Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1901-02-08
Some Remarkable Cold Winters.

The mild, open winter to2eIneI WIFI
an unprecedented fall, has given us a
stretch of beautiful weather, which by
comparison with the rigors OF the Ola
time winters is remarkable.
The following statistics are curious
and interesting. In 40s the Black Sea
was entirely frozen over. In 76l, not
only the Black Sea, but the Straits OF
Dardanelles, were frozen over; the
snow in some places rose fifty feet hlgh'
Tn S22 the great rivers of Europe--the
Danube and Elbe, etc.-were so haro
frozen as to bear heavy wagons for
month. In $50 the Adriatic was froz-
en-: the crops totally failed, and famine
and pestilence closed the year. In 1867
the most of the travellers were frozen
to death on the roads. In 1888 the, 70
was frozen from Cremona to the sea;
the wine casks were burst, and even
then the trees split by the action OF the
frost with immense noise. In 1885
the Danube was frozen to the bottom,
and remained long in that state. In
1916 the crops wholly failed in Ger
many; wheat, which some years be-
fore sold in England at six shfllings
the larter, rose to two pounds. In
| 1889 the crops failed in Scotland, and
such a famine ensued that the poor
were reduced to feed on grass, and
many persisted miserably in the fields.
The successive winters of 1928 "a
were uncommonly severe. At one time
| it showed forty days without Interrupt
ton. In 1863 the wine distributed u
1.-The soldiers in Flanders was cut witt
lhatchets. In 1649 the winter was ex
cessiyely cold. Most of the hollie'
we're killed. Coaches droye along thu
Thames, the ice of which was clever
inches thick. In 1903 occurred a COLI
winter The frosts penetrated thre'
yards into the ground. nl7l5 booth
were erected and fairs held on tn
Thames. In 1744 and 1745 the strong
est ale in England, exposed to the air
was covered in less than fifteen MI
utes with ice an eighth of an inc
thick. In 1909, and again in 1922, tb
, WINTERS were remarkably cold. L
2 1914 there was fair on the froze
i lThames.
a In more recent years--0n Decembe
Is 10th, 1889, snow fell to the depth OF
u inches on a level, shutting off tn
g county communication and ruinin
the merchants Christmas trade. Neal
u " all the stores had to carry their hol
day goods over till the next year. TT
snow storm of 1895 was terrific an
ragged throughout the East and NOrtl
eastern sections of the United State
In Augusta county some OF the Gro
= roads were blocked for six weeks, til
:, snow in many places filling the Gu
up even with the surface, and parti'
out sleighing could drive over the to
- of fences. The roads in such plac
- were impossible till late in Mare
40 The trains in the lower Shenandos
&c Valley were blocked for days. T
W tween Winchester and Charles Tow
= trains Gid not pass for a week and Il
W. snow was drifted over the tract betwe'
VI those towns to an average dep tn .
IN from six to eight feet.
Ill The winter OF 1899 was also very
70 we're. In February of that year sne
Us fell for two nights and day. drift
er badly and lying on level to the dep
DC of thirty-four inches, blocking trai
er and cutting off communication wi
VI the county for DAYS.