The morning news., 1899-02-14
WENT WITHIN EIGHT OF ZERO.
THE COLDEsT DAY sAVANNAHIANS
HAVE EVER KNOWN.

-Four Degrees Lower Than Any Pre-
vIouS Record-The Heaviest snow
fall lin the Memory of the Oldest
Inhabitant'-Busin Practically
SuspenJed and street Traffic Main
taincd with the Utmost Difficulty.
Intense Suffering Among the Poor.
shipping Tied Up and Work on the
Ubaryes Abandoned-SIightI
warmer the Prediction for To-day.
With whlrling accompaniment Of ice
and SECT aud snow. the cold wave de
seconded on Savannah between midnight
and daylight yesterday morning. It came
in good earnest. It left no one with a
doubt of It's presence OF its ability 10 make
itself felt.
Al 10 O'Clock the mercury stood at
degrees above zero, temperature four
degrees lower than any on record in the
weather bureau Two inches Of snow
covered the ground, the greatest fan
known here. The wind was high, cold
and penetrating.
The maximum temperature during the
day was q degrees, at , a. m. From that
point it fen steadily untl 10 o'clock, when
the minimum was reached. It then be
gan 10 rise. reaching II degrees as 4
O'Clock At midnight last night ii had
dropped TO l2 degrees, ana was still fall
ing The forecast for to-day is clear
weather and slightly warmer temperature
with diminishing west winds
Traffic was almost entirely suspended
The street cars were operated only after
continued efforts. and then with extreme
difficulty. The Ice that had formed on
the trolley wires and covered the tracks
broke the current and stopped the cars.
BY noon the tracks were partially cleared,
and cars were running with a fair de-
gree of regularity. All idea of keeping on
the schedule had long since been aban-
doned The motormen and conductors had
a hard day of II. Many of them We're
taken off their cars almost helpless from
cold and exposure. Some of the motor
men, after they had made trip or two
Were unable TO do further work. The
small number, that numb with cold, with
feet and hands half frozen and with icicles
on their boards, continued to operate their
cars during the day, and a long between
cars schedule was maintained up TO mid
night
Vehicles OF all kinds disappeared from
the streets. An express wagon or two, the
hotel omnibuses and an occasional cab
made up the sum total during the fore
noon. Indeed, the streets We're in such
condition, that il was almost impossi-
bIe for a horse 10 stand. The continued
cold had formed a coating of ice over the
partially melted snow and the pavements
were like glass
Business was practically at a standstill,
Many Offices were closed and in the stores
customers were few and far between. The
larger stores, usually packed with shop
pers, were empty of all save the clerks,
who thronged around the radiators and en-
deavored to keep themselves warm. The
clothing stores did a good business in over
coats and heavy caps, but this was about
a..
The coal and wood dealers were unable
10 fiji their orders although they made
strenuous efforts to do so. The condition
of the streets made the delivery of fuel
almost impossible and even i'm the best
Of weather the dealers could not have fin
ed all the orders they received.
The telephone system fortunately was in
good working order and the wires were
kept loaded with business. Some of the
hello girls" did not report at the ex-
change on account of the cold and Man
ager Polk sent a carriage and gathered
them in.
The suffering from the cold among the
poorer classes is intense. Many were
without fuel or adequate clothing. one ne
gro was found frozen to death In his
house on Ann street
Never in Savannah's history, probably.
nave the streets been so dangerously slim
perry. Not scores, but hundreds found
themselves suddenly humbled al the feet
of the snow god, who had however. kindly
provided cushion to receive them. which.
In most instances, prevented serious re-
suits. Those who provided themselves
with new. rubbers had a comparativelv
easy time of it, the corrugated soles of the
rubber shoes enabling them TO obtain a
foothold where Others fell or glded un-
willingly along. Walking in old shoes.
whose soles We're worn smooth proved TO
be an exceedingly risky business, as many
found TO their cost. Where the snow was
sufficiently deep there was no difficulty
in obtaining a foothold, but where il was
thinly spread, especially where Ii had par-
tally melted and then frozen again, there
was always danger. The asphalt pave
ments proved exceedingly treacherous and
the concrete sidewalks seemed as il their
smooth surfaces had been oiled. MIR
James 5. Silva slipped aud fell, at Bar
nard and Broughton streets. but while he
was severely shaken up. no bones were
broken. This was. perhaps, the most serl-
GUS minor casualty reported. The numer.
Gus mishRps on account of the treacher-
Gus pavements furnished much merrmeni
TO onlookers, who, themselves, otter
proved TO be future victims. The con-
crete sidewalks by the Lutheran Church
on Bull and President streets, proved pit.
falls for many unwary feet. 1t is sale
that nearly fifty persons fel
at this corner within two
hours. The mishaps were so fre.
quent that a number Of county Officials
and employees at the court house gathered
in the court room of the County Commits
eioners and witnessed the misfortunes o
Others with unholy gfee. Bets were freeh
made and taken as to whether variou.
pedestrians would pass the danger point il
safely. The exhibition continued untn tn,
corner had become so wen advertised al
a good place to avoid that passersb,
sought other routes.
Some Of the officials in the court hous,
had plotted TO give Judge Fallioanf q 3ittl