The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-06-28
A TIDAL WAVE.
Remarkable Wave Swept Over the Lake
Front at Cleveland.

Remarkable Wave Swept Over the Lake
Front at Cleveland.
CLEVELAND, June 23.--A remarkable tidal
wave swept the lake front here at o'clock
this morning. The wave was ABOUT two
miles wide and eleven feet higher than the
surface of the lake. 1t came in the wake of
dense, angry-looking, black and gray
cloud, which moved sullenly from the
northward over the city. There was no
wind nor rain at the lake shore, but
dash of rain fell in some parts of the city,
and the wind blew fiercely south of town.
Vessels parted their lines at the mouth of the
river; piers and docks were submerged to
the depth of four feet in some places;
hundreds of FISH were cast ashore; the fire
was put out in the Lake Erie Rolling Mill,
on the beach west of the river; a scow,
loaded with sand, lying at the break. water,
was landed nigh and dry on the shore; a
short stretch of railway near the Union De-
pot was ripped up; numerous switch shan
ties and small buildings were overturned or
moved about. A tramp, sleeping upon top
of sewer where it empties into the lake,
was drowned. One man, standing on the
bank, was thrown down and washed against
the wall OF the Union Depot. Another, sit
ting in switch house, was buried under
the stove. Timber heads were torn out of
two scows in the river. Iron rails, twenty
eight feet long, piled near the Depot, were
lifted up and scattered in confusion. Huge
logs were washed ashore. 1he Life Saving
Station was badly wrecked, and much other
damage done.
The wave lasted about one minute. sev-
eral parties fishing in skiffs report a sudden
rise in the waters and violent commotion
like whirlpool. The skiffs weathered the
singular storm without accident The dam
age to property on the shore is roughly esti-
mated at $4,000 Steamboatmen who came
in this morning report squall and sudden
movement of the water off this port, of
which no particular notice was taken at the
time.
Signal Officer Newlin, who observed the
tidal wave to-day says at 6:10 a. m. he
heard distant thunder TO the northward over
the lake and, looking in that direction. saw
huge cloud like thunder cloud, the lower
part of which looked like a large, heavy
curtain of hanging water, above it a con-
torted, angry-looking conglomeration of
Clouds and north of il large stratus cloud.
1t moved very rapidly, and at 6:20 the wave
struck the shore.
When first noticed the tidal wave was
about a quarter of a mile from shore and
appeared like great green wall, ten feet
high. The lake had been calm and this was
the first disturbance of the surface. The
wave swept along rapidly and silently until
it reached shallow water, when it made a
loud swishing noise and broke on the shoal
with great noise. The wave reached from
north, northeast to south, south. After it
struck shore two receil waves followed close
together. At 6:35, quarter of an hour
after the wave reached the shore a shower
began, which lasted fifteen minutes, during
which two hundredths of an inch of rain
fell. No hard wind was perceivable here,
though slight squalls on the lake are re-
ported by incoming vessels. Sergeant New
like ordinary thunder storms, except in its
peculiarities as above described. Many
of the phenomana are sim pier to
what would be expected to accompany
a water spout, but no water spout formed,
nor did hard storm proceed nor follow as
usual in cases of tidal waves. After grand
rushing of water, the lake relapsed in re-
pose, calm and unruffled, as if nothing un-
usual had happened. The wave was wider
reaching than at first supposed. Word
comes from Glenville that it played
havoc with boats and boat houses
there. Near the railway bridge over
the river, log seventy-five feet long and
three and half in diameter was carried
nearly 200 feet inland. Before the phenom-
ena occurred the wind blew gently from the
southeast and soon after the cloud passed re-
turned to the same direction. The water in
the lake was about two feet higher than the
usual stage and the tidal wave at the life
saving station reached eight feet and ten
inches above water mark.