The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06 00:00:00

THE LATE STORM IN AMERICA.

The American papers bring details of the ravages of
the storm which prevailed along the Atlantic coast of
America on the 18th of August. From all the towns
along the seaboard come sec ,nuts of the terrible
effects of the storm. There were three days of rain,
and on the third a terrific tornado swept over the
country. The general opinion of the passengers and
officers on the steamboats that plied from New York
through Long Island Sound was that no such " blow "
had been experienced in twenty years at such a season.
The majority of the steamers were damaged, the
heavy seas in nine cases carrying away the paddle-
boxes.

_
In Long Island the " Hawkins " Hotel was partly
undermined, half a mile of railroad was swept away,
and an entire mile of another track at Stag Harbour.
The crops were levelled in all directions. The rail-
ways oat of Brooklyn were also much injured, being
submerged, in many capes, for several hundred yards
to a depth of 4ft. Upwards of a score of craft of
different descriptions were driven ashore on Long
Island, and two lives were lost.

In Norfolk, Virginia, the people were almost
paralyzed with fright, the storm creating havoc in all
directions, capsizing vessels, destroying wharves,
hoese.e, fences, and all sorts of lightly-constructed
buildings. The water in the harbour was "backed
up" four miles greater than ever before. The loss is
estimated at about 300,b00 dohs. In Portsmouth, in
the same State, one-half the houses were oamaged,
about 40 being unroofed, and hundreds despoiled of
chimney,. The news from this part of the country
shows the effects of all standing crops to have been
most disastrous, orchards and corn being completely
ruined in all directions. A locomotive ran off the line
which was washed away near Saffolk, the engineer
being killed and three persons injured. A negro farm
hand was drowned about the same place while
endeavouring to save some lumber.
There are several wrecks in Chesapeake Bay. In
Naneamond County 16 buildings were destroyed in as
many miles, telegraph poles and trees being torn up by
the hundreds. A white woman was found dead laahkd
to the rigging of a schooner off Gwynn's Island, after
the storm, the crew being supposed to be drowned.
The Atlantic Hotel, Morehead City, North Caro-
lina, a building capable of holding 250 people cFm-
fortably, was entirely swept away. The house was
about 50ft. from high water mark, but the water on this
occasion rose, undermining the etriacture and destroy-
ing it. There were 200 people on the premises at the
time, meetly women and children, but all were saved
except two men. Next day there was not a relic of
this building left beyond the remains of one chimney.
The effects of the gale were also severely felt off
the Massachusetts coast, numbers of small vessels and
boats being driven ashore and destroyed, but no lives
were reported lost in the locality.
Shipping disasters of a more or less serious charac-
ter are also reported from Providence, Boston, New-
port, Baltimore; in fact, all along the coast.
From Canada news has come that a steamer was
driven ashore on Lake St. Louis by the fury of the
gale, and sank in Eve minutes.

SWIMMING MATCH between CAPTAIN
BOYTON and CAPTAIN WEBB.
A swimmirg match between Captain Paul Boyton
and Captlin Webb took place on the 22nd ult. at New-
port, Rho‘ie Island, and resulted in the defeat of
Captain Webb, who was seized with cramp and was
obliged to leavo the water after the ninth hour. The
buoys round which the men had to swim were placed
in mile course, so that the swimming could be seen by
the crowds assembled on the beach and along the cliffs.
The start commenced as early as three in the morning.
Captain Webb wore bathing tights and a firm-fitting
blue cap; Captain Boyton was dressed in his famous
rubber suit. The swimmers kept at work steadily up
to 10.30 o'clock, when the race was practically at an end.
Boyton had made 10 miles and Webb 8, when the
latter was seized with violent cramps, renaering both
his legs po merleas. He was taken from the water by
his trainer and put on board the yacht Active, where
he was properly cared for, and thence brought to the
city. Cap Fain Webb's trainer attributes the attack to
the fact of his not being acclimatized. When Webb
succumbed the men had been in the water seven houre,
and the strong bre--ze which had been blowing from
the south-west made swimming against the wind both
slow and difficult. At six o'clock Boyton had made
19 miles and was looking somewhat tired from the
labour of the day. At nine o'clock he had made 20
miles.