The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1908-04-03
JACK FROST'S WORK
CURIOUS ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY
ICE AND SNOW.
Sudden Thaw Responsible for Trag.
edies In All Parts Of the Earth
Remarkable Disaster on the
Zuider Zee.

Although scores OF e are lOSt
yearly a. q result Of rash skaters rem
turing on ice too thin to bear their
weight, yet the worst tragedies OF
frost are-by q curious contradiction
those caused by thaw. says Pear
sons Weekly.
In February, four years ago, there
wal q tremendous frost on the cont.
nent. The vistula, among other
rivers, was covered with ice of i'm.
mense thickness, and when the thaw
came and the bonds Of frost were
loosened the roaring river became
choked with gigantic dams of ice.
In 0alicia. near Szcuezin. the noes
grounded in a shallow part of the
stream and instantly a vast barrier OF
ice began to rear itself; while behind
1t the choked river swelled into .
mighty lake. and. pouring e It's
banks, inundated the nat country for
q width OF 10 miles.
A regiment Of sappers. armed with
dynamite. arrived by special train.
but their efforts were Of little use.
Within ~ hours no fewer than ten
villages were under water, 500 fam
lilies were homeless. and nearly 70 pso-
pie were drowned.
A dreadful disaster was that which
happened . couple Of winters ago 1T
Wieringsn. on the Zuider Zee. This
great shallow inland sea Of brackish
water usually freezes every winter for
q long distance out. One January
evening . number Of people we're
amusing themselves skating on the
village, some at . considerable dis
lance from shore. when suddenly .
great noe. acres in extent, cracked
away from the rest Of the ice, and q
rapidly widening lane Of water d.
vided . dozen skaters from the
shore.
Some plunged In and swan back,
but seven were carried out to sea on
the floating ice. Those on shore
rushed for boats. but here the frost
completed its deadly work. The
boats we're too tightly frozen into the
sand of the beach to be moved, and by
the time one was loosened 1t was
dark. Next day the unhappy skaters
we're found frozen to death.
On the low, sandy shores OF Lake
Michigan stands the village Of Sand
point, . little place of wooden-built
houses, which is-oddly enough-in-
habited only in winter. It's people are
fishermen who catch their prey BY
cutting holes In the ice when the
lake freezes. One night in February.
1907. . tremendous gale arose, and.
before the sleeping inhabitants Of ave
OF these little boxlike dwellings knew
what had happened, their homes,
which were built without foundations.
were blown on to the ice, and went
aiding out It . great speed across
the frozen surface. One house
dropped into . water hole and its In
habttants were drowned. but the
others. fortunately, brought up safe
against the edge Of : long cape which
runs out crescent fashion almost OPP
posite the village.
One Of the most amaxing tragedies
Of frost occurred in Colorado on a
February day Il years ago. The tenn
p~erature was far below zero, but the
afr dry and clear and the sun shin
Ing with amazing brifliancy. Five
people, who. we're driving together
Across the tract of forest reserve
known 90 North park. did not really
feel the cold.
Suddenly the distant mountains dis
appeared In = white mist and the
I'm lost its briIliancy. Presently one
e the women PINT her hand up to her
'cteek, crying out that something