The age-herald., 1897-09-03
BIRMINGHAM'S
 GREATEST BLIZZARD

The severe cold weather which has pre- vailed about Birmingham for the last
 week culminated last night in one of
 the most severe blizzards known to the | oldest inhabitant of Alabama. It first l rained and afterward began showing
 about a quarter past o'clock yester- | day and continued falling until near in the afternoon, and had reached a depth 1 of almost seven feet.
 With the snow came a cold wavs that sent the mercury completely out of sight. | Several persons were frozen to death in the street unable to rsach their homes because of the depth of the snow. William Porter, cashier of the Alabama National bank, made an effort to reach his home ca the South Highlands, and when about half way th=re he became prostrated. MT. Porter would have per ished in the snow if it had not been for Dr. Hughes, who was driving past in his handsome cutter presented to him
 by the persons who want positions under him. Postmaster Hughes, with his driv- CT, assisted MT. Porter to the sleigh and took him home. The snow at MT. Por- ter's residence had drifted great deal, the wind in that section of the city being vsry severe, and bank of snow more than twelve feet high was in front of the holfse. He went in the house through the chimney.
 Gov. Johnston, who had come up from Montgomery was met at the railway sta- ton by his driver with four horses att tach=d to the handsomest sleigh ever seen in this section of the country. The gov- ernor was driving to his place of resi- dence in the South Highlands, but be- fore reaching there his horses took fright at street car which stood in the middls of Twentieth street, completely covered with snow. The horses ran away and both legs of the driver were broken above the knee. Gov Johnston, lucky man that he is escaped uninurt and took refuge in the residence of one of his frbsnds not far from the scene of the accident. Col. Sol Haas, president of the Sloss Iron and Steel company, had both ears and both feet froz+n while walking from the Morris hotel to the Union depot. = Proprietor Jemison. of the Florence
 
 storm. While walking in front of the hotel h+ slipped upon the ice breaking both legs and each of his arms. MT. Jemison was taken to the. office of Dr. Davis, where the four broken limbs were immediately set and it was but a few minutes until h5 walked to his residence
 at the corner of Tenth avenue and Twen-
 tieth street. MT. Jemison is all right
 now, but will not be out until the ice is
 removed from the sidewalks.
 Maj. Willis J. Milner, superintendent
 of the water works, was of course very
 much disturbed He was in the vicinity
 of the Five Mile creek reservoir at the
 time and the snow came upon him b=fore
 he could make any headway to get into
 the city. The water in the reservoir had
 frozen the full depth of the water, more
 than nine feet Freezing will no doubt
 purify the water.
 Both telegraph offices wers forced to suspend business at an early hour in the
 day. In some places in the city the
 wires, poles and all were entirely und=r th@ snow so great was the drift. James F. Slater brought to the office of the Age Herald an icicle measuring over 12 feet in length, which he had pulled from the caves of his house. It weighed 19Yk pounds.
 While Chief of Police Mcdonald was going from his office across to see Mayor Evans the snow was so blinding he fell upon the sidewalk, and it was but few moments until he was hidden completely from view. He was discovered by a number of boys engaged in snowballing and was helped to his feet and placed in the patrol sleigh and taken to his res- idenee. While under the snow he dream- ed he had been at Klondyke.
 The water pipes in the city hall were frozen so hard that they were all burst ed. almost demolishing the entire build ing, and at late hour last night the only thing that could be seen that locked like building was a chimney sticking about three feet above the snow. Every drop of water in the entire city was frozen. The price of ice went down | to almost nothing, and even tho whisky l in many of the barrooms was frozen. Drinking water was only procured by means of shoveling' snow upon stoves. where it was melted.
 The snow in front of Pauls restar- rant drifted as high as the door and the only way to get in and out was through | the transom. According to Pauls esti- mate of the degree of cold as experienced | in his place it was perhaps as much as l 150 degrees below zero.
 Those who attended the matinee at the 1 theater in the afternoon were storm- l bound for many hours. It was the cold l est audience'that ever sat in that house. I yet At was a hot play.
 l Snow blows were brought into quick requisition and put into service on all l the railroads.
 l President Roden, of the Gas company.
 said that the freeze was so penetrating l to the soil that some of the gas in the ! pipes, which are located as much as six
 to eight feet underground, had frozen to
 standstill, and it might be some days
 before the city could have good gas. Reports from along the lines of the va rious railroads stata that in sa,v.