River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-09-02
NEW ENGLAND'S WATERSPOUT
Wonderful Phenomenon ON Cape
COd--Its Power and Its Franks.
Boston Journal.

Further particulars of the hail-stOrm
and waterspout on Cape Cod, on Thurs
day, show it to have been the most re-
markable visitation of the kind in this
part of the country since the terrible
bosom Ofdestruction which passed over
Cambridge thirty years ago. An eye
witness describes to us the progress OF
the waterspout, which seemed to form
over the waters of Buzzard's Bay, back
of the Monument Beach Islands. TAX
ing southerly course, it struck the
land at the mouth of the Pocasset river,
near the scene of the Freeman tragedy
a year ago. A large dory upon the
beach was picked up as ifit had been Il
wisp of hay, and carried into the air to
the height of fifty feet. 1t hung sus-
pended for moment, spinning around
like top in mid-air, and then dropped
to the ground, being dashed to pieces
by the fall. The waterspout thence
took a serpentine course in a general
southerly direction, uprooting all veg
citation, and even blowing into the
ground as it moved along. On the land
of Captain Beckerman it encountered
a substantial stone wall, and so tremen-
dous was its power that for thirty feet
the heavy stones were scattered III all
directions. As it approached the vii
lage of Pocasset, the phenomenal visitor
passed through pasture owned by
Phineas Gibbs, in which there was Il
COW grazing. The animal was greatly
alarmed at the approach of the strange
visitor, and turning tail attempted to
flee. But the waterspout was too
quick for her, and, playfully picked her
up, whirled her around just above the
ground, us Il kitten would chase her
tail above the floor. The animals as
constituent and terror were expressed
in a series of terrific bellows, but
the waterspout soon dropped her,
almost unharme1, and kept on its
course toward the village. 1t was at
this point that it appeared tospectators
in its most wonderful and terrible form.
From a mere point upon the ground 1t
rose TO the clouds in a long conical
line, which twisted about it in great
variety of serpentine contortions, end
ing in perfectly white field, against
the black background of the heaviest
cloud ever seen in that region. 1T
seemed to select its own course with Il
special view to avoid the houses of the
village, and twisted in and out among
them without touching a building.
Just before reaching the center of the
village it suddenly burst and was gone
in the twinkling Of an eye Not a breath
of wind accompanied the whole storm.
Hail fell in unprecedented quantities,
covering the ground to a depth of
rec inches in many places at Cohas-
set Narrows. The stones were most OF
them of the size of the old-fashioned
musket pail They were all perfect
spheres and rs hard as flint. Great
alarm was, of course. felt among the
summer visitors and others ut the vii
lage, and the escape of some was truly
wonderful. Had house been struck
by the waterspout, it would have been
torn to kindling wood in an IN
slant. Several citizens resorted to the
sailors expedient of firing guns, any
atmospheric shock being sufficient to
burst the waterspout, and the disap-
pearance of the phenomenon may have
been due to this cause. The damage
to the crops is, of course, great, every
green thing being stripped to the
ground by the hail. The hail-storm
upon the water presented a wonderful
sight. The large stones, falling faster
than rain-drops in thunder-shower,
caused the spray to fly into the air
whenever they struck to the height of
about eighteen inches. The water be-
ing perfectly calm, the effect was that
of myriads of icicles standing vertical
lv above the surface.