St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-03-29
An Electric storm.

The states of Tennessee and Georgia
were visited by terrible electric
storm last week and great devastation
was wrought through broad stretch
of country. The list of fatalities is
already long. Neither are the limits
of the winds work clearly defined.
The storm swept over an area 100
miles long, in something like 30 min
utes. Another cyclone was reported
200 miles farther southeast in the
Georgia county of Telfair. The tor
nado in places cleared the ground
completely of grassland forest of tim
Der was mOwn as with a great scythe.
The cyclone had a whirling, rotary
motion, leaving scene of desolatlon
and destruction in its path. Large
trees we're twisted from their trunks,
and others torn up by the roots.
Another Worst Storm of the Season
The storm which ragged on Tuesday
night and until the following morning
through portions of Dakota, Minneso-
TIA, northern Wisconsin and Michigan
was one of the most severe that has
been experienced in the Northwest this
winter. 1t consisted of a cold wave of
unusual severity, accompanied by a
heavy and cutting wind, and in many
places by binding storms. Most
of the roads were badly blocked.
Wherever there was any new snow it
was badly drifted and the railroad
tracks in numerous instances were
covered to a depth of nine feet. Teams
were sent out from OwatOnna, Mimi,
by the railroad Wednesday with pro-
visions to the passengers snow bound.
Franks of Lighting i'm the Capitol.
The capitol at Washington was
struck by lighting on Wednesday after
noon. The sky had been clear until
after l o'clock, when great thunder
storm rolled slowly down the Potomac
and across the city. Suddenly thun-
der bolt fell directly on the Goddess of
Liberty with a terrific crash, which
sounded to those who happened to be
in the rotunda like the rending asun-
der of the dome. The lightning ran
down the sides of the iron dome, and,
catching on the wires, ran through
both wings of the building, while the
thunder reverberated through all the
corridors, and seemed to shake the
very foundations. Justices, senators
and representatives leaped to their
feet, while the people in the galleries
ran to the corridors. In the press gal
leries, balls of fire appeared on the tel
egraph instruments and ran along the
wires, rendering them useless. Many
people ran out at once on the pOrticOs,
expecting to see the Goddess of Liber-
ty on the ground; but she was still
standing on top of the dome, appar-
emily uninjured, nor could they see
any other signs of damage on the
building, but the utmost confusion
prevailed among the men and horses
on the cab stand in front of the capitol,
among whom the lightning had played
after leaving the capitol, killing n horse
and shocking men and horses. The
whole episode was unique and remark
able.
Destructive Floods in Germany.
Forty towns and hamlets and hun
dreds of villages have been submerged
by floods in Germany and 10000 peo
pie have been rendered homeless. The
Elbe, Nogat, Vistula and Oder rivers
cover a hundred miles wide in many
districts, and an enormous amount of
damage has been done to property. 1t
is impossible to estimate the number
of lives lost, but it will reach large
proportions. While trying to break
an ice gorge on the Elbe, by blasting,
Ia soldiers were killed. The Wharf.-The,
a tributary of the Vistula, has over
flowed it's banks near the Russian
frontier, submerging the city of Posen.
The waters are still rising, and the en-
tire district is flooded. The whole dis
trict of Bodrog, in northern Hungary,
inundated, the river having swept
away 30 villages. The district of Fe
hergyarmat is heap of ruins. The
distress all over Germany is very great,
and the newspapers suggest the grant
ing of state assistance to the sufferers.