Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-02-04

A series of cold mornings almost with
out precedent in number and severity
temperature Thursday morning lower in
some localities than ever known before; a
storm Monday and Tuesday which ragged
for 30 hours, had fall of lS inches, piled
up drifts and temporarily blockaded roads
and railroads-such in brief is the extra
ordinary story of the elemental conditions
of the week.
The cold wave put in appearance last
Friday morning, and the weather since
then has continued at zero and below zero
each morning with the exception of Tues
day, when the record was 10 above, &C
cording to the official records of the gov"
eminent observer in Brattleboro w. II.
Childs, whose report for the other morn
ings is as follows: Friday 3 below, Satur-
day I, Sunday 8, Monday 10, Wednesday
II, Thursday %, Friday 10. These figures
are below zero. Mr.. Childs has com
plete record for II years, and the mark
yesterday morning was the lowest with the
single exception of Feb. %, 1894, when %
below zero was recorded. In point of
continuous cold weather the past II years
furnishes no period which pushes the last
eight days for honors. The daily mean
has been extraordinarily low, being one
below zero Sunday, three above Monday,
zero Wednesday, and two below Thursday.
DR.. Gales self-regstering thermometer
marked 25 degrees below zero yesterday
morning. An instrument at DR.. HoltOn's
on Main street said 30, one at West Brat
tleboro 80, one at Ralph Chamberlain's on
Vernon street 30. Many Thermometers
touched figures ranging from "a to 80 be-
low, and from towns in this county come
reports of 29 to 80 below.
The coolest town in New England from
which report came Monday was Houton,
Me-, 43 below. Woodsville, n. H., re-
ported 80 below, and other towns in north
ern Vermont and New Hamphire from 30
to AZ below.
The nearby towns of Westmoreland and
East Sullivan, N. H., reported 42' below
zero yesterday morning.
The snow storms of last week brought
nearly foot and a half of snow. Fine,
frost-like snow began falling Monday
morning, when the thermometer was 10
to 10 degrees below zero. This storm con-
tinued until nearly noon Tuesday. 1t as
sumed the proportions of a blizzard late
Monday afternoon, AMI was at the height
of its fury locally al $3.50 to $50 o'clock
Tuesday morning. About Is inches of
snow fell and the high winds piled it into
deep drifts, which made roads and rail
roads impossible. Throughout New Eng
land the storm was the most severe since
the memorable blizzard of March II, 1888,
but it was a weakling compared with that
record breaking storm.
Brattleboro was by no means snow
bound, although there was delay in
reaching the outside world. The New
London train north was stalled at North
| field Monday night, and the Boston &
Maine could get no farther than Bernard
ston. The Boston & Maine due here at
| 10 Monday night arrived Tuesday morn
ing about 8, pulled by two engines, and
it went north with three engines, reaching
Bellows Falls without great difficulty. The
train from Springfield over the Boston &
Maine road was only about an hour late
| Tuesday afternoon. All trains from the
north were discontinued Monday after.
noon and Tuesday morning. A train left
Windsor Tuesday afternoon on the time of
the 2:13 train, and reached here late in
the afternoon. The New London snow
pillow went out from here Tuesday morn
ing, and got the train at Mortified out of
the drifts. The steamboat train was not
started out of New London Tuesday, but
the 1850 got through, although late.
| Tuesdays mails over the New London road
freghts were run in here until Wednesday
afternoon, with the exception of one New
London stalled a short distance below here,
which came in Tuesday morning.
The narrow gauge train went through to
South Londonderry Monday night, but was
held there Tuesday, by instructions. The
snow pillow started from here about noon
Tuesday and reached South Londonderry
at 5. The pillow came down Wednesday,
and the regular train follow wed, reaching
here an hour or two late. The train was
obliged to stop yesterday morning at West
River bridge, the snow thrown from the
broad gauge tracks blocking the smaller
road. The passengers were transferred
to the Boston & Maine southbount
train. In the afternoon the narrow gauge
track was cleared, in turn blocking tn,
Boston & Maine tracks, and the 2:13 Bos
ton & Maine train had wait of about three
hours before the track could be cleared.
The stage lines were blockaded Tuesday
The Jacksonville line was open from Greer
River Wednesday, and yesterday mail wa
brought through from Jacksonville. TIL,
Wilmington stage reached Brattleboro yes
terday for the first time since Monday
and there was no communication between
Brattleboro and Chesterfield during tn,
same period.
Manager Jones and his men worked al
} night clearing the electric road, and woult
have had the line open in the morning bu
for an accident at 3:45, when bolts wer
pulled off the motor on the Canal stree
hill, causing cutting of the wires. Tn
car rushed rapidly down the hill with sew
eral men on board, but kept on the rail
and stopped on the siding. This accden
caused a delay of two hours, during tn
severest part of the storm, six inches o
J snow falling while repairs were being made
When the pillow was started back towsrt
West BrattleborO, the track, which ha'
been cleared before the accident, was file
with drifts four feet deep. The road wa
open from West BrattlebOro, so that car
began running from there at $50 an
made trips regularly thereafter. The car
5 stopped at the Main street bridge durin
the forenoon, but made the trips to Pros
, pect Hill and over the whole length of tn
e line beginning at 1890 The men cor
: nected with the road worked three night
= last week, and have done everything i
e their power TO keep the track clear. TIL
!. company expended 500 last week in r.
n moving the snow so as to be ready for tn
! next storm.
i The storm was most severe along tn
: New England coast and for so miles IL
/ land. In Boston there was foot of heav
: snow, which broke down hundreds {
u wires, stopped steam and electric cars, an
@ paralyZed business, The wind blew off tt