Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-10-01

rank. OF LpiNAti'Ats
dismal mocn-thc requiem 81 ine, w
honcs Of the people. instead OF Wv 80
FAINT hucs OF Nay, there was .n0 ,,,.I,,r
eubducd cast Of October. 10 g9iqeh
NOM with us FURNISHED sunshine KISS
inp the varied hucs OF leaf. grass. Dl ,'.
som flower. and foliage. as tney sns
tened and flashed through the pealsG
dcwdrOps. broke on the gene ,atloile W.
wcrc living witnesses Of the May or 1910.
No delicate perfume OF fragrant flowers
welcomed the early riser, no merry sohS
OF birds rei0iccd him; but rude Wiiu
met him at the door and SLAPPED ms
face q frosty air grasped his myers W.
they ached. and raw and gloomy morn
ing sent him chilled and dismayed TO ire
fresidc. out Of the thirty-One days in
the month. there were only seven ON
which there were southery winds or mild
CROPS BLIGHTED.
Corn was planted and replanted, ana
tho seed rCtted i'm the ground. Very little
ever came 90 perfection. Gardens We're
made only 90 be remade. The BUDS ana
small fruits which had escaped the visits
Of Jack Frost IN April. froZe upon the
trees Ice was formed and a melancholy
hue appeared TO seal the fate Of all vege-
table life.
And then came June. with its luscious
Strawberries its bright-red cherries,
peeping out from the dark-green leaves
and IT'S golden harvosts. such IS June
as our ancestors knew her as we know
her now.
Hope springs eternal in the human
breast"
and the advent Of June was hailed with
hopes and anticipatibns that were the
stronger for the rude buffetings they had
received. Garden and field crops were
again planted and sewed. But June
hopes were only apples Of SOdom. falr
20 the eye. but bitter TO the taste. There
N. 4 "a
Jack Frost rode over the land with his
wintry horde and left a broad black trail
OF desolatiOn bchind-the blight left by
cold and ice. The King Of the Winter,
with icy breath and snowy robes, for
once reigned in Summers stead Yer
mont was buried under a mantle
Of snow from 10 10 inches in
depth: the interior Of New York lay
beneath inches. while Maine and
New Hampshire lay under cold and
fleecy covering varying I'm depth. Every
green herb that with pertinacious persc-
Vcrauce had dared raise its head, every
garden vegetable carefully nurtured ana
protected by artificial means and now
confidently consigned 10 natures Keep
ing. was Killed outright. Where one
looked on the hillside and I'm the mea-
dow for the blushng strawberry one
found the cold boar FROST and on the
tree. instead Of the crimson cherry. there
was the black. dead blossom, while the
IifNefI -i1flQ 10y NllAtl 81 'tlllpitf "a
SUMMER. PUT WINTER WAS
THERE"
Spring had passed away and winter had
fingered I'm her lap. Summer time had
come. but no summer. When july came
the hot. sWeltering July, when there is
n mighty rush 10 the mountains ana the
sea 10 escape the oppressive heats, Wnen
the hot. sultry dog days commence WIN
the fatal diseases engendered By the great
heats-when July, 1916, so contrary 10
what might have been expected OF II
came I'm cold and cloudy and gloomy, Win
heavy frosts night after night. ana, on
the 9Th with ice throughout IenisyiNdh.a.
New York and New England, no Wonucr
the people lost heart, and, IN the IAN
guare OF the faithful contemporary
cbronioler whose records have been close
IN followed. at was a month OF MEAN.
croly forobodings and ii seemed as II
the sun had lost its warm and cheering
influences" r,-,..,,
riebts succeeded one another with great
regularity. The Indian corn was chiliti
and withered on the stock; the grass
that hardy and vigorous pant WhlCIi
boldly pushes out early IN inc season
LONG before the frosts are out or the
around or The SHOWS have ceased to fall
was go greatly injured by repeated frosts
ar0 ice that 70 contained little or no sus-
tCuarce, while its erstWhlle emerald nue.
was changed 20 dull brown. Grazing
and flower and "briery vine not one
vqe left 10 tell the tale The foliage or
orchard and forest was dead and Wllhet-
ed. too. or hung faccid and colorless 10
the branch. Northerly Wlhus "hlstIe9
through the dry grass and mOaped around
the sapless trees. An oVercoat ana
lca6en sky often added to tho dreariness
Of the landscape. In midsummer
THE trees 10 the blast had SURRENDERED
their leaves,
m 1s1
The waTblers departed for SUMNER
climes,
The herbaee Is withered and dead"
To errlve az proper understanding OF
the effects Of these strange conditions
one must take into confederation the
state Of our country, as regards size,
population. mode Of life, and other de-
tails at that time.
THEN AND NOW.
4 sparsley-scttled country, with only
eleven cities against 26 now, that hard
lv reached the Mississippi on the west
ana Florida n Spanish possession, auc
| Texas, Mexican territory, on the south
| constituted the bounds of the inhabiteC
| United States at that time. Barely sever
and a half millions Of people were scat
tered over the broad tract extending iron
! Maine TO Louisiana, from the Atlantic
| TO the Ohio and the Mississippi. IL was
prcdOminantiy a rural population, de-
pending for q living on the direct prOduc
I or the Sb4l NOA quite l4Nt tAN VI NNNl
| 100 inhabitants were residents In cities
while the proportion of residents IN cities
! to-day is nearly. if not fully, twenty-five
1 out of every 100 Of our population. steam
| and electricity were then unknown
agents of motive and other kinds OF
! power, and travel was on horseback OF
! in vehicles over rude roads, often imHas
/ sable a great portion Of the year Inc
| Journey from New York 10 Boston, Whicf
] is now easily made IN day, would thei
I A.. sod fF
most favorable circumstances. Freight
! was slowly conveyed from one portion OF
{ the country TO another by means OF slow
sailing vessels, ever dancing ATTENDANCE
upon wind and tide, or me sun slower
| but surer Canal-bOat. and in long lines Of
| cOVcred-wog On trains, winding IN PIE
| tuesque curves over mountains aut
| through forests. Freight rates were fear
| fully high: the conveyance OF goods limit
| cd i'm kind; while the carriage or perish
able food products was an absolute i'm
| possibility
DISTRESS AND SUFFERING.
| Consequently the distress caused ~
| the total failure OF all crops north Of IN
| Potomac-a failure and a distress inten
sihed by the greater dependence at tina
| time of almost the whole population O
| the country on the direct produce Of IN
soil-couh get no relief from the shir
meut of food products from the South
where. though similar weather had bee
| felt, yet from climatic reasons II had no
/ been 20 severe.
No great cities with a teeming popula
! ton had given the impetus 10 The truck
| ing interests in the South and no rail
roads. with refrigeratOr-cars were Their
| TO transport fruits and vegetables even
raised. A year without a summer ]
| this age of steam and electricit
| would find US better prepared 20 meet
without our extended and diversified coun
try. but even in the case Of the scarcity
| the inferior quality. and the necessar
/ high price for provisions would enta
| great suffering. especially upon the poor
| The lala bliZZard. which isnlatnl for