The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-04
Traffic Suspended In the Storm
stricken State.
DISTRESS OF THE ROADS
ARMIES OF SHOVELERs ATTACK
THE DRIFTS.
Leadville Now the Western Terminus
of the Midland and D. & r. c.
Blizzard Has Spent Its Fury In
Wyoming, But Heavy Sheep
Losses Are Feared.

Denver, Colo, Feb. at has been
MANY years since the Colorado rail-
ways have had to contend with such
conditions as those now prevailing in
the mountain regions. The loss to the
railways in this state, taking into con-
sideration the business which it not
moving and the outlay of cash to pay
the armies of snow shovelierS, is esti-
mated at $4,000 a day Not less than
1000 men have been shoveiing snow for
several days. over 500 miles of road
in the mountains have been at times
shut off from communication for sew
eral days.
The Denver & Rio Grande railway
has a large force of men at work to-
day, clearing the tracks near Shoshone,
in the canyon of the Grand river, where
a snowslide occurred yesterday, killing
three men and injuring SIX others, of a
wrecking crew. The main line between
the east and the west will be reopened
today if no more snowslides occur.
On the mountains thousands of cattle
are freezing and starving to death and
nothing can be done to save them. In
eastern Colorado hay is being hauled
long distances over the prairies to feed
cattle and it is hoped to avoid heavy
losses of live stock if the storm and cold
abate within a day or two. However,
there will be some losses of stock that
is not closely herded.
The weather bureau predicts contin-
ued cold weather and another snowfall
tonight. The minimum temperature at
Denver during the past twenty-four
hours was twelve degrees below zero.
ANOTHER BLIZZARD COMING.
While no snow fell in Denver today,
snowstorms and cold waves are report
ed by the weather bureau TO be bear
ing down upon this city from every
direction. A blizzard prevailed at Lead
vile, where snow has fallen for ten
days in succession. Leadviile is the
western terminus at present of both
the Denver & Rio Grande and the Colo
RADIO Midland railroads, though neither
is sparing expense in its efforts to clear
the track west of that city.
Trains over the Rio Grande began
running today on regular schedule be-
tween Denver and Leadville and from
Denver to Durango over the narrow
guage. Trains are also running east
from Grand Junction to Gunnison and
Ouray over the narrow guage.
The Midland terminal is blockaded,
but communication with, Cripple Creek
is still maintained over the Florence x
Cripple Greek line.
The first train from Como over the
South Park road since the beginning of
the big storm three weeks ago arrived
in Denver tonight. a rotary followed
by trainload of provisions is cutting
its way to Kokomo and the intention
is if the train is not buried by snow
slides, to enter Leadville t. lIrow-
A dispatch from Silverto4- says Ed
ward Rogers, a miner, was killed by
SnowSlide near town today.
The officials the Denver e Rio
Grande Railway company say that
system has not had such an experience
since the winter of 1885. At Glenwood
Springs are three Rio Grande and two
Midland trains, snowbound; each road
has a train at Leadville, and the Rio
Grande two at Grand Junction and one
at Minturn. No road except the Union
Pacific is accepting through westbound
passengers.
Snow is reported on the Rio Grande
lines all the way from three feet on
the level at Glenwood Springs to six
feet at Crested Butte. At o'clock this
evening the mercury stood at % below
at Marshall Pass.
a train started from Minturn with a
gang of shovelers to open the line
the canyon of the Grand river.
AT o'clock this evening the train had
not even reached the canyon. The
Denver & Rio Grande expects to have
it's main line open by next Sunday.
The West Ministries and the Shaft
No. 81 company are blockaded at diff
ferent points in the mountains.
SITUATION At LEADVILLE.
LeadvilIe. Colo, Feb. 3.-The citizens
of the camp are experiencing no hard
ships 50 far, with the exception of the
miners on the Gold Belt route, who
have been aid off, owing to the block
ade, and are losing, in the aggregate,
81, 500 in wages per day.
Both of the Leadville smelters are
cutting down their work and are carry
ing on operations in their yards with
the utmost difficulty and at the loss of
a large sum of. money each day.
J The coal situation is still critical, for
the reason that there is so much coal
in the city, the shelters
alone using $50 tons a day. Twelve cars
of coal which came in on the Midland
and twenty cars on the Rio Grande
were consumed in an hour, and dealers
are far behind their orders.