284 Walks in New England 



The Great March Blizzard of 1888 



THE storm now upon us, which in its 

 course up the Atlantic coast reached this 

 region late Sunday evening, and has 

 brought pretty nearly all the concerns of men to 

 a stand-still, will be remembered in history as 

 the greatest of a generation. No middle-aged 

 man can recall its parallel. It began with a light 

 snow, falling with a deceitful gentleness, and peo 

 ple said it would probably turn to rain as soon as 

 the sun rose. The wind was northeast, and chilly, 

 but not very cold. As the night grew toward 

 morning the wind increased in strength and ve 

 locity, the snow came faster, and the drifts begun 

 to pile. It was already so much of a storm as 

 9 o clock approached that mothers felt apprehen 

 sive as their children started for school. By this 

 time too the railroad trains were giving up the 

 contest. And so it went on ; the wind becom 

 ing a gale from the north, the snow continuing to 

 fall, the drifts to grow, all paths to close up ; all 

 means of locomotion were withdrawn from the 



