Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-01-13
THB BIG SNOW.
ALMOST NINE INCHES IN TEE CITY AND A
FOOT IN TIE COUNTRY.
General "FloOd Talk" About the Town Yesterday
Reports From the State-Ihe Temperature
More Moderate.

There was a very noticeable tendency
toward "food talk" in the lower por-
ton Of the city, and on the Island, yes
terday. When citizens in those locali-
ties crawled out of bed and saw the
great stacks of snow so industriously
deposited during the night, and had
read the ''scare" article In the IntelIt-
oencer, their thoughts naturally revert
ed to 1884 and 1891, and during the day
there was more or less speculation as to
how much snow there was In the
mountains" whether it would 'go OF
with 3 warm rain" etc. No one was
really frightened, but there was unde-
niably some anxiety on the subject.
The truth is, that there is scarcely
one chance in twenty-five for a dis
astrous flood, even with the large
amount OF snow now on the ground.
To do any material damage, both the
Monongahela and Allegheny must come
out together, and that is something
which, fortunately, happens but rarely.
The Monongahela itself can scarcely
make trouble in this section, unless, In
deed, there should be further heavy
fall of snow about headwaters, followed
by mild temperature and rain. The
best information regarding the snow in
the mountain regions of Western Penn
sylvania and West Virginia Is that is
that it does not much exceed a foot, or
but about one-half the amount on the
around In January, 1884. In this city
Yesterday measurements showed abont
eight or nine inches on level, and In
the surrounding country 1t was from,
ten inches to foot. About eight
inches of this in the country, and six
to seven inches in the city, fell Wednes-
day night, the remainder having previ-
ously been on the ground. In the city,
owing to the energetic measures taken
by the motor line, the street railway
management, and the Board OF Public
Works, reinforced by the efforts OF cit
liens, there was little delay ia travel
after or 9 o'clock in the morning.
The B. 2. w. put considerable num-
Der of men at work clearing crossings
over the principal streets in the bust
ness portion of the city, sidewalks
were very promptly cleared for the most
part, and large numbers Of men found
employment shoveling snow off nat
roofs all over the town. Both bridge
companies had a big force OF men at
work cleaning the bridges, and by night
the structures had been relieved OF the
heavy burden of snow. The railroads
experienced but little delay, and trains
at the worst were but little late.
Reports from the interior of the State
continue to show that Wednesday
morning was the coolest for dozen or
fifteen years. At Ellenboro, Richie
county, temperature Of twentY-four
below zero was reached, and all through
the central portion of the State the
mercury ranged from Is to % below
zero, West Virginia thus rivaling North
Dakota, Mon tana and Minnesota for
about twenty-four hours. Later reports
are expected to show loss of stock, the
destruction of game, and, perhaps, some
loss OF human life.
Yesterday the temperature in Wheel
ing was more moderate, IL degrees
above zero being about the lowest point
touched in the city. The barometer
rose very slowly during the day, after
reaching a minimum of 29.1.