Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-01-29
FALLING POLES.
Wet Snow Plays Havoc in New
York Streets.
A MASS OF ENTlNCLED WIRES.
Communication Cut or and Electric Lights
Out-DangerOus Cross Currents-One
Horse Struck Dead, But No Per-
sons Injured.

New YORK, Jan. 26.-The storm
which set in at IL o'clock Saturday
night and continued until noon yester-
day was the severest of the season thus
far. About six inches of snow fell and
it was of the wet clinging kind that
fastened itself to every thing it touched,
loading trees until they were shorn of
their branches or fell PROSTATE with
their trunks snapped off as though they
had been mere twigs and clinging to
the electric wires until they gave way
under the pressure and broke in all di-
rections or untilthe poles on which they
were standing fell, crushed by the i'm
mense weight.
No such work of destruction has been
known since the great blizzard of
March, 1883, and it is a question if that
memorable storm was more serious in
its effects upon the telegraph poles and
wires of the city. Early in the morning
telegraphic and telephone connections
were broken, and while the'snow did not
offer bar to railroad traffic the pros
trate poles and wires prevented the rum
ming of cars on many streets, and
even the elevated railroad trains were
compelled to move cautiously and were
often brought to a stop by the wires that
had fallen across the tracks. The police
and fire departments were especial suf-
ferers. All wire connections between
the various police stations and the CEN
tral Office were broken and recourse
was had to messengers. The fire de-
o,-frv ofv - nd
alarms could be sent except on a very
few circuits; and fremen were estab-
lished throughout the city. Men were
sent to repair the damage at once, and
these two most important of the city
departments will soon have their tele-
graphic service restored
The same may be said of the tele-
graph, the telephone and electric light
companies, all of which had their full
effective force engaged all day. Many
quarters of the city would have
been wrapped in darkness last
evening but for the fortunate cir
cumstance that the moon is near
ly full and supplies in part the
lack of electric lights, none of which
were working in any portion of the
city except in some sections in the Har-
lem district Early last evening Act
ing Superintendent of Police Byrnes
issued general 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 prop
erty. Up to this writing no intelligence
has been received of any disastrous
fires or overt acts. A partial list only
can be given of the accidents caused by
the storm.
At about 9 o'clock seven huge tele-
graph poles of Fourth avenue, between
One Hundred and Twenty-frst and One
Hundred and Twenty-ffth streets were
broken off close to the ground, falling
with great crash into the New York
Central railroad, effectually blocking
the track. Fortunately no train was
passing at the time, but the train for
Peekskill, which left the Grand Central
depot at 9 o'clock, had narrow escape,
as it came laundering out of Yorkville
tunnel just as the accident occurred,
and was stopped by signal at One Hun
dred and Tenth street. 1t was nearly
two hours before the wreckage was
cleared away and traffic on the road re-
sumed.
The heavy poles on Fifty-ninth street
from Eighth avenue to One Hundred
and Tenth avenue suffered the same
fate. One Of the poles would have
crushed the entrance porch of the Roose-
yelt Hospital but for the sustaining
strength of the wires running to the
next pole which fell in an opposite di-
rection- The 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.
At 7:s0 a m. Western Union eighty
foot pole fell with a crash, carrying
with it not less than fifty single wires
and two cables two inches thick, with
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