Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-06-24
ALMOST A TIDAL WAVE.
Lake Erie Rises In its Might and Sends
Up an Eleven Foot Wave.

Lake Erie Rises In its Might and Sends
Up an Eleven Foot Wave.
CLHvn.AND, o., June ga remarkable
tidal wave swept the lake front here at 6
o'clock this morning. From the best Informs
ton now obtainable the wave was two miles
wide and eleven feet higher than the surface
OF the lake. It came in the wake of the dense
angry looking black and gray cloud which
moved sullenly from..the northward over the
city. No wind and no rain occurred at the
lake shore, but dash of rain fell in some
parts of the city and wind blew fiercely in the
southern part of the town. Vessels parted
their lines at the mouth of the river.
The piers and docks were submerged to the
depth of four feet in some places and hun
dreds of fish were cast over. The fires were
beach west of the river. A scow loaded with
sand lying at the breakwater was landed high
and dry. A short stretch of railway near the
union depot was ripped up. Numerous shan
ties and small buildings were overturned or
moved about. A tramp sleeping over the
mouth of sewer where it empties into the
lake. was drowned. One man standing at the
bank was thrown down and washed against
the wall of the union depot. Another sitting
on pilot house was buried under stone and
timber, and had his head smashed be-
Iron rails twenty.eight feet long piled near the
depot were lifted up and scattered in confu-
sion. Huge logs were washed ashore. The
life-saving station was badly wrecked and
various other damage done. The wave lasted
about one minute. Several parties were fish
ing in skiffs. They report sudden rise in the
water and a violent commotion like whirl-
pool, but their skiffs weathered the singular
storm without accident. The damage to prop
erty on shore is roughly estimated at $50, OOC.
Steamboatmen who came in this morning re-
water off this port, of which no particular mo-
tice was taken at the time.
HOW IT LOOKED.
CLEVELAND, June 23.-Signal Officer New
lin, who observed the tidal wave to-day, says
at a. m. he heard distant thunder to the
northward over the lake, and, looking in that
direction, saw a huge cloud, like thunder
cloud, the lower part Of which looked like a
large, heavy curtain hanging over the water,
above it contorted, angry-looking conglom-
Grafton OF clouds, and north of it large stratus
clouds. 1t moved very rapidly, and at 600 the
wave struck the shore. When first noticed,
GuO Iludl WdVV wac oOVuo 9NoA VOb Va q AAAiAe
from shore, and appeared like great pier OF
wall ten feet high.
The lake had been calm and this was the
first disturbance of the surface. The wave
swept along rapidly until it reached the shall
low water, when it made loud smashing
roise and broke on the shore with q great
roar. The wave reached from the north
northeast to the south-southwest. After 1t
struck the shore two recoil waves
followed close together. At $50, q
quarter of an hour after the
which lasted fifteen minutes, during which
2-1O inches of rain fell. No hard wind was
perceptible here, though slight squalls in the
lake are reported by incoming vessels.
Sergeant Newlin says the cloud was an cleo.
trio cloud, like those of ordinary thunder
storms, except the peculiarities ABOVE de-
scribed. Many of the phenomena are similar
to what would be expected to accompany a
water spout, but no water spout formed nor
did hard storm precede or follow, as usual
in cases Of tidal waves. After the grand rush
ing of water the lake relapsed INTO repose,
with the surface calm and unruf1ed as if moth
ing unusual had happened.
IN OTHER PLACES
The wave was wider reaching than at first
supposed. Word comes from Chenille that il
played havoc Will UOatS anu UOdt AOuSsse
there. Near the railroad bridge over
the river q log Is feet long and
three feet and a half in diamater
was carried nearly 200 feet inland. Before
the phenomena occurred, the wind had been
blowing gently from the south, and as sool
as the cloud passed resumed the same direc
ton. The water in the lake is about two feel
higher than the ordinary stage, and the tidal
wave at the life saving station reached 8 feet
10 inches above the present water mark.