The herald., 1898-01-24
BIG BLIZZARD
Is Raging From the River
to the Sea
WISCONSIN SUFFERS MOST
WIRES DOWN AND RAILROADS
CRIPPLED
WISCONSIN SUFFERS MOST
Ohio Is Looking Forward to Floods
Which Are Certain to Cause
Tremendous Damage
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
MILWAUKEE,. Wis, Jan. 23.-Tht
| most severe blizzard that has visited
this city in years continued in its fury
until about o'clock this morning. snow
| to the depth of IS inches has fallen, and
with the wind blowing at the rate of 80
miles per hour, great drifts were formed
| in all parts of the city, making travel
almost an impossbility.
| On several lines of street railway traf-
fic was at a standstill early in the night,
and only the most important thorough
fares were kept open with the aid OF
powerful sweepers, until an hour before
midnight, when these, too. were stalled
SO rapidly did the snow drift. Railroad
| trains came in very irregularly, ana only
passenger trains, each with the aid OK
several locomotives, attempted TO get
through, those carrying freight being
abandoned
Every telegraph wire in the state was
crippled. and news from the OUTSIDE
world was received over the 1ong-dis-
tance telephone wire
None of the boats of the different lines
entering Milwaukee ventured out last
night. So far as known, no mishaps
have occurred on the lakes.
Reports from railway officers are TO
the effect that all lines have been cleared
of the big snowdrifts, and that trains OF
all kinds are running on time, but the
street railways In this city are still
somewhat crippled.
or asst night WAS the
worst experienced in this county in re-
cent years. Service on street railway
lines was completely paralyzed. A tre-
mendous sea ran and three steamers
were torn from their moorings and were
considerably damaged.
IN OHIO
CINCINNATI, Ohio, Jan. 23.-The sky
is clear tonight and the mercury regis
ters 3S. Last night at one time, for about
five minutes, the wind showed maxi
mum velocity of ~ miles an hour. The
average velocity was from 20 to 80 miles
an hour. Some damage was done to tel
egraph and telephone wires, mostly out,
side of the city. One hundred thousand
bushels of coal were sunk at Flemings $
landing, in the Ohio river.
The Ohio river here at o'clock tonight
reached 1919 feet, a rise of ga feet since
6 o'clock last night. 1t became station
ary at that stage. News from Ports
mouth, Ohio, is that for 12 hours, up to
G o'clock tonight, the river rose seven
feet. and was still rising at the same
rate. This flood has about 120 miles to
travel to Cincinnati.
At all West Virginia points rising
ct
comes from tributaries in Pennsylvania
and Ohio. This makes it sure that the
maximum here will not be less than So
feet, and at the same time gives ground
for apprehension of great flood or DO
feet, with a possibility of So feet. Either
of the latter two stages would render
the Grand Central depot inaccessible for
trains and would prevent all large boats
from passing under the bridges. The
streams below Cincinnati are all pour
ing in their floods, which will hold the
water here at very near the present
stage until the rise from Portsmouth
reaches here and swells it to So feet.
The Commercial Tribune's storm dis
patch reported damages as follows:
Wooster, Ohio-County Jail and three
factories unroofed, Baltimore and Ohio
railway tracks washed out in two places.
Bradford Junction, Ohio-Christian
church unroofed, barns and trees blown
down.
Lima, Ohio-Rainfall yesterday un-
precedented school building unroofed;
many oil derricks blown down in Hume,
Buckland and Spencerville districts;
rivers raging torrents.
IIartford Citv Ind 6-.ScarcplY a der
rick left standing in the oil fields.
FARTHER EAST
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 23.-Reports
from various parts of Eastern Pennsyl-
vania and Southern Jersey indicate that
a wind storm of more than ordinary Ve-
locity passed over those sections today.
The principal damage resulting con-
sisted of the uprooting of trees and the
blowing down of telegraph and tele-
phone wires. In few instances houses
were unroofed. Heavy winds prevailed
along the coast, but up to late hour no
disasters to shipping were reported.
In this city the wind reached maxi
mum velocity of Al miles an hour.
With deafening crash that was heard
for squares, portion of the east wing
harm was done to the historic building,
as the arches which collapsed We're not
connected with it, section of the wing
next to the east wall of Independence
hall having been torn out under the res
toration plans now being carried out.
The accident was due to the exposed
state of the building. The two wings
had been torn down, with the exception
of the arches on either side. The east
wall of the east wing and the west wall
of the west wing were left standing to
their full height, about thirty feet. The
whole of the western arch, half of the
middle arch and a small portion of the
eastern area fell in. The walls fell to-
ward the west. At the time of the col
lapse the wind was blowing almost a
gale across Independence square.
in KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE, KY, Jan. 23.-The high
stage of the water in the Ohio caused a
fatal railroad accident in New Albany
early this morning. at point where the
New Albany Belt line skirts the river
bank on steel trestle, 20 feet high The
flood had softened the foundations of one
of the steel piers, and when a freight
train reached the weakened point one
side of the trestle gave way, causing the
locomotive to topple over into the swol-
len stream.
Conductor John Burke of New Albany