Litchfield enquirer., 1869-09-02
THE THUNDER STORM.

ss@ The storm or GQ0 2lSG ulC. was very severe in Bridgeport and vicinity. The rain came down in torrents and the thunder and lightning were very loud and sharp. The city. streets were flooded and in many places the water collected in large ponds. and running with awful fury, roared and loaned like a hundred cataracts. In the country, to the northward, 3o corn fields were washed out in some places, and were struck by the lightning, in Bridge. port, and in enc instance bolt came down the rod until it struck a tin conductor, ,whetp it broke and passed through the house in different directions damaging the furni- ture and splitting the corner post of the building from top to bottom. A little child sitting on the floor was raised about two feet, and set down again with little or no iujury, and large flat stone used as a cistern was taken up, q and completes ly turned around, Another bolt entsred the ground on Washington avenne, scame Tn contact with the water pipe, burst it,, ana branching of came out in two places, one about fifty feet from the place where it struck, and the other about 15O feet, break ing the pipe at each place. A carman left his blind horse standing in the street while he sought shelter, when the animal, fright ened by the heavy claps of thunder, start ed on 8 run and brought up, head fore- most, in the show window of photograph ic establishment. shiveripg the glass to atoms and doing about $2O0 damage A haystack on Shore Beach was struck and partially burned, and two men standing
 near by, just in the act of shaking hands, were prostrated to the ground. In Trum- bull, Huntington and other towns, the roads were gu1lied and torn by the rushing waters so as to become in some places al- most impossible and the growing crops were considerably damaged. In Hunting, ton some fine large evergreen trees in front of the residence of the Hon. William A.. Judson were uprooted by the wind and piled up against the house. and large ap- pie tree Was carried some three or four rods from it's original location, A yoke of oxen belonging to Ely Lewis were instant ly killed, while standing under couple of large trees, by bolt which cut the trees into splinters. In Long Hill large apple tree was blown down, we'll curb split,and
 barn doors were wrenched from their fast enings. In Stratford bolt entered the chimney of an unoccupied house. passed down to mantle piece on the first floor
 divided its forces into two parts, each part tearing off a closet door, went out doors between the sill and underplnning, plowed through the earth throwing mud far and near, and finally disappeared in the. cellar of neighboring store. A lady with. two children, overtaken by the storm. drove her horse under shed in Huntington, on the Derby turnpike, and went into house near by for shelter. They had scarcely en- tered the house when the lightning struck tree over the shed, passed down to the wagon, thence striking the horse and kill ling him instantly. David Beecher near the Derby bridge. in Huntington, lost a valuable COW killed by the lightning and a Mir. Hawkins, just over the river in Bir min guam lost a horse. An itinerant ven. der of lightning rods, who took shelter un der shed in Huntington, had his load of merchandise scattered by a heavy bolt,
 which came down through the roof, and his wagon badly demorallzed. The storm extended over large tract of country, and in nearly every place some damage was done either by the lightning, the wind, or the rain. A z .ezJt .spoI 29l lIa sia