Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1846-03-19
From MOrfis's National Pfcss.
A TERRIEIC SnORNI


| In a recent tour among the Adirondack noun
tans, in the northeast section of this state, | met
with the record of storm, made by the storm it.
self, and inscribed upon the terrestrial surface in
path strewed with ruins.
At Union Falls upon the Saranac, near the foot
of the northern slope of the White Face Peak of
the Adirondack mountains, on Saturday afternoon,
the Goth of September, 1915, at about five o'clock,
cloud of awful backness was seen emerging from
the Wilderness and appeared to be descending from
hghe- region in the atmosphere in the shape of
an inverted cone. 1t was in great commotion. Its
roar was deafenn9; thunder lightning, wind, rain
and hail, formed The materials Of the tempest and
each and all were in Il state of intense activity
The wind was foremost in the march, curtaned by
cloud Of the blacklist darkness; the thunder roll
led its fiery bolts from cloud to cloud, and peal fol-
lowed peal, and crash followed crash in such quick
succession that the echo of the succeeding shock
mingled with the roverberations of that which pre-
coded it, and left no space for thought to intervene;
the lightning kept up almost continuous blaze
its vivid and startling corlscations lighted up the
dark chambers of the storm, thus making an awful
contrast between the sable drapery and that which
painted with the brilliant tints of electric fire.
The ram poured down III torrents, and close the
rear quickly followed storm of frost, from which
the haIl descended in broken fragments of great
size and weight strewing the ground with lev peb-
bles, which looked as if the atmosphere above had
been frozen over, then torn in pieces by fiery thur
sion, by angry wind. The forest trees were Nv
ing through the air like stubbe straw, torn from the
ground by the tornado. 1t was a fearful, solemn
time; CONSERVATION filled the minds of those who
were confused spectators of the awful scene The
width of the storm was from eighty TO one hundred
yards, and its boundaries well defined for they are
sketchcd on the terrestrial surface with a pencil
guided by the fingers Of the tempest tie record is
in the bosom of Forest in the border of vast
wilderness. A forgeman at Union Falls, who had
been hard al work. laid himself down to rest and
sleep; awakened by the great commotion, the
house that covered his head was gone the wind
had borne it away upon its mighty wings He was
atfrighted, for above him he suddenly beheld a
cloud of dismal backness, lighted up with the
glare of electric fire.
| At Antwerp, upon the opposite side of the will
derness at about three o'clock in the afternoon of
the same day, this same storm visited that place.
and was equally active and equally destructive but
at the same time avoiding with wonderful care the
waste of human life. AT Fowler and Edwards it
was equally severe. On the Oswegachie river. a
large pine tree was torn from the ground and car
rled two miles from the place where it was taken
up. feather bed was taken up by the wind, and
carried twenty miles school house, made of
logs, was raised from the ground and carried away
leaving the teacher and the scholars standing upon
the floor, filled with amazement and CONSERVATION ;
and wonderful to relate, not OF the little COM
pany were injured. The inhabitants of the adioin-
ing towns were spectators of the sccnc for the
storm was visible at a distance and in wonder
ment they viewed it as it passed by. At Cobourg
and Port Hope, upon the northern shore of Lake
} Ontario, little before noon of the same day. some
: persons at the lake shore discovered great COM
motion in the lake; there appeared to be tide
running rapidly out to sea, and in few minutes re-
, turned with sudden aud impetuous rush. This
lagt0uon continued for some time, during which a
large steamboat was left aground at Port Hope
| The Cobourg Star, which published the account of
| this extraordinary phenomenon, imputed 1t to an
r earthquake; for no storm was visible from that
shore, nor had they at that time any knowledge OF
storm elsewhere.
The storm proceeded from Union Falls to Peru
village crossed Lake Chnmplan to Burlington, and
from thence up that lake To Shoreham in Vermont
The latter place is the last locality at which | oh
tanned tidngs of its movement. My correspond
/ ent, CLARK Rich, Esq, of Shoreham, wrote to me,
some time since, that he observing the state OF
the weather that evening, and noticed long, mar
r row cloud, coming up the lake; the Lightning was
shooting from each side of it it was followed by a
I thunder shower At Burlington, the wind was iu-
rlons, and did some damage also, at Peru.
Al New Sweden, the lightning struck barn fill
led with hay, set it on fire, and consumed the barn
! and ITS contents.
AT Clintonville about two miles farther in the
route the storm was passing, the lightning struck
the Westinghouse and damaged it considerably.
examined the building with much care, for it was
furnished with an iron rod, and with bright me-
alllc vane, which latter was so bright that could
see it, near sunset three miles distant from the top
of Arnold Hill, The spire OF this church edifce
was surmounted by an iron frame work iancifully
curved, and from this the rod took its departure
downward in pieces of about dozen feet in length
it was an inch in thickness, and terminated in
the dry ground. At the north east corner of the
building, is a rock of quarter of ton in weight,
r which is metaierous This rock was struck by
r The lightning, and split The lightning passed
+ through the interior of the building. The iron
works of the Peru Company are within few rods
Of this building, and these were at the time filled