Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1897-01-28
Madison, Jan. Is.

Madison, Jan. 26.
The cold wave is reported as almos.
unprecedented in its extent and sever
| ity. This fact will be of more than
| passing interest locally. 1t will
| probably mean a considerable curtail-
ment of the contemplated ice harvest
! in Madison, as cities to the south can
now be supplied nearer home. Tho
| harvest is not on as yet, but Will be
| begun this morning and will soon be
in full blast. The Knickerbocker
! company had 20 men working Monday
afternoon chiefly preparing for the re-
| ception of the ice. This is now some
! what over a foot thick and steadily IN
! creasing. Not in eight years has the
| cold weather of Monday been sur
passed here. The minimum tempera
ture al the Washburn observatory was
early Monday morning '-23 degrees.
| Sunday the minimum was 20 degrees.
| Thermometers about the city regis
tered much lower, as usual, the average
at South Madison being 80 degrees.
! On Jan. 81, 1883, the mercury sank TO
30 degrees at the observatory and on
Jan s, 1887, 1t touched the same point
| The snowfall Saturday night was
scarcely enough to make good sleigh
| ing, yet sufficient to make that method
of travelling superior TO wheeling.
| phenomenon is seen about the lakes
| that seems to be unaccountable and
| hitherto unknown. There is a stretch
| of open water in Lake Monona nearly
mile long and several rods wide and
| in the western end of Lake Mendoza Is
| another large open stretch. Still an
other is off Picnic point-all openings
are steaming like volcanoes in erup-
! ton.
In General.
The area of low temperature includes
nearly the entire country and very
widespread suffering has resulted. A
few deaths are reported. A trapper
known as Henry York, but whose name
is said to be Henry Litze. was found
eight miles north of Prairie du Chen
frozen to death.
Reports from other Wisconsin cities
are as follows: Marshfield. 80, Plain
field IS, West Superior SO, Boscobel
81, La Crosse 2S, Green Bay 20
with water pipes frozen all over the
place, Lancaster 80. The cold spell
is one of the most severe and most eX-
tensive in effect that has been expert
enced for years. The Thermometer
fell to IS degrees below zero Sunday
in Milwaukee and was the same az {
O'Clock Monday morning. This is "a
cold if not colder than any weather
that Milwaukee has had since 1885,
when the thermometer registered %
degrees below. In 1895 1t was II de-
grees below, in 1895 Is below aud IN
1894 IA degrees below zero.
The remarkable characteristic of
/ this spell is that it covers the entire
! United States. 1t is reported that the
! thermometer is Ut the freezing point in
many of the southern states and that
the orange crop is accordingly serious
| ly threatened
! Several deaths occurred in Chicago.
| In Cleveland it was Is degrees below
zero-the worst in 20 years. In Pitts
| burg Is was 10 in Denver the same,
| in Cincinnati ~, in northern Texas
10 with heavy snow, in Duluth 80,
! in Fargo and west of there 30, in
Chicago 20 and in Minneapolis 80.
| California escaped, but in England a
blizzard is raging. Some late reports
| follow:
ST. Paul, Jan. rs In the suburbs
the mercury is reported all the way
| from 30 to 40 below but the official
| thermometer at the weather office gave
! 26 below at the lowest. Edmonton
with SO below was the coolest place
! officially in the northwest. But Du-
| luth recorded 20, Bismarck, Miles City.
Helena and Huron gave "a below as
/ their temperature and Havre with 4
! below was the warmest point officially
! in the northwest. Business was consid-
/ erably interfered with in some places.
At Bayfield,, Wis, work was suspended
on the construction Of the Bayfield,
| transfer railway. There was no storm
in this vicinity but a dispatch from
Bismarck says severe storm ragged
there Sunday The wind blew "a miles
an hour with 30 below zero. II abated
somewhat yesterday but the wind was
still blowing 30 miles an hour and the
temperature was % below. The wind
piled the snow in great drifts effectual-
Iy blockading all trains. 1t will prob
ably be three days before the Northern
Pacific Is again clear. They succeed
ed in opening the road yesterday after
three days blockade caused by the
storm OF last week only 10 be again
shut off The Northern Pacific coas,
trains which left st. Paul Thursday
and Friday last are in snow drifts al
New Salem and trains due in st. Paul
Saturday night and last night have
been held at Jamestown All west
bound trains are held at Fargo. There
will undoubtedly be much suffering
among the farmers and others. Loss
OF cattle on the ranges will be very
heavy