New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-11


truth be known.
Yesterday was the sixth Of the present sue
cession of almost unbearabIe days. and 1t was
evident from the appearance Of the crowds in
the streets that the strain upon nerves and
ternpers had become excessively great Some
what encouraged by the slight hope Of cooler
weather given out on Sunday night by the
weathev Bureau, people sailed out yesterday
morning trying to look cheerful. but before they
reached their places of business their brows
were contracted and their overtaxed nerves were
all unstrung again AS the sun higher and
the mercury along with it the faces of the
crowds in the streets became more and more
distressing to look upon. All the avenues OF
travel leading into the city were thronged early
in the day with those returning from days
comparative comfort in the country at the
seashore They looked reasonably happy. but
before long they badly off any Of the
thousands that had spent Sunday in town.
THE TEMPERATURE.
The day was not a record-breaker TO height
Of ten perature, 6ut it was the sixth of a series
of days any one of which was calculated to try
the temper of the most placid. That was where
the mischief lay. II got hot early in the day.
too After the wndstorm Of the previous night
that promised so much and did little. the
thermometer began to go up again. and IS
early as O'Clock in the morning it stood at 81
degrees. II rose gradually until 2:i5 o'clock.
when it stopped at 81. the maximum for the
day. Here it stood still for about an hour.
Then it began TO crawl down again. but so
gradually that at IL o'clock at night it had
fallen only to So ard the prospects for a Sitting
night were excellent
Most people regarded yesterday as the most
uncomfortable Of the past week but the weather
people said the humidity was actually below the
normal This again reminds one Of the old
proverb about the last straw. The last straw
might not be the heaviest one. but it the
one that proved too much for the camel. Yes-
terday was the last straw for many unfortunatz3
in the city The hospitals were taxed TO receive
them. and the Coroaers physicians piled their
melancholy duties All ody anu wen iiieo eho
night.
The mortality among horses was great. a pas
senger on a Broadway cable-car last evening
counted -four dead horses lying in the street be-
tween Fourteenth-st and Park Place. Many
dogs. too as on preceding days. became over
heated and were shot mad Perhaps some OF
them were really mad But there were many hu-
man beings who were just as mad. only they were
taken to hospitals.
RECORDS OF PREVIOUS YEARS.
There have been hotter days thar these last six
about the city of New-York; there have been hot
ter series Of days But there has hardly been so
long a series Of days on which the average tenn
peraturc has been so high. Many a reader re-
members the extraordinary series Of days in June
and July 1876 when in twenty-eiSht successive
DAYS the temperature never fell below 50 and ten
times was 90 or above.
There were three successive days in August OF
1852 when the highest temperature was ~. 93
and 50 on September I. 1Ss1, the record figures
OF 100 degrees were reached. and the two fol-
loving days had a record Of 9S and 92 Septem-
Der II. 22 and 23 saw temperatures Of o. 96 and
90 But the weather records show no five sue.
cessive days on which the temperature has
ranged above 90 degrees The maximum tenn
peratures for the last six days have been as fol-
lows: Wednesday. 50; Thursday o. Friday. 9l:
Saturday %; Sunday, 90; Monday. 81.
Early yesterday there was some hope given by
the weather authorities that we should get a
little relief to-day but for some reason 1t was
sadly dsspated in the evening. At midnight
the solitary prophet or duty said that 1t was
still exceedingly warm in the West and that this
section Of the country likely TO have con-
tnued warm weather to-day. Further than that
he could not say. He would Ike TO hold out
some hope to a suffering public but he could not
tell a lie 1t would continue warm and fair he
said