The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-20
Ice Covered Streets Made Coast ing on City's Hills One
 of Yesterdays Pleasures
SEVERAL PERSONS HURT
 BY SLIPPING ON THE ICE
Weather Man Said Last Night Ther- nometer Would Go to 20 and
 Sees No Relief in Sight Before Tomorrow.

Winter, quite well-known old fellow
 tional and whose doings are expatiated
 upon annually. is in Birmingham Just
 how long he will remain In the city is
 not definitely stated. but 1t Is understood
 that he will be here until tomorrow and
 probably longer. He drifted in from the
 northwest and is attending to business
 here which he is rounding up in great
 fashion.
 Weather Observer W. F. Lehman does
 not give out very cheering news from
 his official residence out On Fountain
 Heights. In fact he had been able to
 make absolutely no progress in the way
 of compromising weather conditions and
 he declares that the best he can do is to
 announce that there are indications of no
 change in the weather until tomorrow. A
 light shower of snow began to fall at
 midnight last night
 Yesterday was a raw, disagreeable
 day and it will go down as such on the
 records at the weather observatory the
 following being the figures set down rela-
 tive to the temperature:
 Minimum temperature, 22 degrees. Maximum temperature. 27 degrees. Mean temperature, 25 degrees. The mercury crept down to its lowest
 stage early yesterday morning when p
 degrees above zero was registered Early last night the thermometer showed 24 degrees, but it was gradually going
 down and MT. Lehman stated that a tenn
 perature of 20 degrees would very prob ably be registered before daybreak this morning.
 There are no indications that the down. fall of snow and sleet will subside
 Cloudy and cold weather is predicted for
 day or two to come and this means
 either snow or sleet. If the weather mod crates slightly 1t Is not unlikely that Bir- mingham will catch liberal fall of snow. If the severe cold continues it will bring more sleet.
 Many People Fall. The streets of Birmingham were in fearful condition yesterday. although no serious accidents were reported. Quite a number of people slipped and fell, sus- taining bruises, but no serious injuries resulted. Ice-creepers were in order if they could have been secured, for prac- tically every sidewalk in the city was
 covered with sheet of zee and walking was made difficult task.
 Many sought relief in the use of rub
 Der shoes but several people of a more inventive nature who had no rubbers were seen on the streets wearing socks, both on the outside and inside of their shoes,
 the idea being that the socks pulled over the shoes chung to the ice and decreased
 the liability of slipping.
 The crushed ice on the sidewalks down town gave an idea of the frigid nature of the temperature. The frozen substance,
 after being broken into particles by pe- destrians' walking over 1t, assumed the appearance of rock salt, never meltinS } but remaining in solid particles to be kicked about by those who walked in 1t. Very few people were on the streets during the day and after dark the down town section of the city was practically depopulated, so much so, ut least that 1t reminded one of Montgomery's average days when the legislature is not in ses- sion.
 The early cars yesterday morning found 1t hard to get up the hills about the city. The tracks were all covered with a layer of ice. and with the current on with all force the street cars barely crept along up hill. the motormen frequently finding 1t necessary to so back down and get . start over the rails from which