seyen miles at hour.
Trains ten hours late where not
entirely blockaded and cars that
came in looked more like huge banks
of snow than structures of iron aud
timber. .f...t.
The suffering in the cities among
the poor can better be imagined
than described. f'~'iS
The terrors of snow bound train
all night in the blizzard may be un-
derstood and felt even by those who
were in their warm homes, by read.
ing the descriptions given in few
of the many hundred instances that
are noted in the daily papers.
INA JERSEY DRIFT. E
The wind, laden with snow from
the neighboring fields, Wheel
ed and whizzed by the cars, after
dashing its load of sleet and snow
against the window panes. The
fires were replenished and kept at
white heat, yet the northern side OF
the car was cold. &c When we got
cold on one side we went over to the
other side,n "and when the fire
made us too hot we went TO the
other side and got cooled Off"
ALL NIGHT IN THE CARS.
A long and weary night did the
more than four-score spend whom
caution kept in the cars. The Town
Hall clock tolled 2, 3, a, 5, and the
weary watchers greeted the streke
of 6 and the first glimpse of day
with q hurrah. They had tried to
wear out the night with songs and
good cheer, but their voices soon got
rasping, and their good cheer leaked
away hours before daybreak. Now
and then, too tired to hold up his
head, one would nestle in seat and
try to sleep, but when the town
clock struck again the hour he would
start from his uncomfortable couch,
and his fitful sleep was over. In
spite of the blazing fires the cars be.
gan to get chilled towards the morn
ing, and the snowbound passengers,
half-asleep, paced up and down the
aisles. Day at last dawned, reveal
| ing ahead the huge drift that filed
the road between them and their
homes. sts.ey 53s{ .4sLF.
AN IMPRISONED TRAIN. e,-
The Wilmington accom- mediation,
which left Broad Street Station at
4.30 monday afternoon, was locked
for twenty.three hours in a ten-foot
drift about half mile this side of
Moore's Station, only eight miles
| from Phila. The train consisted OF
three passenger coaches and one en-.
CINE when it left there and after it
had plowed through the numerous
drifts and deep cuts and come to a
stand still word was sent back to
the city for aid, with additional aid
vice that the the train was in a body
of solid ice and snow. e5-.
Three engines were despatched to
the succor of the snowed.in.train, ar
irving there about s o'clock Monday
night. Two of the big freight mon.
sters were coupled to the rear cars
and one to the front. They tugged
and jerked, but failed to move the
snow-bound prisoner, and finally
gave it mp. Meanwhile the 200 shiv-
ering and supperless passengers
were suffering intensely from the
cold. The snow few in clouds from
the field and covered the motionless
passenger coaches and engines. For
hours the weary passengers were in
the midst of a hurricane. Looking
out from their windows they could
see the trees in the fields near by up
rooted. The cold increased and
more intense became the suffer
ing of the women on the train.
Every body that could get within
reach of it congregregated around
the stove trying to obtain some
warmth. More ran up and down the
aisles and swung their arms to and
fro. In vain they tried every means
to keep warm.
There were many cases of FROST
bitten hands and feet. There was
one instance where an old lady tried
to stand and she was unable to do so,
her feet being terribly swollen.
About midnight the scene beggar-
ed description. Discomfort broke
out among the men and many OF
them refused to stay in the Car and
ventured out in the binding clouds
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