Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1850-10-02
VIOLENT HAIL STORMS.

| most terrific and violent hail storm
passed over portion of this and St. Mary's
county on Thursday evening last, produc-
ing awe and CONSERVATION in the minds Of
, all who witnessed it. Our ''oldest inhabi-
tant" says he has never seen storm to
: equal it; nor have we ever witnessed any
f occurrence so we'll calculated to display the
, wonderful power of the "storm king" and
, the utter helplessness and impotency Of man
to contend with him. We will not attempt
a description of the storm, but state few
facts from which may be gathered some idea
of lis force and effect. Early in the after
noon of Thursday cloud was seen slowly
rising above the horizon in the Worth west
seeming to portend nothing unusual !; but
after the lapse of an hour or two from the
time it was first seen, constant mutering
of thunder was heard, and gradually and
more rapidly the cloud began to assume
threatening aspect, till it burst with tremen-
dous fury upon our village, pouring, for the
pious showers Of rain and hail that perhaps
was ever Witnessed At the same time, the
heavens appeared like vas. sheet of fame,
so constant were the flashes of lightn-
ing. The peals of thunder which followed,
and the rafting Of hail upon the house-lops,
together with the whistling of the wind, were
enough to make the soutest hearts quake
with fear. The din produced rendered it al
most impossible for persons standing togeth-
er to hear each other speak, unless in the
loudest tone. The amount Of damage done
it is impossible for US to estimate at this
time We know enough, however, TO ex
cite our warmest sympa,hies for our farmers
and planters who were so unfortunate as to
have come within the range of the storm.
Trees and fences have been Frustrated, fruit
and fruit trees bruised and pealed, and, worst
Of all, whole fields Of growing tobacco, which
was almost ready for the knife, totally de-
stroyed and left unfit for any other purpose
than TO be turned in to improve the soil for
other crops.
!, seems that the general course of the
storm cloud was from the northwest to the
southeast; though the vein of hail evident
) " varied Below will be found letter
from a correspondent in Winchester, Va, to
the editors Of the Baltimore Sun, giving an
, account of a grea! hail storm which prevail
ed at that place, also on Thursday. AS
Winchester lies in north west directi on
that the storm which passed over us was
an extension of the same which prevailed
there. In crossing the Potomac river il
stuck our county at, and in the vicinity of
Marbury's Landing, thence it continued its
course onward, and we trace it as far down
as Leonardtown, in ST. Mary's county
still pursuing southeast course. From
Marbury's landing to Por! Tobacco, a dis
lance Of 10 miles, we ,lace the effects of the
hail, first few miles south and afterwards
southeast, till ii reaches our village-ak-
ing in its range about a mile in Width
After passing our village it extended from
one to three miles in width.
| Nowhere can The force Of This storm be
more apparent than in the marks it has left
upon Port Tobacco. Our village presents
the appearance of having undergone regu-
lar Monterey seige, looking for all the world
just as if thousand artillery had expended
their magazines of "grape and canister'' up
on us. Every pane of glass exposed on the
north side was broken clean out, scarcely
leaving pieces as large as mans hand re-
manning in the sash, and in some instances
even sash and venetian shutters were
broken. The strongest proofs, however, Of
its force may be seen at Capt. E. w. Days
garden, a. the north end of our village
Scarcely one of the Captains fine fruit trees
tonishing to see how completely the bark
has been bruised and pealed off, and the
smaller limbs and twiggs lacefated and bro
ken; and as for his fine collection of roses,
dahllas and other beautiful flowers, which
delighted the eyes of all who saw them,
they are now literally nothing. Even his
mammoth pumpkins are SO completely cut
and mangled that he will not have one left to
take the premium at our agricultural exhi-
btion. Another evidence Of the power of
this storm is to be seen at Capt Days store
There is a window on the north side; oppo-
site, stands clock, a. a distance of twenty