The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-07-28

| A fearful tornado-perhaps cyclone-de-
vastated wide and long belt Of country
| stretching from North Gorham, through the
| towns of Windham, Cumberland, Falmouth
| and Yarmouth, passing off to sea over Little
and Great Chebeague Islands on Tuesday
night
AS soon as the news reached Portland yester-
day morning-for no intelligence was received
in the city Tuesday night-a reporter for the
PRESS started for the scene of the disaster On
| the way to Cumberland, which seemed to be
4 the central point in the tornado, where in fact
the storm wreaked its greatest fury, farmers
and travellers were met journeying to the city
each OF whom nodded to the reporter and told
him he would witness sight, the greatest he
ever saw, as soon as he got to Capt. Enoch
Sturtevant's, in Cumberland, some nine miles
from Portland, located just on the edge of the
track Of the tornado. Having horse that
was good roadster the distance was speedily
accomplished and soon the signs of devastation
became visible. First came trees whose
leaves, in the violent blast, had become turned
inside out, great branches strewed the ground;
little trees had been uprooted, great fields of
corn and grass lay Frustrated. Bat strangest
sight OF all, were heaps on heaps of hail stones
that lay in places through which the wheels of
the ca rriage crunched, that had fallen on the
ground some seventeen hours previous. Some
of these heaps were estimated at thee feet in
depth. Then came houses with Stats blown
out of the blinds, and the glass broken in every
pane ia the windows. In some cases the
houses were stripped of the blinds themselves.
The tornado apparently commenced in
North Gorham about 4 80 o'clock p. M. passed
across Windham, thence to Cumberland Gem
tire, Cumberland and Chebeagues, and, it is
reported, a touch of it was felt in Freeport.
When it struck the two Chebeagues it had
lessened good deal in violence and it was 8 p.
M, thus covering about four and a half hours
OF time. From the city the heavens in the
direction of these towns had been covered
with the blacklist of clouds all the afternoon
but it was not until clock any serious dis
comfort was experien ced from tn am and then
only in the form of violent showers with
sharp lightning and heavy thunder. These
clouds were probably the ones that wrought
all the mischief in the suburban towns. The
width of the devastation they created is
variously estimated from two miles to a
gu arter of mile. The storm itself lasted
from fifteen minutes to half an hour in each of
tho towns mentioned. In some of the local
tiles the wind appeared to be southwest but at
others some eight points further to the east.
Mr. R. o. Conant who resides short dis.
lance from Capt. Sturtevant's, told the re-
porter that he with his son and other Portland
gentlemen who tookothe afternoon Lewiston
train from Portland had pretty tough ex-
perience. Before reaching Cumberland the
hail stones came down in tremendous ouanti-
ties, mixed with torrents of rain. The storm
beat on the roofs of the cars like thousands of
drums The engineer and fireman of the train
were fairly frightened. They couldn't see
where they were, and couldn't tell consequent
~ where the station was. The immense hail
stones smashed in the headlight of the engine
and all the cab-windows. The rain beat into
the cars, and the passengers were pretty well
scared Finally the train drew up by the
station, and there it remained for full fifteen
minutes before the engineer was willing to
proceed. The Cumberland passengers stopped
in the station until there was lull when they
threw shawls and coats over their heads to
protect them from the hail stones, fully as
large as pigeons eggs When Mr.. Conant
reached his house he fou nd that although the
blinds had been closed anticipatory of storm
the hail had smashed in the stats and broken
all the glass in the window, 149 panes,
ruined all his crops and fruit trees: and in
some cases had snapped like pipe stems trees
that were eighteen inches in diameter. He had
two large iron chairs standing on his piazza.
These chairs were taken by the storm and car
ried some fifty feet to the road and deposited
fon the other side of high wall, 1t was
curious, but at Mr.. George B;:rnham's only a
short distance off, the storm was hardly felt
George Blanchard, Mr.. Miliken, who bought
the Spear place, Hollis st. Clair Mr. sweetsir,
Rev. Mr.. Dalton of st. Stephens church,
VIM. o. Fox, Lewis Fox and others who oc-
cupied places in the vicinity all suffered to a
greater or less extent Mr.. Commits loss will
not be less tn an $500, and perhaps reach 5000.
Ii the others in that vicinity should average
as much as $3.50 the loss would amount to
several thousands. Mr.. Bracket lost 1o3 panes
of glass.
At Cumberland Centre Mr. W. w. Harris
prominently connected with the Cumberland
County Agricultural Society, steted that he
should consider his loss about $500. He said
about all his crops in the vicinity of the rail.
road station were ruined.
The horses attached to Kingleys Yarmouth
Express were overtaken by the storm, and in
their fright, in spite of the exertions of their
driver broke for the woods at full gallon
They leaped over high fence dragging the
wagon, in some way or other after them, and
when they gained a ditch under the cover of
the woods they stopped. The wagon was
bottom side up, with broken top and the ex-
press packages formed trail from the fence.
Mr.. Greeley, the driver, followed the horses
and stood be side them with tho pitiless hail
beating upon his head. In spite of the pro-
lection his hat afforded. the hail raised
punches as large as walnuts on his head in
several places.
AT Yarmouth Foresde, Mr.. j. M. Buchanan,
who has taken the PRESS since it was establish
ed had made some effort to collect list Of the
sufferers in his vicinity for this Journal The
loss OF glass was very large. He had 1876
panes broken, Ferdinand Drinkwater 96, s.
M. Loring 62, Charles Poole 100, Nicholas
Drinkwater $50, Jonathan Soule and Charles
L. Bucknam 30 each, Mrs. Lucy Gray 40,
Charles d. Cleaves go, N. D. Buchanan and
Green Bibber so each. All Mr.. Bucknam's
crops were ruined and laid level with the
ground, including two acres of splendid wheat
breast high. just out of blossom, of which not a
head was left; also 20 acres of standing grass
cutting two tons to the acre; 200 fruit trees
completely stripped. The tops of corn-stalks
were driven into the earth while the roots were
uprooted. Ferdinand Drinkwaters crops were
spoiled, also those of the late Nicholas Drink
water. Those of Mr.. Bucknam's brother
Charles, who lives about mile from, his place.
and in fact, the crops of all in his locality,
were more or less completely ruined
In Falmouth one gentleman insisted that
either halstone, or "a mass of haistones
frozen together by the force of the wind. fell
in his garden, making deep hole. When
taken out it measured foot in length by eight
inches broad This sounds rather Munchau-
senish but the gentleman declared it was true,
At North Gorham and Windham the re-
porter did not have time to inquire. At Little
Chebeague the hail fell heavy accompanied bv
a great wind and rain At Cozzens Tslap5 A.,