New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-08
FOITR DEATHS FROM HEAT.
GREAT NUMBER OF PROSTRATIONS
FROM THE SAME CAUSE.
>,,>rrrNuANCE or UNCoMMoNLY OPPRESSIVE
wEArHER-No PROSPECT OF SPEEDY

RELIEF.
r,. terrible heat that made New-Ycrk fiery
..-nace on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday
.,,nued Yesterday with unabated fervor. and
~ rsrves that on the three days previous had
vs.. severely taxed were strained almost to
liking The entire country east Of the Mis-
,-.,nn, is covered by q hot wave Of fearful po-
go, Even the official figures to temperature
80, that and such figures notoriously op-
,,s,,c Here in New-York the officially re-
,ad ternperature yesterday reached the height,
"a, dovrees which was just the altitude reached
Thursday and which has not been exceeded
,,, ,ear II was the same old story. too as to
,rr,,d,tv The moisture started in at o'clock
:. tho morning at 90 per cent, and kept 1t up
x.,.,, until the short shower in the middle OF the
afternoon.
The effect Of the heat in the streets of the city
ras most apparent. The eastern sidewalks OF
.ha avenues were almost entirely deserted and
.ha rnourners went about the streets In the
.hode rs much as possible. But nobody went
~, Of all who could help It, In this city
.,ora there were more than half hundred re-
,o~,ed cases of prostraton from the effects or
~ heat and In four of these the victims died
o. tho course of the day or evening. The horses
:. ,ha public Works Department were severely
.,ucpen IN many instances. and six OF them
s,.s ,,hera they fell Their drivers. too were
much affected that their superiors have
,..,.d orders that so long as the intense heat
800 their hours Of labor shall be so changed
49,, ,hev will work from Z to II o'clock in the
-.,rs and from to Z o'clock in the after
or II the business world N general would
,osh,or rs hours Of labor accordingly 1t might
not be bad plan.
,-,rrs1av night was more tolerable than its
Immediate predecessor, but 1t was exceedingly
uncomfortable for all that, and sound sleep
uas not generally enjoyed even by people with
rood consciences Early yesterday morning the
,amnerature began to rise in way that gave
fits TO the folks for whom watching 'her-
,norneter is an amusement whose fascinations
cannot he resisted. AT y O'Clock the mercury
said 50 degrees A half-hour later 1t had gone
up four degrees 1t kept on rising rapidly until s
! 20 o'clock when ii reached the top notch ~.
~ dav which was 81 degrees. At O'Clock, Just
before the shower that wet downtown streets, II
stood at S. degrees During the shower tne
.tarTo oroeter feU 90 degrees. Then il went up
again. but slowly. and the rest OF the eVeniis
was endurable - os .ho+
The peculiar feature OF the shower was 80 ,,,n'
q confined its attentions exclusively TO the oo"il-
town section Of the city. Although the SKY
looked threatening all over Mammalian ls's''' ~.
not drop Of rain fell above Fourteeh.n,S. lon.
Below that point. noNtNci'
rainfall lasting little more than twenty \, nm
v;es in the course Of which 81 OF an ihch oi
water fell - 49, h,obas+
At Kansas City and Huron, s. D. the hlgnes,
.4rnneratures were 102 degrees. ana sevela'
other Western cities were as hot as iVo ues 6,
1obnaAalnhia Pittsburg Cincinnati ana 81.
Louis enjoved thunderstorms. ,,,, ..
The local weather prophets were ootsed ~ siobt ~
.ay last night that there was no releI III 1st asu
.'s NaS VI, II was hot all over the West,
tbey said. and all things Indicated .nao +his me
heated air would continue 10 ind ITS way 81 III onIy rr
direction for the next two dags. Tr,,,ne can hold
one raw NJ hope which The Tribune can nolu
om, ons 'sE even % Official weather prophets are some
lines time mistaken. Atrusm, seishress ana c,si,
tzed objection 10 the spread OF piolani'' N'O'''
~ hone that this is one of the times