The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-01-06

New York, January Anew York city
and all the surrounding country today
was III the GRASP of the most severe
storm Of the winer. Traffic Of all kinds
was hampered trolley lines were tied
UP and streets swept by a gale driv.
ing before it fine snow that cut Ike
sand and piled in great drifts, were
practically impossible. Railroad trains
from all points were delayed from
few minutes to three hours and elevated
lines were operated with the greatest
difficulty without regard to schedule.
At sea the conditions must have been
beyond description but no disaster has
been reported. The bark Alkaline was
blown from her anchorage off Staten
Island and was dragging ashore, but
hire anchors finally held her OFF Fort
Wadsworth. In the harbor the only
point where observation could be had,
an immense sea was running and sew
eral great liners and smaller vessels
tugged all night at their chains in the
sami- sheltered spois~- where they had
sought refuge from storm. What may
have happened off shore to any luck
less craft which had to face the fury
of the gale only time can tell.
ALL over the city morning found troll
ley cars blocked Al the streets, great
drifts piled against them preventing
them from moving an inch. In many
of the cars were snow bound passon-
gers who had remeined in the cans all
night rather than face the blizzard in
an attempt to walk to their homes.
-Four serious fires during the night,
two of them calling for two alarms and
two for three alarms each, gave the
firernen and their horses their mos.
bitter experience OF the winter. In one
case-just before dawn and when the
storm was at it's height the occC-
pants of several tenement houses in the
upper eastside were routed from their
beds and forced to flee half clothed to
the storm swept streets. In this fire
fifty-four horses which were quartered
in stables near the tenement house.
were burned to death.
Pedestrians were compelled to force
their way through the unbroken drifts
to the subway stations. Every station
along the subway was packed and the
trains jammed.
Although thousands of homeless un-
fortunates were given shelter by the va
rious charitable organizations last
night more than a score Of men over
come by cold were 1ound lying ABOUT
the streets early today. All OF these
probably will recover under treatment.
A remarkable story Of misfortune was
told today by Superintendent York of
the City Lodging House. Five hundred
persons, nearly all of them men. ap-
piled for shelter at his institution dur
ing the night. Only six of the five an
dred wore overcoats and hardly If
Of the five hundred had either under
wear or stockings. The bodies of four
victims of exposure in last nights
storm were found today at various
places in the streets. A guard of the
Brooklyn elevated railroad died on
platform after being on duty all night.
The fall in temperature during the
storm as recorded by the local weather
bureau was % degrees. Several times
during the early hours today 13 degrees
above zero was reached AS the day
advanced conditions i'm the city proper
BEGAN to improve slowly.
New York was not alone in its saf-
ferings from the storm by any means
and as far west as middle Missouri and
as far south as Charlotte, n. c.. snow
and extreme cold weather was reported.
Kentucky,the virginias, southern Ind a.
ma and Southern Ohio all OF Pennsyi-
vania, except the northwestern portion.
New Jersey and New England were In
the grasp of the blizzard
From every point heavy snow was
reported with blizzard accompaniments.
Throughout Maryland there has been
snow fall Of ten inches.