, 1875-03-20
EQUENOCTfAL STORM.
Destruction OF Property Buildings tn-
roof,-,t and ts,oaA. DOWn-ye~Sci. Sunkl
and DfsmaSted-kuin ana DeNastRiiOn
fIeryWnere

rooted and fsiossa Down -SeSsci> mink
and DisInsSted- Kuhn ana DefasIaiion
Everywhere.
From the Victoria Celo1'id OF the 10Th and
26th inst, We collatr the following acconnt
Of the terrific storm which passed over the
north-wes 1ru coast:
Yesterday, 25Gh, dawned brightly and calm
ly. The wind, which hud ragged for several
days from every point Of the compass had
died away duriog the preceding night, and
WAS replaced with light zephyrs frUn the
south. The sun came out warmly and peo-
pie AS they met eaost other on the thorough
fares exchanged congratulations npOD the
prospect tha- af-ried Of better weather
ahead. \ few inyaiids who had been closely
confined during ali the long, hard winter,
yeDtuTed ont OF doors and their well known
forms and faces-though shrunken and
pinched by The kern suffering hey had un-
dergOne-were accepted as a brIght augury
Of near at n4nd spring These favorable
indications continued until about ii clock,
when the baI ome'er quickly showed signs OF
falling, aid within hour sank to 2S.oJ,
an exceptionally low stage.
Soon great na,,ses OF wind laden cluudS were
observed to scurTy across the sky, The bright
sun and the lIooc invelIds retired from obSer-
YatiUn and Ihu wind veered 10 the southwest
and gradually freshened nntil ! . clock, when
il became what would be called a stiff blow.
Gathering renewed vigor at 10 minutes to 3
o'clock it at aimed the proportions Of gale,
and by ) o ock fierce, relentless hurricane,
that shook the strongest buildings and cansed
the desfructi IN Of vast amount of property,
brUke over the cry and vicinity
The NIGH y Wind bore Oh iis Piaions heavy
rain charged clcssds, which torn into sbreds,
reached the earzh III great sheets Of water
that dreuched the few persons who remained
out of doors to the skin in a moment. The
ind came Ia gCeat long gusts, that roared
and shrieked, MED then swept on 10 coHtInue
their madrap carceI elSeW here, to be followed
III quick succession by other gnsis ,qnaily
strong and YIjIUuS. Boon the effects OF The
pItIlrS> pcltinI upon buildings, fences, &c.,
became appdTt ut Among The first structures
on GOverumt n street to succumb was the
vcranda in fl, nj Of the old pos'Cffice, which
came down with "a crash, crushing ia part Of
The front OF tie next building, and creating
panic IN The Liss market. Next followed
the Tin root Gdrswcll 5 block, on Front rect,
owned by Mr.. LowenberS, which WAS rolled
up like "A scroll and deposited III the next To-,
breaking the telegraph line and exposing
stock Of valuable goods belonging 70 Oppyn-
heimeg Bros. 10 damage from the rain. Next
the glass doors Of the present custom house
were driven N, and the ao.l,rior and h.s
: clerks driven ont. About the same time the
lumber piled in Saywards and Moody aud
Nelson's yard became Instinct wi IA motion,
ana atout 20, ,0G2 feet waited away with
Old Borcas.
In some places iuch planks were caught
up, WhIri,d III the air and broken like pipe
stems and the lots Tor several blocks are Gov
cred with them. The schooner bldtaiJy, Cap
tain JUnes, which arrived the day before flom
/ Nanaimo, with n cargo of coal, for Captain
/ Clarke, WAS lying at Rhodes hart along
side the bark Chftaa. The schooner sunk at
/ her mOorings at 3 clock, Captain Jones
narrowly escaping with his life, lhe Clttoa
was chafed agains, the wharf bue sustained
10 damage. The Oter and other steamers
/ escaped injury. About this time the sea
/ rolled into and across the hdIbur Ill great
waves and broke with a Numbering roar
/ upon the beach, threatening destruction Of
! any small craft that mi 2ht venture up1r its
! bosom. The roof of the y -cidental building
and part OF the fTewall were carried away
at clock, and Tremendous crash il the
/ vicinity Of the msw postoffice revealed the
! fact that Heath0rH's ; veTandah and firewalI
had gone by the toard, crushing IN part of
Nutttll 5 building a chimney from Sehls
furniture wareropm next fell, crushing
through into Fawo.tt & Cos uorkroom. \
man passing Heathorns 5 was struck On the
! back by flying brick and severely but uot
+ dangerously bruised. Denny & Speucer's,
hickman 5 and several other shop fronts on
/ Government street were driven III. \ large
frame building on Langley street, rear Of the
/ Lol1lia oihoe, WAS leveled with the ground
/ \ whitehall boat lying Ou Davis wharf was
/ carried clear gcEOss the ship 10 Broderick's
/ wharf, crushed and then sent overheard to
/ bub helplessly up anu down among yrasry
waves. An historical oak Tree, u last me-
mentO OF the old Fort yard and the only
/ relic of dense forest which once occupied
/ the site Of the city, beneath the friendly
/ shade OF which the Hudson Bay Company
/ officials were wont 10 reciIne IN the pristine
/ days OF the province, MAS unrooted and
/ broken into bindling wood Near Rhodes i
! Co. ; warehouse On Store street, a frame
building had been occupied by a man WhO
made quite lucrative living by collecting
sawdust and selling IL to the saloon keepers
Tor thrir floors The wind seized this frame
building IN lis arms, tOyrd with It a few
I minutes and then tore it into fragments
The imprisoned sawdust made It's escape In 4
great cloud, ana vs. Scattered in every d.
/ reotlon. Persons walking up toSn and OBJ
serving the dense cloud OF sawdust approach
/ ing imagined that Walkem S Co were en-
gagged III their faYOrite game Of throwing
dust IN peoples eyes The chimneys Of
Reid : block toppled sper ike nine pms, and
Mulrhead " Manns shop front WAS only
saved by the timely application Of strong
braces.
The roof Of the II. B. Co.'S tin shop was
lifted Oft and deposited on Wharf street
The side OF the Califs,nia Saloon was torn
down and Waddingtog alley is filled with
1 debris But 1t Is useless 10 attempt TO des-
crIbe in this issue all the damage inhic ed in
the city by this hurricane, Of which no par
aiIel has been known since 1856, when men
and animals were carried off their feet and
great trees were snapped ike sticks of maca-
ronl. Chlmneys fence. and Prevails are
down IN every direction; but We are baDpy
to say that no loss of lik Eaas resulted. 50 far
IS We can hear. We fezr that the country
has suffered great damage.
|
! PENDLEros LErrER-We call atten.
tion 10 the letter from our PendIeton
correspondent. Mack" wields q