Morning journal and courier., 1893-02-21
A PIERCE BLIZZARD.

Much Damage Done Throuxhsu
 Conneeticut-worst Storm Since th,
 ,ss Blizzard - Reports Prom al | Around.
 NORWICH, Feb. 20.-Rsin, snow. sleet
 hail, thunder and lightning ragged through Connecticut late last night and early thil
 morning. It was the worst storm experi
 enced since the blizzard of 'Ss, and ir
 some portions of the state more damage
 was done than even the celebrated blizzard
 caused.
 Traffic has been entirely suspended in | some places, railroad trains have been stalled, school houses closed, country roads | rendered impossible and no end of damage done to telegraph and telephone lines The storm caused e most peculiar sccI-
 dent just outside of this city and its et- fects were even felt In New York. The grand stand at the Polo grounds, situated between Greenvills and Tsftville was picked up by the storm last night, and landed on top of & Southern New Eng land Telephone oompsny's line. The line, of course, was demolished. This line car ried the long distance telephone compsny's wires between New York and Boston, ss well as the wires between Norwich, Willi- mantle and points north. Some of the To- cal telephone lines between Baltic and
 Taftville were strung on these poles. To
 make matters still more complicated, the grand stand ran foul of an electric trolley
 line, which was thrown scross the ruins of
 the telephone line, and the heavy electric current flew in all directions. One result
 was that the switchboard of the Southern
 New England Telephone compsny's cen
 tral office at DsnielsonviIle, twenty five
 miles north of here, was entirely burned
 out. The underground conduits of the
 Long Distance Telephone company in New York city were also burned out at the same
 instant. Other and lesser damage was
 done in various places by the suddenly un
 chained lightning.
 The high wind which has been blowing all day has caused considerable damage.
 The steamer City of Boston of the Nor
 wich and New York line was unable to
 work her engines as the propeller was one down the river by a tug this morning.
 DANBURY, Feb. 20.-Altogether the worst storm since the blizzard of 'SS ragged In this vicinity to day Business was st a stand still. The wind blew In terrific gales and the snow has drifted very badly. Strett cara were completely blocked this morning and all attempts to run them abandoned. Two csrs were stalled be tween here and Bethel this morning and had to be dug out. The schools were closed. So few men appeared a. the fac tories this morning that large number of them closed for the day.
 FALLS VILLAGE, Feb. 20.-A blizzard get in here last night and ragged all day. At @. m. the temperature was at Isro aud the cold was so intense that the schools did not open. The snow drifted so badly as 10 cause a blockade on the Berkshire division of the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad. The o'clock passenger express and two freight trains were stalled at Sheffield, Mass. 4 snow blow was cent up from here and shortly before noon suc- ceeded in clearing the tracks. In some places the snow was dTifted to depth of feet, making the reads well nigh The drifts on the railroad tracks aye the highest in yeats. On the Central New England road trains are greatly delayed by the storm which piled the snow to depth of twelve feet In many places.
 BRISTOL, Feb. 20.-The storm here was almost as bad as the blizzard of 1888. The wind blew at the rate of fifty miles an hour and st noon the temperature was at Zero and the schools were closed and most of the shop hands quit work. Trains on the New York and New England were greatly delayed.
 TWISTED, Feb. 20-A blizzard struck | In here last night and ragged all day. The | schools and a number of factories were | closed. The wind blew fifty miles an hour | and the driving snow and sleet made it almost impossible to zee scrpss the street. |
 NEW MILFORD, Feb. 20 A furious wind and snowstorm greatly interfered | with traffic to day on the railroads. The | was at zero early this morn | Ing and throughout the day the cold was | intense.
 HARTFORD, Feb. 20.-The weather to day | Ia the most uncomfortable of the winter 20 far. piercing cold blizzard without snow succeeded 6 snow storm last night. There Is about fourteen inches of snow on 6 level and drifting badly. Thermometer 5 above zero; wind from north and north west quarters alternately. Trains are de- layed from twenty to fifty minutes