The evening times., 1896-02-07
It Swept at 80 Miles an Hour
Way 0verh Fad.
THE CITY is In A HOLLOW
River Was Very High, But No Damage
to Shipping Resulted-Prof. Moore
COnyratulntes the Weather Bureau
Upon Having Saved Millions OF Dol
lars in Marine Interests.

about noon that might have been really
uncomfortable for TIE time OF year had not
a remnant of last nights hurricane lin
| gercd around to stir and temper the air.
Some one else smiled, too. 1t was
Prof. Moore. the head of the Weather
| Bureau, and today lie can proudly say, Il
| told you So and speak the truth.
1t is even hinled that Secretary Morton
| grinnad because he recommended such n
good man. and President Cleveland chuck
| led because he appointed a man beside whom
| the ancient prophets would appear rs prog.
nosticating pigmies.
The sea board knew OF this storm that has
just passed twenty -four hours in advance"
| said Prof. Moore to a Times reporter this
| morning, "and what is the result? Not q
| big vessel has been reported lost. Do you
| fully comprehend that? Iimagine not; but
| l will tell you something so that you may.
VALUE OF SHIPPING.
at has been determined that at very
| low estimate the value of the shipping that
| leaves the tlautic seaboard each and every
| day is $50 100000. That means, of
\. course the value of the craft. Now, think
| of the destruction If there had been no warn.
| ing. People are beginning to heed our
| signals and there was not Il boat of any
| consequence on the coast left her pier yes
| terday.
"The storm center was two days ago
| over New Orleans. We then made our OBJ
seryations, and four hours later had traced
| out a course for her to take. and tn Storm
did not vary from that track half dozen
inches. 1t has moved on up into New Eng
land this morning, and is CcnterinG over
Maine and New Hampshire. but will be
entirely out of Uncle Sans territory be-
fore tonight.
1T swept the entire Atlantic coast and
was the severest on the water in years.
Can you blame us for feeling som" pride?
But, then. IL knocks the grit Out or Il fel-
low when he wakes up in the middle of the
night and hears a storm whizzing by after
he had gone TO b,d predicting calm weather.
Washington was little affected by the
storm for the reason that it is in a hol-
low. The wind did not blow over forty
miles an hour here. IL it blew that hard
that is, down here un the surface.
"If an instrument had been placed In the
top uf the Monument l am sure that IL
would have registered eighty miles an
hour. That goes to show the dragging in
vi III 'i AEf ht
est ground about Washington is not more
than 400 feet. The storm was not nearly
So bad here as some we have had before
in the last few months
THE CONDITIONS HERE.
As a matter of fact the wind did not
reach a velocity of even forty mics here.
The anemonctcr on top the bureau build
ing registered its maximum 1T 2:1O o. clock.
when the brecZes Were Jogging along at
only thirty miles per each sixty minutes,
The rainfall in the last eighteen hours,
ending at I20 O'Clock yesterday after
noon, though. was 2.29 inches, the largest
in years. --"
= The police reports this morning did not
contain a bit OF information OF damage
done throughout the city. and II is belicy ed
that because the city is down in a cavity, as
Prof. Moore explained. Washington came
off without scratch so far as damage to
property and to people was concerned.
For while last evening the waves in the
Eastern Branch threatened TO rise up in
their might and submcrge the Anacostia
bridge and boatmen began to get their
skiffs ready to ferry suburbanites back
and forth, but the sudden cessation OF the
flood prevented the river from doing more
than sending an occasion al wave over the
bridge to scare pedestrians into the cars
and the fright was soon over.
The streets OF the city were well washed
by the flood and the whole town had the ap-
pearance of child after u bath, this morn
ing.
Probably the worst feature of the flood
will be the muddy water, with which the
class of citizens accustomed to use that
liquid viii be compelled to associate for
some time. The water in the Potomac this
morning is the muddiestit has been for many
4 day; in truth, the boats have to pry their
way through the sediment, and it is bound
to tell on the water supply In a few hours.
WATER DROPPED HURRIEDLY.
The river is high about the wharves, but
no damage is reported to the Washington
shipping quarters. The water did not go
down with the tide last evening, but as soon
as the west wind set in this morning it
dropped hurriedly, and is now but compar-
atively little above normal.
Boatmeu from down the river bring ac-
counts OF the toughest weather in years,
but of noloss of life orproperty. The steamer
Wakefield, from the mOut til of the Potomac,
reached her landing this morning.
we Std Nctthti, Dut puhSu
through all right" said Bailey Reed, mate
OF the boat. I'VE left our farthest landing
at Z yesterday morning, and got here at
this morning. The seas were the heaviest l
have ever seen ON the route. and the water
whisked through the portfolios and clear
over the upper deck. We had a few passeu-
gers and some of them were scared little,
but there was no real danger.
lN.I, T..,
ter boat. with 200 bushels of oysters, was
blown up the tide and high water into a
peach orchard, and they will never get her
out unless there is another flood, or unless
they haul her out. The master of the boat
put up his sails and tried to stay out in the
stream, but he could do nothing with the
wind.
II never saw the water wash so high.
Down below Piney Point one man had to go
about in boat around the wharf, where he
usually drove q cart. Our boat could not
make Piney Point, because the weather was
too rough for us to be thrown against the
frail wharf they have there
THE NORFOLK BOAT.
Mr.. Callahan Of the Washington and
Norfolk Steamboat Company said that the
steamer Washington reached her pier on
time this morning. as well as the Norfolk,
which left here for her namesake city last
night. He said the boats found night be-
fore last worse than last night.
THE Weather Bureau deserves great
credit for its predictions on this Storm"
said he, but the masters down on the
small craft in the bay are mighty good
weather cocks, and mighty few of them were
lost. The officials at Norfolk gave warn
ing to all bnats to stay In, and il any