The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-01-28
EUROPE'S RIGOROUS WINTER
Longest Period Of Cold Weather
Known in a Century.
People Perish, Travel Stopped,
and Harbors Blockaded.


A cablegram from London, England. says:
1t is now the seventh week of the prevalence
of frost throughout the United Kingdom,
with no signs of abatement Of the severity
of the weather. From John o 'Groat's
House to Lands End the country is wrapped
in snow, and canals and streams are ice
bound. Even a number Of tidal rivers are
frozen fast. For duration Of the frost
period this is the most remarkable
winter of the century and, in
point of severity, only the winters of 1873
and 1914 exceeded it. Fairs were then held
Tweed. Booths were reared on the ice, and
all the usual fair frolics were held thereon.
The Thames, below Richmond, remains
partially frozen. and is covered with
ice foes, which are impeding nav
ieation. Above Teddington the ice
on the Thames in eight inches thick. Car
riers' vans can traverse the rivers frozen
surface from Sutton Court to Abingdon.
Skaters have a free stretch for many miles
have resulted from the e1treme>cold, several
of them at the very gates Of workhouses,
where groups of poor people were waiting
for shelter.
Midland newspapers declare that thousands
of persons in that region are in condition
Of semi-starvation, many laborers being
compulsorily idle without fires or food.
Mayors Of cities, with the aid Of local boards,
are directing an organized distribution Of
bread and coal, and are starting relief kitch,
ems; still they fail to reach host of cases Of
distress. Numerous instances occur Of Cor
oners' inquests on the bodies Of people found
dead in bed, where the verdict is that death
resulted from cold and hunger.
In every country on the Continent there is
suffering because Of the severe weather. The
coasts Of Belgium, Holland and North Ger
many are blocked with ice. In the Scheldt
River navigation Is nearly at q standstin on
account of, the ice. At the North German
port Of Cuxhaven twenty-nine steamships
communicate with vessels on account of the
ice foes, which make the harbor inaccessible.
Several vessels were struck by immense
masses Of the floating ice, and their bulls
were so badly damaged that the boats rapid
ly filed with water and soon went to the
bottom. In every instance the crews were
saved from death only with great difficulty.
a number Of steamers are drifting helplessly
between Ottendorf and Brulsbattel. They
have lost their anchors, and have been con-
9derably damaged by the floating ice.
: AT hamburg, GetnaIy, uaViSd1on ~
greatly impeded by the huge blocks Of ice
Which fill the river. The Board of Naviga-
ton is making every effort to keep the river
open, and is employing as ice-breakers three
OF the strongest tugs that can be secured.
Many vessels have also been damaged BY the
ice, but no serious accidents have yet been
reported.
At Antwerp, Belgium, 10000 workmen
have been thrown out Of employment owing
to the unusually severe weather. The misery
caused among the poorer classes, in conse-
.quence, is widespread and intense.
The use Of dynamite is about to be tried to
break the ice at Copenhagen. Denmark,
where several steamships lie ice bound. At
many ports tugs ore actively engaged in eff
forts to break the ice, but not with much eff
fecS The Oeresund Is full Of ice foes.
Dispatches from the German ports Of Lu-
beck, Stettin and Swinemunde all tell Of the
inaccessibility Of their harbors on account Of
ice, and say that navigation has ceased, that
there is much snow, and that no open water
is visible. In Berlin the temperature Is at
sixteen degrees Fahrenheit. The Hartz
Railway Is snow blocked, and the mails
usually conveyed by its trains are now trans
portsd in sleighs.
All Bavaria is covered with snow, and In
the country between the-Dapube and the
Alps the snow is eighteen inches deep: In
certain places along the Rhine S9ow-drifts
are piled seventeen feet high. threatening
inundations when they thaw.
In Northern Italy snow began to fall and
did not cease for q week. The inhabitants
of that region are suffering acutely, such
weather being entirely unknown to them;
and it is feared that many persons have per-
ished in the storm. At Mantua, Turin and
Milan railway trains are much delayed on
~ fho oil
Dispatches from Vienna, Austria, say that
communication with points south of that
city is greatly impeded and that on all rail-
ways centring there the movement Of trains
is partially suspended.
a telegram from Madrid reports heavy
snowfalls in Spain and says that communi-
cation with all the provinces Of Spain is diff
.ficult 1t also reports the prevalence of in
tenseiy cold weather in Valencia, where
orange groves have been swept by the storm,
'entailing heavy losses to the owners.
! At Marseines, France the hospitals are
crowded with sufferers from various afec-
tions caused by the cold weather. Dock la
borers there have lighted along the quays
great fires at which to warm themselves dur
ing working hours.
A violent storm. accompanied by hail and
snow, and extending long distance inland,
is reported from the seaport Of Algiers in
North Africa. The reports coupled with the
assertion that nothing like such severity Of
weather was ever known In that region be-
fore.
Advices from Paris say that the Seine Is
blocked with ice near Rouen and that the
Saons is frozen above Lyons. kilograms
from Arras and Mines say that much
suffering Is being caused at these places
by the intensely cold weather and
that q number Of persons have. been
found frozen to death. A sad case
is reported from the village OF Fourmies, in
the Department Of Nord. Three children
were caught in raging snowstorm in
wood near the village. They wandered about
until overcome by cold and exhaustion, when
all three sank to the ground and persisted
in the storm. A party which had gone IN
search Of them found the children buried In
the snow.