Morning journal and courier., 1880-08-30
Vivid Lightning Flashes.

Struck in New Haven nnd Vicinity
 Houses, Barns, Etc.-A Heavy Rain Fall
 Sewers Broken and dOverf10vved-Wash
 Outs.
 The severe thunder storm of yesterday af- ternoon broke in it's full strength in this sec ton at about haf-past o'clock. For a couple of hours previous it had been gather ing and there had been frequent rumbings oI thunder in the distance. At that hour the lightning flashed and the thunders roared, and there were several ''crashes" of thunder which were startling, preceded by binding lightning flashes of the ''sheet' description Parties out in the heavy shower which ac- companied 3saw vivid sheet of flame which followed one of the heavy crashes descend to the earth in the vicinity of the Marlin pistol and gun shops, formerly Miller's Garden. large double frame house Nash street was struck at about this time. The bolt tore out one of the window sashes in the first story, rear of the house. The members of the fam fly of MT. Noble Camp, who reside in this part of the house, all felt the shock and Mir. Camp, who was in room over where it struck, felt the effects quite severely forj a short time Seeing smoke in the house he hoisted his window and notified Engineer Sherdman of steamer 8, who, with MT. W.H Merwin and other members who were on hand went over to the house with the hose l cart, but few pails of water had extinguish- ed the fire In the other half of the house the plastering was damaged by the magnetic 1 fluid.
 At steamer SIS house the lightning made ! havoc with the electric wires, and the tower ! bell struck one in announcement of the fact. | The bell magnet was much injured and the services of Mr. Murray Fairchild were called 1 into acquisition here, as at various other places in the city where lightning had affected the telegraph wires. A horse at steamer S's | house went of his feet as, the lightning struck. ! but was only surprised a little, as he seemed ' as anxious to run to the fire when the bell ! struck as his companions.
 The shower washed the roadways in some l parts of the city considerably, making little extra work for the road department of the I city government.
 In the west part of the city the lightning | played a number of curious pranks. At No. 65 Goffe street. where lives Mir. Washington B. Risley, the lightning seemed to break over the house and separate. The shingles on 1 both lower corners of the roof on the east \ side were torn up and two elm trees in front l of the house had strips of the bark torn of, | the lightning seemingly striking about equal | distance between the ground and tops of the 1 trees, whose branches extended considerable l distance above the peak of the house. MT. \ Risley with his family were in the sitting ! 1aoo cI1oI-a | up none of them were seriously injured \ Mrs. Risley somewhat faint but soon ! recovered. The only traces of lightning in l the house are in the room where the family 1 were sitting. Here appear two small holes in 1 the ceiling on opposite sides of the room and ! close to the side walls, the holes being about 1 three quarters of an inch in diameter; and | where these appear the wall was broken off. The color of the gilt border where these | holes are to be seen is also completely changed, and now has bronze-Iike appear
 ance. There is a telephone wire attached to
 the house, and this with the tall trees in front ! probably attracted and carried off the great
 CT portion of the electric fluid.
 ! Daniel O'Connell's house, corner of Bristol | and Canal streets, was struck during the
 shower, but the only apparent damage done
 was to the roof, where 8, few shingles were
 torn off, None of the family were injured.
 A tree on Foote street was struck and con-
 siderably damaged.
 l The lightning also passed into basement | window in St. Mary's church on Hillhouse | avenue and out at the door without doing any damage.
 An elm tree in Hamilton street was struck
 during the shower, and some of the limbs
 were broken off.
 In the police office the electricity played
 tag over the many wires that center there ! and the face of the bank burglar alarm al
 times appeared to be in blaze, and one after
 another the burglar alarm bells were set tc I ringing.
 The effects of the tremendous rainfall were
 also apparent in many parts of the city. Or
 the Derby railroad, at the junction of Colum
 bus avenue and Arch street, the embankment
 was washed down on to the track, buryinG
 the roadbed in sand to depth of three feet
 for some distance, and a gang of men with { ! gravel train were hard at work last evening
 in removing the obstruction.
 About the time of the shower the water
 main near the corner of Columbus avenue and Cedar street bursted, adding to the vol ume of water that flowed down the hill ik' a good-sized river.
 The Oak street sewer, from the pressure upon it, burst in front of No. p Oak street completely flooding William McGuire's base
 ment and cellar and doing considerable dam 1 age.
 The house of Edwin Dewhirst at No. & Woolsey street was struck, the lightning talk , ing of a portion of the shingles of the roof
 and passing into the attic forced out win dow and then went off, apparently into tn
 air.
 On Davenport avenue near West brldg , two big washouts were made in the sidewal
 nearly five feet across them. The little steamer Ivernia took crow , down to Lighthouse Point, and when the tim
 arrived for starting for the city numbe , were afraid to return on her because it was little rough in the harbor. The telephon ! WAS brought into requisition, and word bein ! sent to Barker & Ransom for teams, the l sent down the barge Nightingale and tw g l hacks The Ivernia came up the harbo without an accident.
 a A house on NicoH street, opposite tn
 house of Mr. Adam Lutz, the cigar dealer O y Church street, was struck during the mos t ! violent part of the storm The lightning tor | hole in the roof, and child in the hous was rendered black in the face for some tim i. ! last evening, owing to a shock from the mag |, netic fluid. One of the heaviest thunde claps seemed to burst directly over this loca l ity and some of the inhabitants were in a tel ' | rorized state for some time.
 Personal. 4 Fire Commissioner R. A. Brown and wifi n | have gone to Saratoga.
 George Bowers, the engineer injured at tn ] Housatonic railroad accident, is not yet abl 1 to resume work.
 Mir S. E. Plumb, of Bridgeport, start e next week for Bijou Basin, Colorado, wher he now intends to locate.
 Dr. William D. Anderson and wife, of thi
 city, have gone to Massachusetts for shol
 season of rest and recreation.
 | . 1.