New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-03
ALMOST A BLIZZARD.
A BLINDING SNOW AND WIND STORM
STRIKES THE CITY.


FATAL ACCIDENT ON
A CABLE ROAD.
March came in like a lambke lion on sun
day, but 1t assumed the proportions OF i''
iedged king OF beasts yesterday mor"'''s
Snow began to fall at 11:30 o'clock on ou"u''
night and continued for almost twelve ho"i'
1t was a sticky. heavy sort OF snow just ''e
kind to make trouble for the telegraph anu
railroad lines and the Street Cleaning DepaiF
ment For a time 1t bade fair to riVai '"e
famous blizzard OF 1888. and everybody except
the small boy felt relieved when the sun came
out an hour before noon.
In the city the horse-car lines suffered most
severely, and from to o'clock in the morning
the horses had a rest The elevated trains ran
at reduced speed to avoid collisions. as ala also
the cabe-cars The officers of the metropolitan
Traction Company were greatly pleased, now
ever with the working of the underground
electric conduit road in Lenox-ave.. the cars on
that line running on schedule time throughout
the storm.
In the harbor and on the Hudson and East
rivers the binding snow proved almost as great
an obstacle to navigation as did the fog OF
Saturday, and several outgoing steamers. among
them La Bourgogne. Of the French Line. did
TIE STREET sHOvELLERs BUSY.
The storm made more trouble for Colonel
Warnings force OF whte-winged shovellers than
for almost anybody else. At o'clock In the
morning although the snow was still railing
heavily a force OF 600 men was sent out TO be-
gin the work OF clearing the streets. and thirty
poughs and twenty scrapers were at once
pressed into service.
AS soon as the snow ceased falling more men
were sent out. and by the middle OF the after
ncon Herbert Tate the contractor. estimated
that 1900 carts and 800 men were at work
BY nghtfall the force OF men had been In
creased to 1000.
Notwithstanding reports TO the contrary,
said Mr. Tate we never have any trouble In
securing all the men We want, but the supply Of
carts is not equal to the demand. BY tomorrow
morning shall have cleared the streets
throughout the business portion Of the city"
POSTAL SERVICE GREATLY HINDERED.
The mail service was seriously affected In sew
eral instances. owing principally TO the damage
done 10 the tracks Of the New-YOrk Central and
Hudson River Railroad by the washout and Ice
gorge above Hudson. The Toronto mails. due AZ
1885 a. m. did not arrive until late hour last
night The malls from Chicago and the Fur
West due at 6:l5 m. were two and hali
hours late while the mails from the same region
due at $50 a. m. did not come In until shortly
before noon. The mails due from Mobile New
Orleans and Galveston at 642 a. m. and 1913 y.
m did not F~t IN untif night. Eastern ana local
mails from regions other than the North were on
time and the local delivery was only slightly
affected.
The telephone and telegraph service stood the
ordeal pretty well. The only serious damage 10
the wires In the vicinity OF this city occurred
above Hudson at the point where ihe HUDSON
River Railroad was crippled About eighteen
poles went down and II will probably he two or
three days before they can be replaced An ex-
pert In telegraph affairs said that had the storm
lasted two hours longer the damage TO wires
would have been extremely great
AT THE CENTRE OF THE STORM.
The storm was n continuation Of the rain OF
Saturday and Sunday. and came all the way
from Texas II most severe In this city.
where eight inches OF snow fell. The northern
part Of the State escaped with fall OF only
three inches The temperature was not very
low. the mercury standing at 20 degrees Fahren-
heit AT 8 o'clock in the morning There
able-bodied wind In evidence. however. which
howled over Manhattan Island at a rate OF from
forty to sixty miles an hour from a. IN. to
D. m.
Just before 5 o'clock the gale was whistling
merrily through the streets to the tune OF sixty
two miles an hour. and the populace In the busy
marts OF trade leaned agains. the wind at an
angle OF 35 degrees. and put In their spare time
chasing the festive hat
CLEAR AND COLDER TO-DAY.
Mr. Dunn took a look from his breezy parlor
at the top OF the Manhattan Life Building and
opined that II would be about 10 degrees colder
to-day but that the wind would moderate. He
promised, too, clear skies
The only accident due to the weather that Is
likely to prove fatal was in the collision OF
cable cars at Lexington-ave. and One-hundred-
and -third-st. In which Mrs Mary Mulvihill
sustained injuries which will probably prove
fatal.
CROTON WATER MAY BE MUDDY.
A FREsHET CAUSED BY THE RECENT RAINS