The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-26
The Unfortunate City Buried Under
Snow and swep. by the
Winds.
Telegraph, Telephone and Electric
Eight Wiros and Poles
Prostrated.
ty0m New England To N1sryIaBd The Gale
It1gsd and Is0Iatsd MI the
fsIg Cities.

NEw Yogg. Jan, ZJ.~-A violent wind and
stcw stoisn which prevailed In this city last
night and cafly this morning, proved 10 bs
one ut the most disastrous TO telegraph, tel
ephone and electric wires that ever visited
thfs vicinity. Poles and wires arc down all
over the city. Many narrow escapes are
recorded and fire alarm and telephone SER
vice was rendered nearly useless, big
force OF men WIS put TO work repaising the
damage as early as gix O'Clock this morn-.
ing. 10 serious is the conditions Of affair
that Chief Inspector Byrnes sent out the
following instructions TO all the police cap
tains this afternoon: 1.-THE recent storm
having impaired the fire and telegraph
lines, you will instruct officers on patrol
that. when fires occur, after sending in the
alarm in the usual manner from the fire
alarm box, to 70 at once to the nearest fire
engine house and report"
The city tonight is in darkness, save az
far as gas is concerned. BY much delay
Cd trains come reports OF the utter pros ira
tion of all means Of comm anication in and
from outlying towns to New Jersey.
Seven huge telegraph poles on Fourth
avsnue were broken of close to the ground
into the cut Of the New York Central rail-
roid, effectuaIIy blocking the track. A
passenger train came laundering down the
track and could only be stopped within q
few feet OF the wreckage. At 2l0 East
Broadway an immense tr.e fell into the
street and narrowly escaped car-load of
ried down an immense number OF wires of
all descriptions. All the telegraph poles on
seventh avenue, from Forty-seyenfh street
to Fifty y-ninth, are lying fiat on the pave
ment. The heavy poles on Fifty-pinth
street and Eighth avenne suffered the same
fate. One of the poles is hanging directly
over the entrance to the porch Of Roosevelt
hospital suspended by wires. At the corner
Of Fifty-uj~5s. street and Ninth avenue
the elevated railroad station IS partially
crushed by falling poles. At seven o'clock
in the morning line OF immense poles fell
with crash. carrying not less than hun
dred and fifty wires and numerous cables
two inches thick, in which were incased
from forty to seyenty-five wires each.
On Chambers street an electric light wire
was carried down by falling pole and
struck two street car horses, killing one Of
started By electric light wires, but extin-
guished with trifiing damage.
The storm opened in the gulf of Mexico
Friday and increased in severity until il
reached Cape Hatteras and New York at
1915 last night. The rain changed to snow
hUOut UluulkuG, auO continued uuCli III q.
~. to-day, and nine inches fell. At four
o'clock this morning the wind was blowing
from thirty-fve to forty miles an hour. It
is thought the blizzard did not extend more
than hundred miles inland.
The storm extended over the entire re-
gion from Boston through the lower east
ern states southern New York, New Jer-
sey, Delaware and the south of Maryland.
Ihe Western Union is badly crippled, all
its wires being down but three and those
are now working in the western circuit con-
Meeting Albany, Rochester, Buffalo and
Chicago. The work CT repairs will take
several days. A dozen men left tonight to
repair lines.
Ateight o'clock this morning there were
only few wires running from she Western
Union Office. At nine o'clock nearly every
wire was rendered useless. At ono time
communication to Philadelphia. Albany
and Boston was entirely cut of. The wires
to Albany were the first to resume working.
During the day telegraphic matter has been
sent BY train from here to points in New
England and New Jersey to be forwarded.