The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1891-03-19
ALMOST LIKE AMERICA
ENGLAND VISITED BY A GENU-
lNE BLIZZARD.

Railroads Brockaded by An Avalanche Of
Snow-The Channel the Most Tempest
uous for Twenty Years, and Lives aad
Property Destroyed.
The severest storm known in the Brit
ish Isles, and on the adjacent seas, for
twenty years, ragged for two days, re-
sulting in the loss of many lives. the de-
StructOn OF a vast amount of property,
and an uneXampled blockade of travel.
In London traffic was impeded. the
streets piled up with snow. and the wind
blew hurricane. Railways were
blocked and telegraph wires down in all
directions The snow covered the south
of England in some places to the depth
of eight feet. From Plymouth. Dover,
Sheerness, and ports along the east
coast as far north as Newcastle. come re-
ports of wreck and disaster. Five fish
ing smacks have been wrecked off
Hastings, and three persons drowned.
A 'oast-guard boat, while attempt
ing to effect the rescue of
the distressed seamen off Sandgate cap
sized. and seven of tho on hoard were
drowned. At police headquarters sew
| eral lerSOns Were reported mis-. ing, and
it is feared they Ecrished in the NOW
drift. A rumor was ia circulation that
channel steamer had gone down be-
tween Dover and Calai. and that all on
board were lost The Channel service
waS suspended, and no communicat on
wa had with Paris for thirtysix hours.
The tremendous force of the wave.
preached the sea wall which supports
| the track of the Great Western Railway
between Dawlish and Exeter. in Devon
| shire. An engineer who left the loco-
motive fast H. drift ard atte npt-
ed to reach a place of shc ter
| was almost frozen t. death before
| he was discovered and rescued The
| blizzard extended from the Channel to
| the North Sea. Several manufacturing
| establishments We're compelled to shut
| down on account of the snow blockade.
| All field work was abandoned, and the
| loss to farm stock will undoubtedly be
| immense. The banks of the Thames
from Richmond down were inundated;
| the wagons in Covent Garden Market
| Were SO showed up as to be inaccessible,
and in consequence supplies lecame
scarce. In the poorer quarters of the
| city this caused serious suffering. On
the docks work was partially suspended.
| The yacht Sapphire. from Flushing
for Harwich, while making the latter
| port at midnight, struck on rock, and
| Mr. Macharr. of Glasgow, her owner,
was washed overheard and drowned.
The steamship Nictoria's passage
| across the Channel was memorable
one. and the weather was the worst
| known in the history Of the stormy
| twenty miles of water which separates
France from Dover. FOrty-nine pa ssen-
| gers were booked to cross from Dover in
the Victoria, but of these twenty-eight
| determined to remain on terra firma
| when they saw the sort OF night it was
Among these passengers were her royal
and imperial highness the Duchess of
Edinburgh and Lady Rothschild AS
| soon as the steamer left the harbor she
| began to experience the full force of the
| blizzard. while the snow. as it whirled
around. was almost binding. The storm
rose rapidly and the huge seas which
swept the decks reached even as far as
the ladies cabin. To make matters
worse. the officers lost their bearings,
and the engines were slowed down, as
the Victoria was then believed to be near
Cape GriSnez. Suddenly she grazed a
sandy bottom, although the sOundings
showed that she was in fifteen fathoms
of water The engines were continued
| running slow until in the morning, when
the blizzard was at its height. and the
anchors were cast. Shortly after this a
mammoth SEA broke over and flooded
the ship, which rema aned at anchor un-
til the weather cleared and it was found
she was near Calais. The passengers all
suffered severely from the cod.