The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-02-02
Nest Severe at Boston Experienced
in Twenty Years.
Street Car and Railway Traffic and Bust
ness Completely Paralyzed.
The Situation Assumes Such DAN
gerous Aspect That No Electric
Lights Are Allowed to be Turn
ed on Except Where Wires Are
Underground-Wor Mas
sachusetts, SEowbouHd The
Situation at Other Points.

sachusetts, Snowbound The
Situation at Other Points.
|. BOSTON, Feb. IA northeast snow
storm, which set in yesterday and ragged
until this afternoon, completely par
| alyZed all branches of business and
| street car and steam railroad traffic
and for a time shut off the city from
communication by wire with all places
outside the limits of Boston. The
storm was the most severe this city has
| experienced in twenty five years, and
caused the loss of several lives be-
sides doing a money damage of hum
dreds of thousands Of dollars
Between l and > o'clock this morning
a foot of heavy, wet snow settled over
the city and leveled wires in all direc-
tons. The snow chung to the poles
and wires, and, aided by a wind blow
ing at the rate of fifty miles an hour
Frustrated all telephone and telegraph
lines out of the city. More than half
the electric lights of the city went out
and in suburban towns the fire alarm
| service was crippled.
| In Newton broken wires falling across
others started fire in the electric room
of the elegant residence of Charles J
Travello, the wealthy Pittsburg steel
manufacturer and in two hours notn-
ing remained of the house but pile
of ruins. Mr.. Travello's family es-
capped in their night clothes, without
saving anything. The loss amounts
to about 100000 the house. being VAL
ued at so, 600 and the furniture and art
treasures at $4,000
a three-masted schooner, believed to
be the Charles S. Briggs of Bath, Me.
| laden with coal. was wrecked off Lit
tie Nahant last night. 1t is believed
there were eight men on board, and all
are thought to have been drowned. The
vessel is a total wreck The vessel is
believed 10 have been wrecked about 8
o'clock last night She struck upon
the ledge north of Egg Rock light, and
was smashed 20 pieces. From the mo-
ment that she struck there was no pos
sible chance for the members Of the
| crew to save themselves, as the rough
sea rendered s-s~a saving of life impos-
sible. The body Of one of the crew. a
man about 30 years old, was found this
morning among the wreckage. 1t was
frozen to a plank, and was much dis
| figured.
| In the business district it was nearly
noon when many employees reached
their places of employment, all subur
| ban trolley lines having been abandoned
| at midnight, and the steam railroads
| being unable to run more than two or
three suburban trains during the fore
| noon.
| All through trains from New York
/ nd yVact a we'll tboca from
East, were from four to six hours late,
and many did not get in until late in the
| afternoon. Tracks We're not blocked
with snow, but masses of broken poles
and wires were encountered at many
places Tonight the few trains NOV
| ing are running without a telegraphc
service
| The city and suburbs are covered
with broken poles and tangled wires.
Many horses We're killed in the streets
! by stepping upon the end of telephone
wires which had fallen across the
streets.
Tonight the situation assumed such
dangerous aspect that Mayor Quincy
ordered that none of the electric lights
be turned on except in districts where
the wires are under ground.
1t will require weeks to restore the tel
ephone and Geographic service. Not
single telegraph wire out of Boston
was in operation all day. and the tele-
phone wires We're in almost as bad con-
dition. This afternoon a telephone
service as far as Worcester was estab-
lished.
/ The wholesale and most Of the bust
ness districts of the city were deserted
ali day. The Stock Exchange was life
less, and transactions were very limit
4 ed Shipping in the harbor was dam
aged greatly, and it is feared that many
disasters to coast shipping win be re-
/ ported when Geographic communication
| is restored.
! The center Of the storm appears to be
in the vicinity of New Bedford and the
byunt of it fell on Boston and territory
within a radius of fifteen or twenty
miles.
/ From meager reports received from
the middle and western parts Of the
State the storm there was less severe.
! Hereabouts twenty inches of snow
| fell.
| WORCESTER SNOWBOUND
WORCESTER tMass). Feb. Mot
/ since the memorable blizzard of March
II. 1883, has this section been so com
pletely snowbound. Business this
morning was practically suspended. and
the streets in most parts of the city
| we're impossible. There is probably an
| average of two feet of snow on the level.
but the high winds make huge drifts
/ ten or fifteen feet high. Railroad serv-
/ ice is at a standstill. and there is at
/ this hour no communication of any sort
With RoStou None of The telec,.a nh
or telephone companies have a wire
working. and it is not known when
mail train can get through The cleo
! trfc street railways are tied up. There
| are reports of wrecked trains which
/ have not been verified.
/ 1t is considered probable that the
storm was more severe east of here, and
| II viii be late in the day before there is