Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-01-07

No single feature of the year 1850 is more
striking than the number, variety, and terri
bly, fatal character of its disasters. The flood
at the island Of st. kits, in the British West
Indies, on Jan. IL, leads the list Of calamities
duo to commissions Of nature alone. A loss
of over 200 lives and $3.50, coo was the result
On April Is a tornado destroyed the town of
Marshfeld Mo, killed upward Of 100 per
sons, wounded $50, and caused damage to
the extent Of - 200, 600 at least. A week
later Christian county, ILL.,, and Macon, Miss,
were visited by cyclones. At Macon Il lives
were lost, besides a large amount of property.
On June % began an eruption Of the Gaute-
malan volcano Fuego. On July 10 there was
a terribly destructive earthquake at Manila.
on the island of Luzon. Not n single public
edifice was left standing in the place even
convent 300 years old being thrown down.
On the 18th of August Jamaica was swept by
a storm which leveled nearly every house and
every acre Of crops in the island. On Nov.
. Southern Austria, and especially Agram, in
Croatia, were shaken by an earthquake which
caused damage to the amount of 3 OOO, 600
horns. Finally, at last accounts, the Haw-
allan volcano was still continuing an eruption
Of unusual extent and yigor, which began on
Nov. O.
The disasters due in part to human influ-
ences We're not less numerous fatal, and de-
huutllNt. VI ADll Aht Nthh hhllb VI
Madison Square Garden, n. y, fell, killing
four persons On Aug. II two sections of
an excursion train on the West Jersey rail
road came in collision at Mays Landing,
n. j. Twenty-six deaths resulted besides as
many more serious injuries \ similar col
lisiou occurred on the Pennsylvania railroad,
at Pittsburg on Oct. ., causing % deaths.
peculiarly of the marine disasters of the
year was the large proportion which occurred
on inland waters. On Jan. 30 the English
naval training ship Ataanta sailed from Ber-
muda, with 800 young sailors on board, and
has never since been heard from. On March
10 the Montana of the Williams ~ Guion
Line, went ashore near Holyhead, and was a
total wreck but no lives were lost. On
June IL the Narragansett and Stonngton
plying between New York and Stonington
CT. on the route 10 Boston, came in collision
near Cornfield Light, and 30 deaths resulted
Besides the loss of life, the Narragansett took
fire, filled, aud sank. On June % b deaths
were caused by the burning of the SeRwan-
haka on its trip from New York to Roslyn
The was caused by the bursting of a fue.
On July - the yacht Mamie came into coils
ion with the steamer Garland, on the Detroit
river, near Grassy Island Light, and IL of
| the pleasure party were drowned. The Vera
| Cruz steamer foundered in storm of Cape
| Canaveral, on the Florida coast, on Aug. 90.
| The lost lives numbered GS, including Gen.
Torbert. On Nov. ~ the Ortigia and Oncle
| Joseph came into collision near Spezzia and
| 80 lives were lost Treacherous Lake HUI
ron is chargeable here with three fatal
wrecks. Eight lives were lost with the Alec
ma on Aug. % an indefinitely large number,
probably over 30, with the Alpena on Oct
| Is and 10 with the Simcoe on Nov. ~. On
| Nov. the fine Sound steamer Rhode Island
was totally wrecked by going ashore at the
entrance to Narragansett Bay.
The most noticeable fire of the year was
the burning of the st. Peter Mimi asylum
for the insane on Nov. u. A lunatc set the
fire because his supper was cold, and 30
lives were lost. In New York city the burn
ing of Turn Halle, in Fourth street, on Jan.
t. caused eight deaths. Manhattan Market
at Eleventh avenue and Thirty fourth street,
which cost ! 100000, was burned on
| Sept. 8. Among other notceably large or
fatal fires were the following Seven hun
bred houses at Hull, Ontario, on April 81,
| loss S3,OO0,OOO; an equal loss by the
| burning of oil and machinery over territory
near Bradford, Penn, 80 miles long by 3
miles wide on May and succeeding days
GGG houses at Milton, Penn, on May II, loss,
| 81, 900, 900 the Ansona clock works, Brook
| lyn, loss, 81 600, 000 on Oct. ~ loss of
| 81 900, 600 at Pensacola, Florida, on Dec. IL
and the loss of 10 lives and $3.50, 600 by the
burning of lifts wallpaper factory at Buffa-
10, N. Y, on Dec II.
The mining disasters were especially shock
| ing, even in this unusual list, but it is note
worthy that the most and worst of this class
are foreign. On Jan. 2l 20 deaths were
caused by an explosion in the Fair Lady pit
of the Lycett colliery, at Newcastle
| Tyne, England, Forty-two deaths were sim
ilarly caused at Anderlues, Belgium, on
March 81. On July -, l20 men were killed
| by an explosion in tho Risca (Wales) col
| liery lG5 more at Seaham, near Durham,
England, on Sept. 8 so more at the Foord
pit Stelarton, Nova Scotia, on Nov ~ and
Sc more at the Ponyggrig colliery Rhondda
Valley, Wales, on Dec. TO- The worst min
ing disaster in the United States was the kill
ing of men by a sheer fall of 300 feet in
the Consolidated Imperial Mine at Virginia
| City, New, on Sept. II.
1t still remains to mention several acct
| dents of q miscellaneous character. At their
head stands the fall of barracks in Constan-
tinople on Feb. . by which 200 men were
killed and 300 injured. Twenty men were
drowned by the cavng in of the Jersey City
! end of the Hudson river tunnel on July 81.
An explosion of giant powder at San Fran
cisco on April lG caused 20 deaths. An ex-
| plosion in the arsenal at Santiago, Chill, on
Jan. ~ caused "a deaths. The marching of
troops across the wooden bridge over the
Ebro, near Logrono, Spain, on Sept. ~ !,
caused it to fall, and ~ deaths resulted.