St. Paul daily globe., 1891-09-23
The Hot Spell Playing Havoc
With Citizens Clothed for
Winter.
Demand for Ice Unprece-
dented and Supply Almost
Exhausted.
The Weather Observer Almost
Torn Out Of His Office by
Callers.
Principal Carman Explains
the Necessity for Closing
the Schools.

Only few days ago heavy autumnaI
chill settled over the city. Furnace
fires were built all over the town.
Flocks of goose -feshy people hurried in
from the lakes. The street car compa-
MES took their closed cars out and set
them rolling. Only a last, lingering
straw hat here and there was left
blooming alone. The plump little oy-
ster bestirred himself and began to
dream of being in the swim again. The
weather was as utterly chilly as the
bow one woman gives another who has
copied her new frock. 1t is pleasant to
dream of these things, for one beautiful
night the chill took to itself wings and
fed.
That is when the hot weather began.
First came a high, hot wind, with a
great deal of dust and sand in its teeth
Then the mercury climbed up onto its
perch, and, despite the coaXing and
pleading of the entire community, has
renamed there ever since. 1t has been
very hot. The old settler who remem-
bers the phenomenal winter of 'steeny
steen, and the green Christmas of
umpty-three, finds no equal Of this
month in all his experience. 1t is un-
precedented, and you hear nineteen
men say so whenever you come down
town. Conversation even in the most
enlightened circles has been largely
confined to the weather. All the hot
weather we ought to have bad in July
and August has, by some unaccountabIe
oversight of the weather bureauy been
Ipt IoOcn nnOD y1yh Inv no
past, we might reasonably be expecting
frosts. The man with the infallible re-
cipe for keeping cool is near
ly dead with the heat. The
A. d. T. boys sit in languidly
graceful attitudes in front of their head
quarters, and dream of Arctic eXplora-
tions. Yesterday the city schools were
closed because Of the heat, and all daY
long boys whose delicate constitutions
had succumbed TO the prostrating heat
of the school rooms were to be seen
gambOling in the warm sunshine. Some
of them, costumed la Venus, went in
swimming, but mOst-of them stayed in
town and played hard. 1t was a day
when we ali earned our daily bread by
the
Sweat of Our BrOgvs,
and felt that we had perSpired enough
we got.
The police have been partially melted.
When the recent cold spell set in orders
were issued from headquarters for the
donning of heavy clothing. A police
man is an individual who ObeyS orders.
He wears his heavy clothes and looks
dignified, even if he does feel like
Jockey in training. There are men
about town who have pawneG their
summer garments. They regret it bit
terry. and what they say about the
weather is really unfit for publication.
Summer clothes are a trif1e shabby
now, but they obtain to the exclusion
of other garments, The soda water
in high glee. Their wares have a
phenomenal sale at time when hot
cakes are drug on the market. Va
nilla is the favorite flavor, and
the suave drug clerk explains five
dozen times a day that Vichy or High
Rock is not favoring basis for ice
cream soda. The women down town
consume ice cream soda at frightful
rate. but the men, or at least the sensi-
bic few of them, drink the most cooling
of summer drinks, lemon phosphate.
Down obscure alleys one sees here and
there freckle-faced boy pursuing the
duck, with a pitcher in his hand and an
expression of pleased anticipation min
gled with his warm, rich freckles.
High up in his den the local forecast
official patiently answers the queries of
the dozens of malcontents who CALL
One man is going to the country to his
Cousin Sarah'S wedding tomorrow, but
the ceremony won't take place till FRI
day, and he wants to be sure it isn't
going to rain before then, because if it
is he doesn't want to 90. The manager
of one of the ice companies called yes
terday to ask for indications. So great
has been the demand for ice the last
few days that unless cooler weather
comes the ice company will be COM
PEELED to
Ship i'm lee
from its storenouses at White Bear.
The summer has been a light one in the
ice trade, but the sales this week have
been enormous. The weather official is
good-natured, but he thanks his lucky
stars he doesn't make the weather. It's
bad enough to have the prognosticating
of it, but to be compelled to turn out a
brand of weather that would suit every
body would be task to drive one to
shrieking, bowling insanity.
The heat has been trial of the sani-
tary condition of the town. Such wealth
er is seldom attended by so little illness.
There are few cases of hay fever. but
aside from these blear-eyed victims of
catarrhal blue blood the sick list is re-
markably small.
There is 10 immediate prospect of
decided change. but drop is Inevitable
before long. The condition of the stock
market and the state of the weather are
not to be counted, and some fine morn
iny the mercury will fall with a d
thud that will send cold shivers down
the back of suffering humanity and will
bring look of calculating and basely
unrldlu olae to the coal hnrol,S :, fannS