Telegram-herald., 1891-01-27
NEW YORK CUT Off
The Metropolis Has Little Com
munioaheu With the World.
A Dlizxsrd Lsssls Telegraph polss ;and
Wires. Rendering the Streets
Almost lmpasssbis. IL

eo1SH0C4 sAt11 aoVo ou0o8y W0e the
severest OF the season thus far. About
six inches Of snow fell, and IL was
Of the wet elinging kind that fast
enod ttself % every thing il touched.
loading Trees until they were
shorn of their branches or fell prostrste
with their trunks snapped on as
though they had been mere twigs:
clinging 20 the electric wires until they
gave way under the pressure and broke
In ell directions, or until the poles on
which they were strung. breaking under
the enormous weight, fell across streets
and against houses. blocking all tral1c
on the former and threatening destruc-
ton 70 the latter and their inmates
At daylight Sunday morning the
work Of destruction had begun and IL
continued until the snowfall ceased at
noon. when the wrecks of trees and
telegraph poles were TO be found on
every street Irregular festoons Of
wire were hanging on every hand and
detached lengths Of wire were
strung on every sidewalk. No such
work Of devastation has been known
since the great blizzard Of March. 1883.
and II Is . question II that memorable
storm was more serious in its effects
upon the telegraph poles and wires of
the city.
The police and flre departments were
especial sufferers. All wire connections
between the various police stations and
the central station were broken and re-
course was had to messengers. The
fire-department circuits were generally
broken, and Is no alarms could be
sent out excepting ON . very few
circuits patrols Of frcmen were es-
tablished throughout the city.
The full force of the storm was felt
in Brooklyn, and the effects arc seen in
all parts of tho city, from Red Hook
Point to Newton Creek, in the general
wreck and ruin of telegraph and tele-
phone poles and the destruction Of
thousands Of miles of wires. 1t is esti-
mated that more than 1,eoo poles have
been blown down. The managers of
telegraph snd telephone companies say
that with the exception Of tho blizzard
Of 1855 tho storm was the most de-
structive they have ever had to grapple
with, and that the aggregate losses will
foot up between 8125. 200 and $3.50, 900.
A partial list only can be given Of
the accidents caused by the storm. At
about . o'clock in the morning seven
hugo telegraph poles on Fourth avenue
between One Hundred and Twenty
first and One Hundred and Twenty
fifth streets, were broken OF close to
the ground, falling with . great crash
into the cut of the New York Central
railroad, effectually blocking the track
for two hours.
Early in the morning an immense tree
that stood in front of el0 East Broad
way fell into the street, narrowly es-
Gaping car that was loaded with pas
eengers. In its descent il struck the
telegraph wires and carried down lot
Of poles. All the telegraph poles on
6cvsuth avenue from Firty-sscond street
to Fifty-ninth arc down, covering the
svenue with wires and the fragments
of poles. The heavy poles on Fifty
ninth street from Eighth avenue to
Eleventh avenue suffered tho same fate.
At 7:00 o'clock In the morning line Of
Western Union eighty-foot poles fell
with crash, carrying no less than $50
single wires and two cables two inches
thick, with from forty to seventy
Ave wires in them, to the ground
Tho cross-bars scrapcd the sides
of the brownstone flats ON the south
side Of the street as they fell and shook
the buildings TO their very foundations
The fall made q sound like thunder,
startling people for blocks away.
Many of the enormous poles
were broken in three pieces and
the cross-arms shattered. The houses
were so blocked by the wreck that un-
til midday ingrsss or egress was impos-
sible. Several poles fell against the
Union Square Hall, Fifteenth street
and Fourth avenue, doing some little
damage to the building. The entire
line Of poles on the west side Of Park
avenue from Fifty-ninth to Seventy
ninth street went down. incum-
bering both street and sidewalk. The
poles on One Hundred and Twenty fifth
street between First and Third avenues
and between Ninth and Tenth avenues
are down. The debris blocked the One
Hundred and Twenty-nfth street cable
road for several hourA Early In the
morning . telegraph wire broke in
front Of lis Chamber street and
fell across On electric-light wire and
received its current The wire fell
on the horses of IN Eighth avenue
car. and the deadly current killed one
Of them instantly. Two or three fires
were caused by the broken electric
light wires, but were extineuished with
trifiinG damage
The storm opened In the 0ulfIof Mexico
on Friday. II increased in severity until
II reached Cape Hatteraa. The vista
ton reached New York City u ICES
with rain which changed ~ snow ~
1iS p m. The binding snow con-
sinued 10 10 . n Sunday and nine
inches fell H h thought shs& the
Young blizzard did not extend more
than 100 miles inland The Western
Union 10 badly crippled by The storm oil
wires being down but three. those being
ia The Western circuit connecting Al
bang. Rochester. Buffalo and Chicago
Al Peskskiu hedssed red signal vsa
snoweA UNDER % - 70 conceal its coiof
and % express train dashed into the
ncse 81 . freight train in . dep cut
Tbs enrise cys~s jumped FOR hsa Nc
one wss kIled, bat one esgine End
three casS ~ere Demolished ssd travel
delayed anta The evening Long Island
n d<nd 20 the eater wsyf1
The STORM extended sveg he eAftre
rsxsea frsm ne<toa ssresGh TIE lever