Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-03-12
liza D
OF | 8 s 8
R &c ALLE D.
Great Storm Started Eighteen
Years Ago Today With
Fine Rain.

1t is just eighteen years ago today
that the famous blizzard of March
-, 1888, struck here and some of
the residents who remember the
event fell to discussing the subject
Saturday afternoon, when every lit
tie while a snow squall would whirl
through the city.
1t was on a Sunday night about 8
o'clock that a warm rain set in. At
first it was rather hazy, but toward
midnight it was blowing half a gale
and the rain was coming down in tor
rents, and the people went to bed,
thinking that things would be all
right in the morning.
Early Monday morning when they
arose, they were more than surprised
TO see that during the night the rain
had turned to snow and the flakes
had fallen so fast that everything
was buried out of sight. All of Mon
day and Tuesday and until noon We'd
nesday the blizzard kept up and as
a high wind was blowing the side
walks and roads of this city were
o o filled and it was impossible for
people to get out.
The snow storm set in Monday
morning about l o'clock and it was
the worst this section of the country
has ever known. All travel was stop
ped for nearly a week. All stores
were closed, a number Of people were
killed on the railroads and many
,-,,o 400 81 " FrayAy, tn daotb
Mail Carrier Lost.
The local mail carried attempted
to deliver the mail at the Central
Railroad depot Monday morning. He
lost his way and was found in an eX-
hausted condition in a big snow drift
at Madison avenue and Smith street,
by Christian Hanson and Johannes
Peterson. These men carried the eX-
hausted mail carrier to the depot,
where after a short rest and some
warm drinks he recovered.
Tuesday morning, although it was
still showing, a number of citizens
got together and talked the matter
over. They knew that it would be
necessary to do something at once
for nearly every family in town was
snort Of coal and provisions. These
citizens got horses, and made snow
plows. In this way they were able to
clear off some of the snow so that
people could get out for IA short dis
tance.
Strangers, who were caught in this
the city, could not get away for near
ly a week, while local citizens who
had gone to New York or other cities
were in IA like prcdicament.
Precautions for Fire.
For fear that a fire might break
out, and knowing The hard time they
would have of it. the firemen laid
single lengths of hose, out so that
they would be as nearly ready as pos
sible, although they all knew that if
a fire once started the only thing that
would stop its progress would be gun
powder. As far as is known no fire
occurred in the town during the
blockade.
Wednesday morning the steam
lighter Roslyn arrived here with six
ty men for the Oil Works. This was
the first arrival since Monday morn
ing. The first news received from
the outside world was Wednesday
night, when David Tetley, the local
ncWsdealer, who had hired a tugboat
and gone TO New York, returned to
this place with a number of New
York newspapers of Wednesday.
They sold like hot cakes, and Mr..
received as high as ten cents
Tor each paper. He had brought back
hundreds of papers, but he sold ev-
cry one of them and could easily have
disposed of many more. He made a
net sum of money to pay him for his
lime and trouble.
The Total Snowfall.
The total snow fall was more than
-wenty-four inches on the level. The
first mail to arrive here from Satur-
lay night was on the following Fri
lay morning and it consisted of only
from as far as Railway and
Woodbridge. 1t was not before Thurs
day that Geographic communication
was opened up with New York. The
train 20 arrive in the town since
the starting of the blizzard was
Thursday morning, 1t came in over
the Pennsylvania railroad at 4
O'Clock. The Central railroad ran a
through mex morning.
On the Lehigh Valley form Mon
day until Friday things were tied up.
Five engines wele stalled between
Dublin and the .ong Branch cross
ing A number OF trains were now
ed under along t~heentire system. The
fiagman of freigfA train No. 80 was