The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-01-23
ENVELOPED TN FOG.
Dense Vapor Overspreads Both
Sound and City.
SUNSHINE WAS AT A PREMIUM.
Lower Lumber Rates to Illinois and
Indiana Pofnfs-Sotes OF Rail-
roads and shipping.

A wet blanket wrapped itself gently and
imperceptibiy around the city yesterday
morning, creeping stealthily up from the
Sound, and retained its hold with more or
less teDacity. 1t was a genuine sea fog-a
dense mass of watery vapor hanging over
sea and land. Il went down the peoples
threats with every breath they drew and
carried germs of the grippe into their
lungs with il. 1t got in the way of the
steamers and tugs on the harbor, and men
were stationed in the bows TO swesp il
away with brooms, while the whistles
were kept continually blowing to scare it
of the track. In the streets the frequent
passage of pedestrians broke it into frag-
ments, but they piled up again as fast as
they were pushed aside.
About noon it cleared off little, but
was only gathering itself together for
fresh onslaught, and about O'Clock swept
over the city again in dense volumes. 1t
was impossible TO see the lights in house
from the opposite side of the street, and
the street lights looked like twinkling
stars in the azure depths of the armament.
Before this time persons going up the hill
from Second street emerged into bright
sunlight at the summit, but as night
drew on the yapor advanced and grew
thicker until il covered hill and flied hol-
low. The pilots in front of the street cars
were ground 10 a sharp point to cut it in
two, and the gongs continually sounded
10 warn unwary passengers out of the way
and to prevent INSCRIPTIONS teamsters
from shoveling chunks of it on the track.
J. T. Ronald was seen travelling up Yesler
avenue to save street car fare, and was
mistaken by an enthusiastic Democrat
who had been partaking copiously of fog
antidote for grove Of moving
tr trees. 1t grew so thick
that il condensed into water on
the telegraph wires and formed glisten-
ing dew in ]. NJ Carson's whiskers. The
Salvation Army marched through it I'M
daunted, its music sounding like a combi-
nation of Dakota billiards. whistle and
a pile-driyer's humping. The oldest in
habitant stood on every street corner,
stared at it, looked wise. and said
he had never seen the like of it
before, while the irreyerent tenderfoot
said something about "heard that before
The cockney was. in his glory, for he pro-
claimed with patriotic pride that Seattle
was not in it with London in the produc-
ton of fog, and gave glowing descriptions
of the pea-soup variety peculiar TO the city
which knoweth not the aspirate.
In the morning. when the steamer Bailey
Gatzert was coming in. she ran very close
TO Baker 81 Co.'S wharf. as the captain
could not see it until the boat was almost
in danger of running against it. The fog
in the afternoon was so heavy that several
of the smaller boats were considerably
delayed coming in in the evening. The
boats all kept up a constant footing of
their whistles while running so that no
accidents occurred as far as known None
of the large boats were materially delayed
and all left on their regular time last
night. Steamboat men said that it
was not IS dangerous to navigation
as fogs are usually in the fall, when there
is fog and smoke mixed, making it much
harder TO see any distance ahead.
A dispatch from Tacoma last night
stated that it was the foggiest day
ever experienced over there; that
inst before dark in the even
ing pedestrians on Pacific avenue
could not be recognized twenty-five feet
distant. The officers of the steamer Se-
home, which came over from there last
night, verified this report, and said that
the fog was much denser around Tacoma
than anywhere else on the Sound.
PORTLAND, Jan. 22.-[Special. This city
has been enyeloped in fog all day AT
evening it became so dense that 1t
put Londoners in mine of home. Per-
sons riding on street cars could
scarcely discern the outlines of the build
ings along the streets. Arc lights were
not visible for more than block, at
which distance they looked like the
lighted end of a cigar, and when under
them they looked like randles