The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-07-05
PREVAILING OVER A LARGE AREA OF
THE COUNTRY.
ALL FORMER RECORDS BROKEN
The Hot Wave Extending from the
Rocky Mountains TO the North At
lantfc Coast-Grear Suffering and
Many Deaths in the Cities of the
Latter Locality-No Relief Promised
by the Weather Bureau for the Next
Forty-Eight Hours.

er continued here today with unaba ted
fierceness, the climax coming in the
afternoon when the local record for this
early in the summer was broken. the
weather bureau thermometer recording
a temperature of 1O2 degrees. Fortu-
nately there was much humidity in
the atmosphere. There were fifty cases
of heat prostration reported and two
resulted fatally. Tonight the Their
mometer had fallen to 80 degrees with
every probability tina it would fall
greatly below that during the night and
that tomorrow would be a scorcher.
There seems to be no prospect for any
relief for the next forty-eight hours for
this vicinity. Beyond that length of
time the weather bureau officials make
no predictions.
The present hot wave started in the
west June goth, INC today the weather
bureau officials report high tempera-
lures are recorded in most sections of
the Rocky mountains and MANY places
west of them. Rains. most of them
moderate in amount, have fallen in
many places. Thunderstorms have oc-
CURED in West Virginia. Iowa and the
lower lake region. By tomorrow relief
is promised in the middle Mississippi
valley, the lower Missouri valley the
upper lake region and by Wednesday in
the Ohio valley and possibly the west
ern part of the lake region. For the
navf nrfu-aioh+ ho,,-,
eastern coast the prospects favor more
hot weather.
Some Of the high temperatures re-
corded during the day were: Atlanta
80. Atlantic City 80. Boston 92, Chicago
so, Cincinnati a6, Davenport, Iowa, Sc.
Des Moines. Iowa. go, Indianapolis go.
Jacksonville. Fla, "a, Kansas City, Mo-,
100. Little Rock. Ark, 80, Memphis 81.
New Orleans 90, New York SO, Omaha
"a. Pittsburg SO. Salt Lake 80, st. Louis
100, St: Paul 80, Springfield. Ill. SO
New York. July To-day was the
hottest July LIST on record. At $40
o'clock p. m. the thermometer at the
weather office reached 98 degrees, one
degree hotter lar yesterday. The rec
ords show hat in the thirty years pre-
ceding on only two days in all tina pc
riod has a higher temperature been
N"N2AS AhSSS - - d y LIN
July 3, 1898. On these days the Their
mometer reached SO degrees. The per-
centage of humidity today was only
SO. After $40 o'clock a decline began.
At 8 o'clock p. m. the thermometer
registered SO degrees. In the early
morning hour there was what might be
termed a slight breeze blowing, but
during the early part of the afternoon
the breeze died away and the city was
baking in rorrid heat. The suffering
in the city, particularly in the crowded
tenement house districts was most in
tense. AS the day grew the deaths inc
prostrations increased and although
provision was made in all the hospi-
tails for emergency the authorities were
scarcely able to cop with the great
tax made on their resources.
Between the hours of 2 o'clock a m.
and midnight today were reported fif-
ty-seven deaths and al proStrationS in
the boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx.
From midnight last night to 9 o'clock
tonight twenty-one deaths and thirty
six prostrations had been reported in
Brooklyn.
There were so many ambulance calls
that the police were called on to supply
patrol wagons and every ambulance
did double duty in responding to calls.
Many patients were carried to the hos
pitfalls in cabs and carriages and sever
al went to Bellevue and the Harlem
hospital in moving vans. The preva-
lence of the grip among the horses of
the city also tended to initiate against
effective work. In many cases, horses
had to be obtained from contractors to
draw patrol wagons and ambulances.
Although the weather bureau shows
that the maximum was SO, this does not
indicate the heat on the streets. Many
thermometers registered 10S at 3:1O
o'clock and all of them over 100 on the
street level.
Baltimore, July ACCORDING to
weather buerau reports Baltimore was
he hottest city in the United States
today. The weather bureau thermOme-
ter recorded so degrees at 5 o'clock a.
m. and from hat hour the mercury
steadily mounted upward until 102 was
reached at noon. Up to midnight to-
night, fourteen deaths and o twen-
ty-eight p~rostrations had been reported,
Philadelphia, July 1-Philadelphia
and vicinity today experienced the
highest temperature ever recorded in
this city, the government thermometer
on the top of the postofice building, 1T0
feet from the street, registered 102 de-
grees even. AT Cramps shipyard the
prostrationS were so numerous that the
men employed there were relieved from
further duty at noon.
At the Baldwin Locomotive Works,
the Midvale Steel Works, and numer-
u other places scores of a suf-
ferers had to quit work.