Page:Percival Lowell - an afterglow.djvu/182

Percival Lowell

The train was on time at Houck and Chambers, and then it proceeded to lose and lose. A collision near San Bernardino started the delay, and then a three days' snow-storm completed it. We simply crawled into Flag, an hour and a half late to find 50 inches of snow on the level by Dr. Slipher's metro-department gauger. Dr. S. was there to meet us having come down on Billy. The snow was within a foot of Billy's back. Impossible to get up, we went to the Commercial, after having taken an interminable time to get out of the train for the snow-drift. The staff managed to break a way for us up the hill next afternoon, and here we are. It is the first time the Observatory has ever been cut off from downtown communication. So heavy was the weight of snow that the Opera House collapsed and is now a mass of ruins. Some other buildings, also, lay down but nobody has been hurt. Judge Doe in his twenty-nine years here has never seen the like.

Nevertheless, we observed last night and with success. Our important observations on Mars, in strict accordance with theory, have been telegraphed to you. On Saturn also we gleaned results. The right side of the Crepe ring is still wider than the left, which is interesting. We move about on the hill much as if we were in the trenches. 144