The Evening critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1881-1885, 1881-06-28
The large signsat this Office were severely
injured by the storm.

The large signs at this Office were severely
injured by the storm,
THE PLACES OF AMUSEMENT.
During the early part of the commence
mcnt exercises at Ford's Opera House the
storm burst forth in terrific fury. The SKY
light on the north side of the roof was torn
off, and soon the rain made its way through
the ceiling Before the windows on the &
street front could be closed the rain poured
into the theatre in torrents. Confusion and
terror prevailed for few moments. Ladies
screamed and tainted, and panic was i'm
minent and serious injury might have re-
suited to many had not Brother Tobias
given the signal to the orchestra to COM
mcncc their music. This had the desired
effect, and soon the performance again went
on smoothly. Several persons were cut
about the face and neck by the breaking of
one of the windows in the balcony.
At the Theatre Comique the audience was
badly scared, but the damage to the build
ing was not great.
AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS
things were very lively during the entire
storm. The shocks of electricity came in
in rapid succession on all of the numerous
police and frc-alarm telegraph wires lead
ing into that building. In the fre-alarm
room flashes illuminated the room con-
stantly. In the telephone room below the
incoming electric fluid played lively tunes
on the wires, the swapping and snorting be-
ing very interesting for the operators, who,
for safcty's sake found quarters in other
parts of the building during the progress of
the storm. The wires, however, did not
suffer much, and in ten minutes after the
elements had quoted downithey were work
ing as good as ever. Mr.. Noycs, who looks
after the interests of the frc-alarm tclc-
graph wires, expected that he would be
broken up entirely by the storm, and was
surprised upon making examination after
ward to discover that the wires were not
injured in the slightest.
MASONIC TEMPLE.
The roof of the Masonic Temple was car
ricd to the opposite side of + street and
landed against the windows of Smiths din
ing room, smashing them into atoms and
creating intense excitement within the
room. The roof going off left the Temple
at the mercy of the water, but the injury
was principally to the lodge rooms and
their furniture, &c. The damage will be
about $1,000. The hall was not injured,
there to-day. The roof of the Temple paid
its respects also to r. A. Oftcrdinger's cigar
store and smashed the front window.
on THE ISLAND.
The inhabitants of the Island congratu
late themselves upon very lucky escape
from the great damage done in other parts
of the city. The harm south of Pennsyl-
vania avenue may be estimated as cOmpara-
lively trifing. Missouri avenue for sew
eral squares was completely inundated, the
water rising to the depth of n foot over the
pavement and leaving thick coating of
mud, which was removed to-day. Four
and IA half street and c, ID, L and other
streets, where they interscct, were also
flooded, the cellars in the neighborhoOd Of
the First Precinct station being filed with
water to a ,pth of three feet On Four
and-a-half and G streets southwest the rear
portion of the residence of Widow Penary
was blown to atoms by the wind, the dam
age being about $500. A negro shanty two
squares distant and belonging to a
Mr.. Hall, was uDroOfed and the
walls blown in. A loss of 800 was in
Cured. Fourteenth street southwest suf-
fcrcd greatly from uprooted trees, some of
which tore up the pavement considerably.
NJ street, from Second to about Eighth,
showed fallen forest of naples, and the
vicinity of the Building of Engraving and
Printing was decorated by two fallen tcle-
graph poles and II number of promiscuOus
signs, carried from various stores and bust
ness houses. A heavy brick wall on + street,
between Tenth and Eleventh, was blown
down, and portions of it carried great dis
tance. st. Deminic's Church suffered the
loss of the gilded cross, which of old adorned
| its highest point but which now cannot be
found.
ALONG THE WHARvES
considerable damage was done, but it was
widely distributed, inflicting no serious loss
to any one party. The steamer Jane
Moscley was carried from her dock
with u party of cXcursionists and
out into the middle of the river, and
then, by a change in the direction of the
wind, sent swiftly back to her wharf Much
fear for her safety was expressed, and the
scene on board was one of great fear and
distress. The various wharyes were nearly
all losers by the disappearance of sheds or
small roofs, and large quantity of small
timber was blown into the water. In one
case the masts of small yacht are reported
to have been snapped by the wind. Tele-
phone wires were generally broken.
RUMoRs AND STORIES.
The rumOS were numerous and startling,
but were hard to verify, and in most cases
improbable. The story was widely circu-
lated that a small frame building on M
street had been unroofed and female corpse
in the. upper story lifted by the wind and
carried through the air. The house dcsig-
mated was found to be partially unr0ofed,
but was found to be deserted and verifica-
ton Of the story was rendered impossible.
A young wife,
SITTING BY HER DRUNKEN HUSBAND,
in frame shed on + street southwest, when
the roof was carried off, is reported to have
dragged his scnscless form from the tumb-
ling building and she sat by him ON the
pavement until early morning light at
tracted passers-by to the scene, where the
husband was still lying, slowly recovering
from the influence of his spree.
A kennel with small dog in it is reported
to have been carried across Seventh street
by the wind, and chicken-coop with some
young chickens was lodged on the roof of a
back building ON Ninth street, near ID south
west.
The exaggerated stories circulated in the
lower parts of the city of the damage in the
upper portions fully prepared the citizens
there to hear of an aerial trip of the White
House, and the attachment of the same ia
the end of the tail of the comet.
IL THE BOTANICAL GARDENS.
The Botanical Gardens were injured to
the extent Of numerous branches being torn
from some of the handsomest trees. The hot
houses and other buildings were flooded to a
slight depth and some injury inflicted to
the plants The ralSing of leaves and
branches made pile several feet in height
and from il were sorted the bodies of nearly
Il hundred dead or dying sparows,
THE sMITHsoNIAN GROUNDS.
The magnificent maple trees in the Smith
sonian grounds, which border Seventh
! street on both sides, have been greatly dam