The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-01-12

Eighteen years have passed SINCE
the Last hard winter visited the Brit
lsh Isles, and as each year comes and
goes newspaper writers speculate on
the change of climate and openly ex~
press the opinion that the days OF
ong-conttnued frost and snow are
past, and that We are IN future going
to have none but mild winters.
AS a weyl-known statesman has
said, Wait and see" There may be
several more mild winters to come,
but We must not expect Thorn every
year Past history teaches US that.
For instance, from 1914 to 1895
there was no really long and hard
winter in the British Isles: and 10 go
still further back, we had no long
continued frost from the year 1f40
to 1853. But quarter OF century
Is about the longest period that mas
ever elapsed between severe win
ters. and each year that passes makes
it more and more likely that the
skaters heart will be rejoiced by zero
weather for month on end.
The last occasion on which we had
a long spell Of really severe weather
was at the beginning OF 1895. II be-
gan on December 30th, and only one
weeks break lasted right up to March
9Th. There was snow in plenty, but
no terrific storm with hugh drifts
such as are on record in many pre-
vious years.
You must go back to 1891 for
really big snowstorm. That was the
year of the famous March blizzard.
Oddly enough, that storm was Tar
worse in the southwest OF England
than anywhere else. and In was Dart
moore that caught the brunt more
than any other part OF the country
The snow came from the south
east and was true blizzard. AT Vel
verton, 700 feet above the sea, ana
1 lying on a spur OF the moor, it blew
at seventy miles an hour. People
| caught in the storm less than mile
| from their homes could not reach
I Them, but were forced 20 trt1o refuge
! in the nearest shelter.
| The village doctor, g. powerful man
In the prime Of life, went to the sta
I ton to meet his son, and, returning.
was obliged 10 crawl on hands and
| knees. cllnging 10 the fence an he
went. Galvanized iron roofs were
! whipped away and carried hundred
| Of yards. Up on the high moor the
snowdrifts were forty feet deep, and
| did not finally melt until the first
week in june
| At Princeton all the convicts had
to be turned out 10 help clear the
roads. which, with the tall stone walls
| bordering them, had absolutely van
| ished under the gigantic drifts
| Hundreds Of sheep were entombed-
| At Meavy some were dug out alive
| twenty-elght days after the great
| storm.
The worst snowstorm which Lon
| don has known during the past half
| century swept the city on December
80. 1868.
| For twenty-four hours snow drove
/ 1T Winding Clafu1H, ami whsEI l. cesSs-'
| ed the sky cleared and bitter frost
fell upon the snowbound city.
| Tho 81 ght which London presented
/ on New Years day was startling. IN
! Regent street the binding white drifts
lay from two to eight feet deep.
Wheeled traffic was impossible. There
was an Arctic silence.
Business was at an end and 1t was
four whole days before the desperate
efforts OF thousands OF men could
open even tine main streets to any
sort OF traffic. Tradesmen were re-
duced TO stock taking. and even after
the streets had been cleared the frost
was so intense that the windows were
InaSheu N4AIt thiIH I'VE ikihAsaS NNoAS
thing within Outdoor labor was at
an end, The Thames was frozen, and
sixty thousand men in the East End
were thrown upon public charity
Down In Kent, and generally
through the Southeast. all the rail-
ways were blocked. and train service
came to an end.
The snow was general all over the
British Isles. Even In the Isle OF
Man, where hard weather Is rare. the
drifts lay seven to twelve feet deep.
| Up IN the North OF Scotland the snow
fell for days on end. 1t is said that
4 In Caithness the depth reached gen
\ eral level Of twenty feet
The year 1887 Is memorable for O
\ terrific snowstorrn, or, rather. series
\ OF storms. which covered the whole OF
! England to great depth. In North
\ ampton and Warwick the strong gale
| piled the snow into drifts over twenty
| feet high.
The Cambridge coach. on it's way &c
London, stuck fast beyond Epping
1 and NEXT day fourteen horses were
Il needed to release II. Near St. Adams
II two coaches were entirely buried. and
II the passengers had TO fight their way
lb} afoot to the nearest shelter. Tina
II winter was infamous for e terrible
II epidemic Of influenza, which killed
II 1 thousands all over the country.
HI The whole OF tha winter OF 1885,