The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-28
ENTIRE COUNTRY SWEPT
 BY WIND, RAIN AND SNOW
borhood of Muncie is placed at $2o0.ooo and at s50,0o0 around Portland.
BLIzzARD IN GOTHAM.
Rain and sleet Followed Heavy Snov stOru,

Rain and Sieet rohOWeu heaSy SmOW storm.
 New York, Dec. 27.-Rain and sleet with a rising temperature following the recent heavy snowstorms have greatly impeded traffic in and about New York. Photographic communica- tion has been considerably handicap ped and nearly all through trains from the West are delayed.
 In the city the rain and sleet which froze as it struck the ground made walking during the night hazardous and inconvenient and wherever there was a grade on the surface roads there was great trouble. On the elevated ines brilliant electrical displays mark ed the passage of trains over the ice coated third rail.
 Brooklyn appeared to suffer more than Manhattan. There the street trolley lines were in trouble both over head and underground.
 As the rain descended it froze in a firm layer on all exposed rails and made electrical circuits for the cars and trains almost impossible. Because of the holiday aN unusually large num- Der of cars were run in the borough.
 The congested traffic of the upper harbor and the North and East Rivers crowded with ferry boats, was ham pcTeQ Dy d utHSe IOk WnlCH WTdppcu the city and harbor in blinding folds. almost dark at 7:30 a. m, and ferry boats bringing the thousands of people employed in the city from Jersey City and Brooklyn, poked their way slow ly from slip to slip In constant danger of collision. The unpleasant conditions in the harbor were increased by drift ing ice. No serious accidents were re- ported.
 Photographic and telephonic commu- nication in all directions was very slow. Up through New York State many wires were down and those which were not could only be operated very slowly. Service to Chicago was greatly delayed. In New England the conditions were better but to many points business was moved slowly.
 While a dense fog hung over the iriver and harbor this afternoon, the ferry boats Bergen and Musconetcong. of the Delaware. Lackawanna and Western Line, crashed into each other near the Hoboken Ferry slips. and for few minutes there was great excite ment on both boats. The Bergen had left the New York side and was ap- preaching the New Jersey side under
 reduced speed when the other boat, pullIHk OuL al luti SPSCu, ioohOu lieo her.
 The Bergen lifted the Musconetcong high out of the water. The engines were reversed immediately on the Mus conetcong. but the impact tore away about 25 feet of the cabin timber on the Bergen. As the two ferry boats came together, there was a wild rush
 on the part of the men on the Bergen into the cabin. The shock was such ,that it threw twenty or more of the .men off their feet.N In the women's cabin the panic was greater, as the passengers there had received no warn ing of the impending crash. When .the boats drifted apart the Bergen. un- injured in her hull, proceeded on her way to her slip. There were fewer passengers on the Musconetcong, and the crew had less difficulty in quieting them. The Musconetcong suffered but little damage.
 A collision on the river resulted in the thick weather during the morning rush hour. The ferryboat Chicago of the Pennsylvania Line was run into by the New Haven Railroad Company s big steam transport Maryland in the North River. A panic ensued and sev- eral women fainted. but no one was injured.