The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-01-07
A FEARFUL BLIZZARD
Raging in Pennsylvania and New York
The Worst Snow Storm Ever Experience. d
at Pittsburg Nearly all Electric Light.
Fire and Police Wires Down and the

disastrous snow storm. in point Of DAM
age to wires, buildings, traction lines,
etc, in their history. The loss to the
Bell Telephone Company in the two
cities alone will reach. it is estimated,
an aggregate of $50, 000.> The prostra-
tom of their wires in Indiana, Jefferson
n West Moreland counties, where
the business is practically at a stand
still, will run the total up to s125, 900.
1t will be weeks before perfect COM
munication win be restored. In thi
city the entire police and fire alarm
systems are utterly useless. 1t is i'm
possible to communicate with the po-
lice in many parts of the city, n for
the next three or four daysPittsburg
will have to return to the olden time
plan in case of fire or other disaster,
arrangements have been lac to ring
the school bells and blow mill whistles
to spread the alarm.
The traction companies We're tied up
almost completely for a good part of
the day, the Duquesne branch of the
Consolidated Company being entirely
abandoned after about II o'clock a. M,
on account Of the great number of tel
ephone and telegraph poles, which We're
broken along Forbes street. That
street for nearly two miles was a mass
broken poles, PROSTATE wires. A large
force Of men are at work e~ndeavoring
to clean the street for traffic tOmOr-
row "a large number of accidents are
reported and many horses were killed
by coming in contact with live wires,
but fortunately no human fatalities
occurred. Nathan s.. Ediidt, assistant
weather observer, may die from the
effect of injuries while taking the tenn
perature this afternoon. He fell from
the weather gauge building to a roof
ten feet below n from there to anoth-
er, lower. His collar bone was broken
and his skull fractured. The ply
sicians say his case is very serious.
Among others injured today were
Lee Campbell, a coiored driver. The
horse lie was driving was instantly
killed and Campbell was badly Shock
ed. His condition is critical. Joseph
DAILY, a telephone lineman, was shock
ed to insensFbility and BADLY burned
by a live wire coiling abou his body.
John Gill, telephone Eneman, was hurl-
ed sixty feet by the work of electric
wires and severely injured. "A rumble
Or others sustained slight injuries.
The loss to the two cities cannot be
estimated tonight but it will reach
away UP into the thousands.
Many of the telegraph wires east
and west are down as a result OF the
heavy fall of snow. The reports show
that the wires as far east as Altoona,
on the Pennsylvania railroad, have
succumbed to the weight of the 10Y
and ice combined, and between some
points not a single wire was left ON the
poles.
Clearfield, Pa, December 31..One of
the heaviest snow storms of the season
has been raging here since 4 o'clock
his morning and tonight has reached
a depth of fourteen inches. The wind
has increased and the snow will prCb-
ably drift badly tonight. All trains on
the Pennsylvania, and the Buffalo,,
Rochester and Pittsburg are from n
to three hours late.
Saratoga, N. Y, December 31.-Four
inches of snow fell this after
noon and a blizzard is raging tonight
throughout Saratoga county, northeast
ern New York and the Adriondacks.
Whitehall, N. Y, December 31.-A
blizzard is prevailing throughout the
Chanplain valley tonight about six
inches of snow having already fallen.