Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1851-08-30
LATE TORNADO IN MASSACHUSETTS.

The Boston Post Of Monday contains description If
terrible tornado with which several towns in that ycpv
were visited Friday last We copy with considerable
abdgmen 90 far as respects the details of injury done IA
property
On Saturday we visited the principal scenes Of the de.rpc
uon caused by the tornado between five and six O'Clock
Friday afternoon The descriptions we received NJ The
shape, color and course of the terrific agent of
were various, the differences being attributable mainly ~ H.
dnerent points OF view from which seen by the de-
scbes Immediately after sharp burst of lightning in the
southwest thick ba cloud was seen TO rise in WsvI.a
resembling column Of smoke 30 perfectly thai il WAS
posed the lightning had fire some building in the valley
rom which the smoke The cloud up very rapid
ou' seemed 70 be connected with The earth by pro-
ectng points, In height the column appeared to be- abont
mile and the covered by the points in contact with hs
earth about forty rods For few seconds vbrarov
motion was OBSERVED IN the upper portion the dense mass
shd also nu0i luminous appearance among the points or
feeers below This was followed by whirng notion and
then commenced rapid fight through Weston WaIham
Watertown, West Cambridge and Medfod to North Nal
den, where broke the fragments disappearing in ,ery
low seconds parted the middle the upper norton
being then in the shape OF the tunnel and the lower mart s
tied down and blended with the points that had erazed ~.
ground the whole resembling huge irregular BODY Of smoLs
which was soon dsspated The time occupied in its pro-
gress from Wsyand Maiden is very generally set don
at ten minutes Throughout nearly the whole Of ts cours
was preceded by cloud of dust the appearance Of which
operated as warning to many in the fields roads
and even houses and induced them fly of the track Of
the approaching danger But for this circumstance the loss
OF life must have been immense That the sweep of the tor
nsdo was not destructive in the line of course il az
planned by the peculiar fact that the main body did not de-
scend range with the dwellings and treee the somewhat
widely separated points only coming in with them.
Although the extent of the destruction great yet at no
point does present any very striking coup d-no very
awful accumulation Of the 'weck Of matter" in any one
place. Though the devastation falls within clearly marked
track many prominent objects entirely escaped while others
apparently not nearly so much exposed were struck.
Inc cloud does not appear TO have acquired any great de-
gree Of destructive force until reached the north part Of
Waitham, where it commenced heavy operations by lifting
up and turning completely round barn, owned BY Mr.
Baldwin. On Col Peter Dunbars farm it destroyed num-
Der OF nlt Trees quantity of growing corn, and several
fences Several trees uprooed the Of G. W.
Lyman and Mr. Kendall and barn and other outbuidings
owned by William Sawyer blown down. Trees and
fences on other farms in Waham were also levelled
The principal scene Of demolition in West Cambridge was
near the centre OF the town. Thomas E. Thorps house was
torn down, and garden torn up. The widow Wh,tsmores
house and garden both entirely destroyed Fessenden Whit
temore Il Co.'s large store leveed to the ground
building owned by John Febown was torn apart and scat
tered The stable and bowling alleys belonging 10 Batess
tavern torn down. and the roof Of stable carried several
yards The house Of David Horton unrooed the chin
neys carried away and his barn displaced from oun
dation W. H. Whittemore's very stable was unroofed
The schoohouse the other side Of the street was also u
roofed Gresham & Whittemores card factory unrooed
and the dwelling houses occupied by the respective
parties and the windows broken John Fowes store un
rooted and chmneys torn down. William Clark harness.
maker shop partially unrooed and started from its ounda
ton, with loss of chimney The houses Of Samuel Frost
Henry Frost and Mr. Sawn partially torn down The
houses Of Luke Aver Russell Proctor, E. R Prescott Daniel
BARKER the widow Frost Samuel Buman Charles Hill and
Lotion Gassett were partially injured and unchimneyed.
Thomas Cushing's shed smashed into Fragments The
orchards Of Oliver Russell, William Hill, and Dr. yelling
ton entirely destroyed The hurled through
the air to great distance An cehouse belonging to the
Lombard estate, and another belonging George B. Rich
adson, were entirely destroyed No lives lost in West
Cambridge, nor limbs broken, SO far could gather
Houn cccoA Mu.fsc Al 4.
grounds of T. P. Smith, ESQ., at West Medford leaving
marks Of its fury three sides Of his elegant mansion but
doing damage the building ITSELF One leveled
to the ground and SO the caragehouses and the
ages In them were crushed to pieces and the beautiful gar
den extending round two sides Of the dwelling house
much injured Some of the finest trees and shrubs were
uproo,ed and the most yalSaL H.pts DESTROYED The
about twenty feet wo-stoy house, nearly finish
cd, aid worth $4,000, torn pieces which SO
scattered that even small pile of them to be
The houses Of Timothy Fagn and Mr. Nuer unroofed
An elegant house in process Of building for the Rev. Mr.
Haskns was laid fiat. The house Of Mr.. Hufmaster,
German farmer, completely rdded, and he found
buried under the fragments having receveda violent
sion OF the brain which proved fatal The house of Capt
Joseph Wyeth was ripped up TO be complete wreck
The part of Mr.. Lanes house torn off and blown
down. So his barn and she'd Every window in the
house of Samuel Teee broken and part unroofed
and his barn entirely destroyed One side Of the Rev. John
Pierponts house unrooed was his stable part
Of the house owned and occupied by the Misses Brooks
carried away, and their garden entirely destroyed Mr.
Johnsons barn ripped right up, and the ruins carried
over to the Woburn road where they by another
flight of ruins, and they united in blocking the road
y feet high The windows Of the railroad depot all
broken, and heavy baggage lifted from the track
and carried and rolled distance Of hundred and fifty
yards Several persons less injured by flying
timbers or bricks. Among them George Maxwell,
whose skull fractured and Luke Costello who had
arm broken Both taken to the hospital The wife of
Mr.. Caldwell, residing the hill while standing in the
doorway caught up and carried the fields and
fences about FIVE hundred yards but received serious
injury.
In Medford the old schoohouse snached up if it
were nothing but single, and dashed into thousand
pieces against buon-wood tree. The old elm tree, the
pride of the village for hundred years. snapped off as
it were pipe-stem and carried of.
AT Medford Centre but little damage was done. large
pine uprooted carried up into the air and fell upon
Dr. Kidders house in Forest 1t broke through the
roof and Of the made for themselves by
bursting window.
The damage done to buildings, gardens, orchards, &c.
has been estimated Sl00, 900, and will probably quite
reach that sum-
FIVE BRorHERs BURNr.-One of the most terrible ca
lamies that have been called to chronicle took
place in the town of Brighton, FIVE miles from Cleveland
Ohio, Tuesday night August 49, We have gathered the
following particulars:
Mr.. Crackers house built Of wood, two stories In
height and is frequently the case the
ed on the outside In this oven Mrs. Onacker had been