The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-18

euO Sdilc Jay three separate CYCLONES
crossed the state Of Michigan, killing in the
aggregate IL persons and g great deal of
stock, besides destroying an immense
amount OF property. From that time for
ward cyclones Matched out like tadpoles in
June They were here, there and every
place for couple of months. doing great
damage 20 property. but sparing human
life. except now and then an isolated family
Next came the appalling calamity at
Grinneil, To-, in - hich So persons lost their
lives. On the same night cyclones of minor
size visited Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska,
illinois. and Minnesota, killing from 3 to II
| In each state. Note the names of the states
| just mentioned and also the list given above.
In which it was said that plowing continued
throughout the winter. After the GTinnell
horror about fortnight of comparative
quiet reigned. Then came the Texarka a
calamity, in which 10 human lives were
blotted out Of existence.
This summary does not take into consid-
GRAFTON the cyclone at Brownsville, NO.,
and at Fayette, Pa, both of which occurred
| IN April of the same year; nor the ones at
McAllister. l. T., and at Montgomery, Ark,
in May, each of which claimed bloody
record. One thing is certain, it takes into
consideration enough TO show that ''phe-
nomenal" winter weather is a boon not to
besappreciated.
oLD-TBIE WEATHER.
The records for the summers of 1878 and
| 1882, it must De admitted, strengthens that
opinion; but what are we to think of the
summer Of 1916, which brought neither
| cyclones or yellow fever, and which, in fact,
| brought summer only in name. The
| winter of l6l5-'16 was as remarkable for its
unreasonable weather as that Of 1837-'3S
| 1S77-'7S, 1SS1-'S2, or even that of 1SS9-'90,
which we are now enjoying.
l RfeiaArN snka oil
who lived at Essex, Mass, at the time, gives
the following interesting facts concerning
''the year without summer" to the James
| town journal:
December, 1915, and January, 1916.
| were very warm, indeed so mild that fires
were seldom GIFTED in our rooms. February
was also mild as spring time, with the
exception Of one or two cold days. March
was cold and b isterous the first half, then
mild to the middle of April, when winter
set in with ice and deep SHOWS, which con-
tinued till June.
'June was bitter cold, the coolest ever
| known frost, ice or snow almost every
night, destroying almost everything that
frost could kill. Snow fell 10 inches deep i'll
Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine,
inches in the interior of New York state
and in a part of Pennsylvania and MaSsa-
chusetts July was cold and frosty. Ice
formed as thick as window glass through
out New England. Au
gust was worse still. Ice formed
a half inch thick and killed almost
every green thing in this country and in
Europe. Z 4 Corn for seed in 1917
that was raised in 1915 sold for SIS bushel. "
Not until December, according to Mr..
Bishop, did the sun shine out warm like
spring. 1t seemed as if the seasons had
been entirely reversed.
If the mild winter of 1Sl5|16 brought
about year without a summer, that of
1S77-'7S brought a scourge of yellow fever
1SS1-'S2 season of cyclonic fury, what may
we expect for the summer of 1890? Abund
ant crops, perhaps, and an ample opportu
nifty to fill the cornucopia. But this is not
the end Of the phenomenal weather subjects
THE FEARS OF MEN.
Mans faith in both heavenly and ter
restial things is not rock-rooted During
the cold summer of 1916 the ministers in
the pulpit openly avowed their belief that
the sun was cooling a d that the end of time
was near at hand. In less than two years
in the hot, dry summer of 1878, when the
central and eastern states experienced an
eighty-days' drought public prayer was
held for the benefit of sinners in anticip i
ton Of the day when the sun would blaze
out in all its fury and roast mankind to a
cinder.
Only three or four years since, when we
were in the midst of a series of Arctic
winters, the mutterings of pseudo-a strono
omers were filed with dire portent. One
scientist of good standing gave widespread
currency to belief that the internal fire,
of the earth were dying out, and that the
sun were fast loosing his heat-giving gu ali
ties, and that the earth's glacial zones were
gradually charging.
| In olden time the weather took Just a!
erratic and eccentric twists as it does in thii
year of grace, 1890, aid that, too, without
causing any great epidemics. The creates
plague scourges known in history have oc
Cured during or Immediately following
severe winters.
CENTURIES AGO.
The best authorities on weather ant
plague with their relations to each other
tell us that the winter of 1347-4S, t {
winter before the black death swooped
down all Europe like destroying ange
and took $4,000, 600 OF human being, wa:
one of unusual severity, both seas at Con
stantinople being entirely closed by ice for
period of nearly month. The Tame,
was frozen to a depth of sixty-one inches
that winter for fourteen weeks; all small
birds aud mammals died of excessive cold
yet when the plague reached Londoh it re-
duced her population to the extent of over
100000. Europe was not entirely rid of the
awful disease until the year 1349, the year
in which the London Telegraph say the
wheat was in full head on Easter Sunday
proving conclusively that disease, how
ever, deadly in its character, will run it,
course and die a natural death as well in 6
warm as in cold winter.
In 1l72 the temperature was so high thai
leaves came out on the trees in January, anc
birds Matched their broods in the following
month. In 1886 the weather was equally
mild, and the maidans of Cologne wore
wreaths of wild violets and corn flowers al
Christmas and Twelfth day. In 1921 tht
trees aowerei in the month of March, and
the vines in April; cherries ripened in April
and peaches and apples in May. In 1872 the
trees were covered with leaves in January
and the birds hatched their young in Feb
ruary In 1876 the same taing was recorded
According to the most authentic records
there was neither frost or snow in France
during the winters Of 1888, 1907, 1909, 1917
aid 1859; finally in 1862, even in tbs
north of Germany, the fires were not
lighted, and trees put on their summer dres;
in February.