The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-05-21
DErAsFxrTNG STORMS

About q clock on Sstarday evening tho 18th inst,
the city OF Fredericksburg, Virginia, was visited BY
terrific hail storm inferior In violence but equ.l &c
structiye in it's octs with tho which, In the early
part of last July worked such unparalleled devastation
in all horticultural and agricultural departments In that
section OF the country and played such sad havoc With
unprotecteds window glass The cloud was an sngry,
bilious looking concern rising in the northwest aud
moving in southeasterly direction, although varying
from direct line Of motion. and covering by Hs effects
space OF two miles in bycsdth. Az along the lne 81
the plank road In the direction Of Orange Court House.
it was most violent and destructive The growing wheat
crop was literally harvested l this unwecome vistant
fences were laid the grounds fruit beaten on the
leaves stripped the trees and vegetation generally
nipped mashed, or beaten into the earth The storm
seems to have concentrated its fury in the ncghborhood
of the first toll gate the plank road The blight on
all the face of nature which the storm left there s inde
scribabe. 10f3Tafj gfsS9a 2l N0i3sEa q t}8 etF Il
Mr. George Guest late of Baltimore, living some three
miles from town. been the greatest sufferer by the
ll4sarrcd conflict of the elements His wheat crop the
most promising IN this county is cut down as win
scyhc his house. recently built was diycsted OF most
of the window and much of its weather BOARD
ing while the oof moved three OF four inches from
its proper position Mr. Is loss will amount 70 at least
being equal to the largest hen egg, and fell with
such torch as to large branches from trees, and kill
birds hares domestic fowls, and pigs The damage in
was was " very torn M mn y te roo
any quantity Of glass smashed to aoms and every gar
den teeming with halfmatured vegetables, completely
laid waste '4V II sA NJ @s
On Tuesday, the 18TH another violent hail-sor vst
ed the neighborhood Fredericksburg Along the line Of
the Rapahannock river In Caroline county the rayages
of this storm are represented fearful being more terri
BILE than those of Saturday previouss Messr Ben Tenn
ple Humphries A. N. Bernard, and John L. Marye are
said to have lost their entire wheat and oat crop besides
sustaining other serious injuries Since Saturday morn
ing not less than seventyve hundred thousand
dollars worth of property in the immediate neghborhood
of fredericksburg has been destroyed by hall. sN
Y r IFrom the st. Louis Rcpubkan, Nay 17ihl iisl 81.
We have information of the prevalence of extraordi-
nary and destructive hurricanes in various q tnc
nor hcrn portion Of Illinois, Thursday night and Friday
last accompanied by very heavy falls OF rain At Kappa"
miles above bloomington the lnan line OF
the Illinois Central Railroad several freight cars were upset
by the wind and thrown from the sdeswitches across ths
main track Two or three houses also bluwn down
AT Peoria Junction one car was blown the track
Three cars the Peoraan Oqawka Railroad were upset.
one end of the Central Hotel ut the Junction. torn out and
six or seven houses eyelled Al Panoa four mikes above
eight OF ten cars were abroad in all directions, aud
the force Of the wind was such that three car
red distance of a mile and half north, wththc brakes
down tight At this station there were no houses blown
down. but all were more or less moved from their foun
dations. 1r aans Sgsi9A n'
Friday afternoon at Okaw fifteen miles above Mat
toon on the Chicago branch rosd SIX buildings wers
t,mbled down including large new store containing
as 600 worth of goods The freight depot Of the Illinois
Central Company was unroofed, At Prospect Thurs
day night sixteen buildings were blown down inclndng
store and o small hotel A good deal of damage wss
also done at Gilman, on the Peoria and OqaAwk~ road
At Ashkun seventy three miles below Chicago, six or
eight buildings completely rddled and Is report
ed that thrcc or four persons we're killed. ~ ~"
The above fearful recoul is confined exclusively to
places ON railroad nes principally on the Illinois Cen
trait main trunk and Chicago branch Dorbticss other
sections were visited in the "A few days will
disclose the extent and particulars Of the terrible de-
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