Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-17
THE REIGN OF HEAT
Continues With an Intensity That
Is Simply Broiling.
GREAT SUFFERING IN NEW YORK,
Especially in the Tenement Districts, Where
1t Is Awful.
CONVULSIONS ON THE SUNS SURFACE
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH. J

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATCH.1
NEW YORK, June 16-When Sergeant Dunn
looked at the official thermometer of the
Signal Service at o'clock this morning he
found that it registered 7so. At the same
time on Monday morning it had registered
70o. So the Sergeant thought with good
reason that to-day would be q June 16 for the
present generation to tell it's grandchildren
about. Fortunately the thermometer did
not continue to climb at the natural rate.
And when the days record was finally made
up it was found that the maximum heat,
from 2:3O until O'Clock in the afternoon, had
been $50, as against $40 for Monday.
But $50 is far away ahead of the
record for June 16, the highest heat on that
day in former years having been 80
in 1885. The hottest day ever known in New
York the official thermometer registered
1000. This was on September 7. 1851. The
hottest day of last summer was on July
8, when we had 9io, which was the
same temperature as Monday ana one de-
gree higher than to-day.
Real Intensity of the Heat. -.
The official thermometer, so carefully
shaded from the direct rays of the sun, gives
| no idea of the real heat of the wretched ami
| mails, human and otherwise, sweltering
about upon fiery pavements. To-day Ser
geant Dunn thought he would see just how
| much difference it made whether q ther-
mometer was exposed to the real heat or
kept in the shade. AT II o'clock. when the
official thermometer registered $50, he took
| another thermometer and put it in the full
| glare of the sun. When he put it out it
stood at $50. No sooner had the rays of the
| sun struck the bright little bail than the
column of mercury began to mount as
| though it were possessed. The first minute
| it rose 60 and the second minute it jumped
%, stopping short at 1902. Later Ill the day
an exposed thermometer would no doubt
have risen to 1859 or 1l0o, and this was the
real heat which the honest toiling burghers
and their wives and daughters had to en-
dure If they were abroad at all.
In the narrow streets of the East Side the
misery was. most pronounced. There the
sidewalks are so narrow that the people can
not avoid contact with each other, and the
ordinary heat of the sun was intensified.
The tenements fairly sizzled, and the babies
screamea dia @ as tne rasH 9roKs ous d on nhef
them for crying.
A Welcome Shower of Rain.
About 6 o'clock the sun disappeared from
view. Those who looked for the cause saw
that light gray cloud was climbing up out
of the southwest, where a steady and burn
ing breeze had been blowing for two days.
Soon after the appearance of this cloud the
people at Battery Park noticed that the
breeze had breath of freshness in it, and
dust, which lay thick upon the hot streets
and sidewalks, was caught up and whirled
along Broadway in binding storm. In
few minutes deep growl and q thin flash
came out of the advancing cloud, and every
body knew that rain was at hand. And the
rain came in heavy shower of huge drops.
Sergeant Dunn says that tomorrow will be
nearly as hot as to-day.
On Monday attention was called to the ap-
proach of great number of sun spots on
that part of the surface exposed to us. These
are gigantic centers of unusual activity, and
in the explosions great clouds of white, hot
vapors are shot far into space in our direc-
tion. Many people think that these explo-
sions increase the amount of heat sent
toward the Garth. The sun spots appeared
just upon the edge of the eastern part of the
suns disk on Sunday On Monday they were
all in full view, and to-day they had ad-
vanced still further from the outer rim. 1t
may be that these mighty convulsions of the
suns surface have something to do with the
present hot weather.
The number of victims of the heat carried
to hospitals and houses was 49,