The morning news., 1891-01-27
SNOW ASHEAVY AS LEAD.
SCORES OF TaEE5 AND POLES
DOWN IN GOTHAM.


Police and Firemen.
NEW York, Jan. 26.-The storm which
set In at IL o'clock Saturday night and con-
tinued until noon yesterday was the sever
est of the season thus far. About ak inches
of snow fell, and was it of the clinging kind
that fastened itself to everything it touched.
loading trees until they were snorn of their
branches or fell prostrate with the trunks
snapped of as though they had been mere
twigs; and clinging to the elec>
trio wires until they gave way
under the pressure and were broken in all
directions, or until the poles on which they
were strung. breaking under the enormous
weight, fell across the street and against
houses, blocking all traffic on the former
and threatening death aud destruction to
the latter aud their inmates. At daylight
yesterday morning the work Of destruction
had commenced aud it continued until
the snowfall ceased at noon, when wrecked
trees and telegraph poles were TO be found
on every street, while irregular festoons of
wire were hanging on every hand, and de-
tached lengths were strung on every side
walk.
THE WORST SINCE 1880.
AuN&ot4IAOh
known since the great blizzard Of March,
1886, and it is o question whether
that memorable storm was more
serious in its effects upon telegraph
poles and wires. Early In the morning tele
graphic and telephone connection was
broken, and while the snow aid not offer a
bar to railroad traffic prostrate poles and
fallen wires prevented the running Of cars
on many streets and even elevated railroad
al m lv
and we're often brought 30 stop by wires
that had fallen across the tracks,
The police and fire departments were
special sufferers. All the wire
connections between the various police sta
tions and central office were broken aud re-
course had TO messengers. The fire depart
ment circuits were generally broken, and as
no alarms could be sent out excepting on
very few circuits patrols of 1remen were
established throughout the city. Men
were sent out to repair the damages at
ouce, and the two most important of
the city departments will soon have their
telegraph service restored. The same may
be said of the telegraph aud telephone and
electric light companies, all of which had
their full effective force engaged all day.
THE CITY In DARKNESS.
Many quarters of the city were wrapped
in cimnerian darkness last night, but for
tunately the moon was nearly full and
supplied in part the lack of cleo 'ric
lights, none of which were working in
| any portion of the city excepting In some
sections in the Harlem district. Police
Inspector Byrnes issued . general order
| calling upon the police to use extraordinary
vigilance during the night, as the criminal
class might be disposed to take advantage of
the disastrous condition of affairs and COM
| NIT depredations against life and property.
About 8 o'clock yesterday morning
seven huge telegraph poles on Fourth aves
| nue., between One Hundred and Twenty
| first and One Hundred and Twenty-tfth
streets, were broken off close to the ground,
| falling with a great crash into a cut of the
| New York Central. railroad, effectually
blocking the track. Fortunately no train
was passing at the time, but a train for
Peekskill, which left the Grand Central
depot at 9 o'clock had q narrow escape as
| it came laundering out of the Rockville
| tunnel just as the accident occurred, and
was stopped by signal at One Hundred and
Nineteenth street. 1t was nearly two hours
before the wreckage was cleared away and
| traffic on the road resumed.
FALL OF A TREE.
Early in the morning an immense tree
| that stood in fro t Of No. 2l0 East Broad
| way fell into the street, narrowly escaping
| q car loaded with passengers. la its de-
| scent it struck telegraph wires and carried
down a lot of poles.
All the telegrah poles on Seventh avenue,
from Forty-sscond street to Fifty-ninth
street, went down early In the day, cover
| ing the avenue with wires. and fragments of
| poles.
The heavy poles on Fifty-ninth street,
from Eighth avenue to Eleventh avenue.
| suffered the same fate. One of the poles
would have crushed the entrance porch of
| the Roosevelt hospital but for the sustain
ing strength of the wires running to meet
the pole which fell in the opposite direction.
A pole at the corner Of Fifty-ninth street
| and Ninth avenue fell upon the elevated
| station at that point and partially crushed
it, but hurt no one.
CRASH LIKE THUNDER.
At7:30 o'clock in the morning line of
Western Union eighty-foot poles fell with
a crash in Eighty-ninth street, carrying not
less than 1b0 single wires and two cables,
| two inches thick, with from forty TO
ssventy-five wires In them, to the ground.
The crossbars scraped the sides OF the brown
stone flats on the south side of the street as
| they fell, and shook the buildings to their
very foundations. The fall made sound
| like thunder, startling people for blocks
away. Many Of the enormous poles were
| broken in three pieces and the cross-arms
| shattered. Houses were so blockaded by
the wreck that until near midday ingress
and egress were impossible.
Mayor Grant ordered the police through
out the city TO see to it that the electric cur
rents be not turned on the various wires
until the board of electrical control should
certify that the wires were safe. The dan
gerous condition because Of the wreckage
was the cause Of the order. In consequences
a large portion Of the city was In darkness
last night.
A HOTEL DAMAGED.
Several poles fell against the Union
| Square hotel on Fifteenth street. doing some
little damage to the building.
| The entire line of poles on the west side of
| Park avenue from Fifty-ninth street TO
| Seventy-fifth street went down, cucumber
| ing both the 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. Debris blocked the One Hundred
| aud Twenty-fifth street cable road for
| several hours.
At an early hour in the morning O tele-
| graph wire broke in front Of No. liz
| Chambers street and fell across the electric
| light wire and received its current. The
wire fell on the horses of Fifth avenue car
and the current killed both, one of them
| instantly.
Two or three fires caused by the electric
wires were extinguished with trifing
damage.
WESTERN UNIONS DAMAGE.