Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1881-07-29

First came trees whose leaves, in the vio-
lent blast, had become turned inside out
great brane..rs >trcwcd the ground: little
trees had been uprooted; great fields of corn
and grass lay Frustrated. But, strangest
slght OF all. were heaps heaps Of hail
stones that lay in places through which the
wheels of the carriage crunched. that had
fallen on the ground some seventeen hours
previous. Some of these heaps were esti
mated at three feet in depth. Then came
houses with Stats blown out Of the blinds
and the glass broken in every pane in the
windows. In some cases the houses were
stripped of the blinds themselves The tor
nado apparently commenced in North Cor
ham about 40 O'Clock p. NJ, passed across
Windham. thence to Cumberland Gen.
tire, Cumberland and Chebeagues, and, it is
reported, touch of it was felt in Freeport.
/ When it struck the two Chebeagues il had
lessened good deal in violence and it was9P.
NJ, thus covering about four and a half hours.
The width of the devastation they created Is
variously estimated from two miles to quar-
ter OF mile. The storm itself lasted from
fifteen minutes TO half an hour in each of the
towns mentioned. In some of the localities
the wind appeared to be southwest but AZ
others some eight points further to the east.
MIR. r. .. COnant, who resides short dis
| lance from Capt. Sturtevant's told the report
er that he with his son and other Portland
gentlemen who took the afternoon Lewiston
| train from Portland had pretty tough ex-
perience. Before reaching Cumberland the
hail stones came down in tremendous quaint
ties, mixed with torrents of rain. The storm
beat on the roofs of the cars like Thousand. of
| drums. The engineer and fireman Of the train
were fairly frightened. They couldn't see
where they were, and couldn't tell consequent
| ly 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 full
fifteen minutes before the engineer was will
ling to proceed. The Cumberland passen-
gers stopped in the station until there was a
| lull when they threw shawls and coats over
| their heads to protect them from the hail
| stones, fully as large pigeons eggs
When MIR. Conant reached his house he
| found 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, l49 pancs. 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
carried some fifty feet to the road and dcpos-
! tied on the other side of high wall. 1t was
curious, but at George Durham only a short
distance off, the storm was hardly felt. George
Blanchard, Mr. Milliken, who bought the
Spear place Hollis St. Clair, Mr.. Swect,ir.
Rev. Mr.. Dalton of St. Stephens church, VIM.
o. Fox, Lewis Fox and others, who occupied
places in the vicinity all suffered to a greater
or less extent. Mr.. Commits loss will not be
less than 800, and perhaps reach 5000. Ifthe
others in that vicinity houldaverage as much
as $3.50 the loss would amount to several thou
sands. Mr.. Bracket lost l03 panes of glass.
! At Cumberland Centre Mr.. w. w. Harris.
prominently connected with the Cumberland
County Agricultural Society, stated that he
should consider his loss about 5000 About
all his crops in the vicinity of the railroad
station were ruined. At Yarmouth Foreside
| the loss of glass was very large. One man had
l26 panes broken, Ferdinand Drinkwater o.
S. NJ. Loring 50, Charles Poole 100. Nicholas
Drinkwater $50. Jonathan Soule and Charles
l.. Bucknam 80 each, Mrs. Lucy Gray 40.
Charles ID. Cleaves G2, n. ID. Bucknam and
Green Bibber 50 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, ofwhich not a
head was left; also 20 acres Outstanding grass
cutting two tons to the acre; POO fruit trees
completely stripped.
In Falmouth one gentleman insisted that
either hailstone, or mass of haistones
frozen together by the force of the wind, fell
in his garden making a deep hole. When
taken out it measured a foot in length by
eight inches broad. This sounds rather Mum
chausenish but the gentleman declared it
was true.
The value of the property DESTROYED as far
as heard from, would amount to about 500
900 at a rough guess. Portland Press.