The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-08-05
cor.espondenee OF the CIneInnatl eazette.

It was Friday morning-hve O'Clock
and forty minutes-when the storm
overlook our train, which was the fast
train, due at Baltimore about 8 o'clock.
We had reached Mt. Airy, Md, and
were about fifty miles west from Balti-
more. Two black clouds, one from
! the east and the other from the west,
met just over our heads, and in an in
| slant, quick as thought, a deluge fell
upon US. 1t did not rain-it poured in
solid volume, as If a lake had fallen,
in mass, upon us. In three minutes
the train ran into the mud which had
washed upon the track, and we were
completely anchored. This proved our
| salvation, for the flood could not sweep
us off.
The Patapsco was on our right-a
small stream then, which man could
easily leap across. "A high range of
hills, or mountains, rose up at our left.
| The river lay perhaps twenty feet be-
| low us. SCon the track was completely
submerged in water. The floods pour
ed in torrents from the mountain, rush
ing wildly beneath us, and threatening
| in its phrenZy to leap through the win
dows and carry us down into the swol.
lien stream. Such terrific thunder 1
never before heard-one peal after
another, at intervals of only lew
seconds. The whole mountain side,
| and all the face of the waste of waters
telegraph poles were shattered to pieces
| near us by the electric current. The
river had now expanded into a stream
| a mile or more in width. Houses,
barns, hay stacks, logs and cattle were
seen floating down the river. The
| river had now risen to the edge of the
track upon which our train stood. Each
moment We ez zpected to be swept down
| by the fierce deluge that rushed down
upon the track from the steep sides of
the mountain. Escape seemed impos.
sible. No living Thing could stem the
flood that came down the noun
tain. To leave the car was
but TO rush TO watery grave.
This all happened in less time than it
| takes me 10 write 1t. But, as If each
| wild Embarrassed element of nature
We'd with the other in their fierce war
upon US, the hail was added to the
| lightning, thunder and rain. Hail
| showered down upon the car as thickly
as it could fall, and in blocks oftwo or
| three inches in diameter. AS the mug
gets of ice fell upon the roof OF the car,
| they made a sharp startling noise like
the sound of musketry near at hand.
| One could not liken the terrifying roar
| of the elements now to anything but
the noise of battle, with deaiening
thunders of artillery, and the rapid re-
| ports of the falling ice for the rattle OF
| musketry. Twas now six O'CLOCK. The
passengers in the sleeping car bad been
aroused by The storm, and the conduc-
tor rushed in and shouted to them,
''For Gods sake, ladies and gentlemen,
leave this car and go forward, or you
will be swept into the river" In mo-
ment all rushed pell-mell to the for
ward car, which had run of the track
into deep mud, and was anchored fast.
Some of the ladies were en- dtShGbttte,
| for the night had been very hot, and
many of the gentlemen were only half
dressed, But now was no time for GER
emony. In the face OF death few care
| to make toilet. Soon all the passen-
gers, about sixty, were in one car to-
gether.
glass to pieces. Almost all the glass,
on both sides of the cars, and in the
doors at each end, were broken, for we
were in a whirlwind, and the rain dash
in upon us. Men turned pale, ladies
and children cried with terror. 1t was
a pitiful scene, but We were helpless,
we were powerless, and the elements
had us in their strong arms. But,
thank God, He who rules the armies OF
heaven, had each raging element in His
mighty and merciful hand.
The scene was now one OF unsurpass-
ed sublimity. The torrents leaptng
over the tops of trees, and the red and
blue streaks of lightning robing them
in garments of resplendent fire; the
rush of the waters beneath US madly
| pluuging to the river, the roar OF the
thunder, the rattle of the hail, forming
| altogether scene of terror aud sublIm-
ity beyond all the powers of The wild
| est imagination.
For an hour and ten minutes the
great Jumps of ice continued to drop.
| Water still descended in flood. Now
other trains were due, going East, on
| the same track we were on. Who would
| go out to put up the red signal? No
man was strong enough htosuccessfully to
wade back across the mountain tor
renis, and even If he could do that the
hail would have killed him. But the
trains had all been stopped.
In trying TO describe this terrible
tornado, 1 feel that l have already
wesried the reader. 1t tisimpossible TO
| convey a full and correct idea of II.
| Eight hours did it thus storm upon US.
| No element relaxed its fearful warfare,
except the hail. which quit at ten
| minutes past seven. AT about two
O'Clock this storm of such unprece-
| dented duration and fury ceased. We
| were still all safe in the car. The water
was three or four feet deep upon the
| track, and the edge of the river was
really flowing under the car. Soon the
| waters subsidized, and once more we
stood upon the earth. Now we could
see the effects of the deluge around us.
| a COW and calf lay dead near the train,
shattered to pieces with hail. Small
animals lay thickly around, dead upon
the ground. Fields of corn and oats
We're swept off clean, and not blade
| left upon them. Soon we we're dug out
OF the mud, two engines hitched to the
| train, and we were drawn two miles
back to Mount Airy, small village OF
| about one hundred rebel Inhabitants.
| We had had nothing to eat for twenty
| tour hours. went to a house and ask
| ed politely for mething to eat.
ave have nothing for the ID
Yankees" was the reply; "I wish to
| God you had all been drowned"
went to several places with similar sue
cess. All this time our ladies were
shivering in their wet clothes on the
wet Cushions of the cars. There is no
| humanity In that community. at
last, by going two miles to Ridgevlle,
where there is a sort of hotel, we
j got something to eat, and something
to bring to the ladies and children.
We lay all night in the wet cars.
There could no shelter be had for love
or money. II any man doubts this,
more than a sscore OF men tViH cor
| roborRte my statement. Next day
every one of us went ont to hire pri-
vate conveyances, and could lind
plenty of people ready to take us away
| for exorbitant sums. Sixty dollars
and more were charged to different
parties for a conveyance for thirty
| miles, There was no chance to go one
way or the other on the railroad for
many days. got conveyance by
| ma wing nearly thirty dollars to WASH