The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1854-07-19

The following report from a corrcs
pondent on whom we can rely, of an
awful phenomenon, happily unknown in
temperate climates, will be read with as
tonishment:--" AT p IN. of the 10th
of April, while we were measuring the
circumference of largo hailstoncs that
lay lightly about us, terrific storm
passed to the southwest Of tie station,
about seven miles off The accounts
brought us by natives next morning were
so strange that | did not believe them,
but after some gentlemen had visited the
spot, aud confirmed all, |, too, went to
see the wreck left by the hurricane. AS
some days had elapsed since the occur
renee, found it impossible to approach
the chaos from the putrefaction Of num-
bers of dead body An eyewitness told
me that while it was blowing pretty stiff
from the southwest. a jet black mass Of
cloud, towering high aloft and almost
touching the ground, was seen to ap-
proach another similar mass advancing
rapidly from the opposite direction,
They whirlod round each other, the
heat became intense, and, envcloped in
the greatest darkness, houses, bamboos,
trees, mon, women, and cattle were hurl.
cd in the whrlwind, dashed in all direc-
tious against trees. impalod on bamboos,
or buried in the ruins. On the sides of
the track of tho storm huge hailstonos
fell of the size of bricks The track was
about 500 yards broad its length is not
known, nor the extent Of the devastation
ascertained GO dead bodies were count
ed by gentlemen who went there ID
persons with broken arms and legs, are
in the hospital Report says that 800
have been killed, besides no end of cat.
tie. think it very probable. AS the
natives build their houses, each family
in little separate farms hid in clumps of
bamboos with intermediate fields, the
scene presented is that of numbers Of
undistinguishable masses of clumps OF
bamboos, and trees torn up, crossing
each other in every direction aud block
cd up with earth and materials that had
formed houses, so entirely broken up
that nothing could be recognized as
having formed roof or sides In fact
boxes, beds, and things made of planks
were SO broken into pieces Of foot or
two, and thrown about, that it was not
always easy to imagine what they had
belonged to. From under the masses of
rubbish jackall and vultures were pull
ing out the remains of human beings aud
cattle in small puddles dogs, goats, sc,
were drowned and rotting.
The fields were covered with the skel
etons of human beings, while the short
thick branches of trees that stood leafess
and barkless supported numberless vul-
lures covered the plain, too gorged to fly
at our approach, and hundreds were soar
ing in circles high overhead in the clear
sky, marking in the heavens the course
OF the storm. One poor furnished, dis
trncted being with head baudaged and
body scratched all over, bruised and cut,
limped up to me ho had lost all his
relations-father, mother, wife and chill
dren-all had been destroyed. and hc
could not find where they had been car.
ried away. 1t would require hundreds
of men to remove the piles Of up rooted
bamboos, sc, that mark the homesteads
of the missing under them will proba-
bly, be found those that were killed,
while some, probably, had living grave
hoping alas in vain-that rescue would
come at last, or imagining, possibly, that
the whole world had been destroyed
A bungalow of a zemindar, at Dumdu
ma on tho river Ghoghut, was blown in
smthers across tho river-yards in
the roof two men found flying passage
aud, strange to say survived y Calc"t-
ta EngliShman.