The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-02-05
NO. 20.
WRECK OF WIRES.
HUNDREDS OF MILES OF POLES AND
WIRES IN A TANGLE.


municatlon Almost Completely Cut on
NEW YORK, Jan. IS 1t is just three
days since the terrific storm swooped
down upon this great city.
The first authentic account of the
and gale is given in the Sun. That pa
per devOtcs more than Il dozen columns
in describing the situation in New
York city and state, and surrounding
country. The greater part of this vast
amount Of information was received by
incoming trains and special service
not by telegraph, for the wires were all
III tangled mass on the ground.
The first wire service has Just been
established, and other are being righted
as rapidly as men can work, and in a
lew hours regular outside communica-
ton will be established again.
In speaking of the storm, the Sun
says:
=. Within the city the wreck Of aerial
lines was mheard of. Eows of poles
toppled, broke off and fell, oYerDornc
by the snow coating of the wires Such
was the maze and tmgle of wires of all
sorts that 1T might have been man-
slaughter to turn on the arc light cur
rents last night. The streets were left
mayors TX was falling on the poles.
After this dose it is not likely that any
electrical company which can get itself
underground will want to inhabit the
upper air. AS for the magnitude of the
event, look at these items. for instance:
Philadelphia was dead city to us. .
Every wire by which she is usually
reached was gone.
Every instrument in the Office of the
Postal telegraph was silent, for every
wire out of the city was lost. Even the
blizzard had not 50 absolutely demoral-
iZed the service
The Western Union could boast of
just three wires in use at o'clock Sun
day night. These ran to Buffalo and
Albany, and by these routes all bust
ness, north, south, east and west, was
transacted.
, The long distance telephone lines,
which withstood the blizzard bravcly,
surrendered completely 10 this storm.
Thc state Of New Jersey is Il tange
OF wrecked poles and wires from one
end to the other, md it will be II week
, before the telegraph srrvicriS restored.
rive lines OF wires across the Newark
meadows look as il Il cyclone had passed
y, over them, SO completely have the damp
Il cllnglnG masses Of SHOW done their
= work.
Il The destructive effects Of the storm
| extended over 4 comparatively limited
Il area. "A short diStHncr below l'hiladcl-
: phia was the southern limit Of telegraph
= decentralization, and lioStun was the
northern limit Tine storm was prac-
ttcally confined to the coast, and cx-
tended 40 further north in this state
than PcekSkIll and liaNcrStraW.
1T started as 4 comparatively harm
less affair down in Texas. At : o'clock
on Saturday morning its center was in
Alabama, while the entire gulf was de-
luged with rain. by o'cfoci1 Oh Satrlr-
: day night the storm center had iuml ed
up to the ncighbOrhoOd Of Cape Halter
as, with lively wind coming down to
meet it from the centre Of high barom-
etric pressure to The northeast. The
storm slid up from Cape lIattcras un-
der cover Of darkness at lightning
speed and was upon us before the sig
nat service folks were ready for it.
Philadelphia caught it early in the
evening, and the advance guard came
to us in the rain which began at 1915
p. III. The mercury fell, and snow be-
gan just before midnight, when the
temperature was Just degree or two
above freezing. That was what played
, havoc. The snow had come down
through an upper Statum of cold air.
The llakeS took Oh their most CllnGinG
-. nature when they got down near the
earth in Il warmer temperature. Every
thing was wet with the rain, and the
ilakcS cllng to whatever they touched.
: This condition of things kept up until
10 o'clock Sunday morning, with the
snow coming down continuously and
I the mercury trembling around the frcez-
ing point.
, 'rhc poles began to go down when the
wind frcShcncd from the North, through
the early morning hours. At / o'clock
a. m it was blowing Il thrty-live-mile
blast. The storm centre, though, had
already whipped to the northeast, and
now it is out Of the grip of the civil
service men somewhere off Halifax.
1t was such storm as the telegraph
: companies have not been called upon to
combat in ten years. Old telegraph
1 hands say that there has been nothing
like it since the famous sleet storm OF
Sunday, Jan. %, 1881 just ten years age
, almost to day, when the telegraph
| lines all through the east We're par
. alyZed. ,..,s-.~af'e~Ss
At If o'clock SundaYn .,t o,,v -,
dispatch had re2aseG tl,eS SHS Snn u1Ny otIir, El
from its h,pdnssGsooffdt"l nssGs Of t"lecronbic @ ' cores s
!. Po!ndents Through the Country. This
!, dlSPatGs1 came from Scranton by way of
u engage. The correspondent said the
oTly wire working from Scranton con.
ii nected with Chicago. OF the scores of
r. wires between Chicago and New York
Y one was in working order, and the
s Scranton item reached the sun by this
: roundabout route. The land connec-
, tons of the cable service were almost
9 wholly out of order, though n few
! words were occasionally received.
y With all the wreck ard tangle there
were only two persons reported injured.
Mrs. Catherine Mccormack was cut
about the face. hands and neck by fall
4 ing wires. John j. Burke was struck
Il on the shoulder by a bunch of wire and
0 his shoulder was diSlOcatcd.
Tho Goats Blood Cure.
PARIS, January 29.--DrS. Bertin and
\. Dion nF tho NontpS rupDltV bayn nra-