The national leader., 1889-05-18
VIOLENT Wind STORMS.
PENNSYLVANIA, NEW JERSEY AND
MARYLAND VISITED.
PEOPLE KILLED AND INJURED--MANY
BUILDINGS AND TREES DEMOL-
ISHED.

NORRISTOWN, 1ds, Way 1U.-4 4uc
tornado that passed over NOrristOwn
and surrounding country, about five
O'Clock this evening. was the 6ercest
and by far the most destructive known
IN this section of country since 1878.
The gale vented its fury on buildings,
sheds, trees, chimneys and almost any
thing movable in its path, and lasted
about ten minutes. The wind was
preceded by an OminOus darkening
Of the skies, making it neces-
sary to resort to lights in DWELL
ings and factories. The darkness
was made the more intense by
the clouds OF dust that filled
the air. AS far as heard from. no one
was killed or injured, but the wind
played some very costly pranks as re-.
CARDS buildings. at che Hospital for
the Insane weather vaneS !. ere blown
off and chrushed through the roofs.
The roof of the carpenter shop was
raised about one foot, and was at once
secured by means Of ropes The she'd
ding Of Shaffer Brothers. brick yards
were blown away. Smith & Hamill's
brick yard sheds crsahed into Robert
Morris's hennery and killed 81 or
more head OF poultry. The entire roof
of the pavilion at the NorristOwn Base
Ball and Athletic Grounds was lifted
off bodily, carried nearly 200 feet, and
dropped into quarry. The roof OF
one of block of four houses on
Spruce street was torn entirely off and
the tin of three others in the same
block rolled into sheets and carried
away. The roofs OF a block Of six
three-story and another block OF five
two-story dwellings on KOhn street
were carried across back yards and
across a 2O-fOot alley, crashing into
the frame back buildings Of dwellings
fronting on the next street. completely
wrecking the kitchens and projecting
bath rooms and bay windows. In this
quarter of the town. where the destruc-
prevailed. Fairview Heights, wooded
resort on the other side Of the Schuyl.
kill, presents a scene of genuine havoc.
The observatory, 2O0 feet high, was
leveled to the ground at one blow.
Trees were uprooted and twisted and
the large pavilion considerably dam
aged. The Knickerbocker ice houses
along the Schuylkill, west of the town.
are badly twisted and partly unroofed,
at the Star Glass W orks. where force
of men was engaged roofing new
building with sheet iron, heavy sticks
of timber and plates Of iron were
caught up by the gale and scurried
hither and thither across the building.
The roof Of the new engine house at
the Watsunk Furnace was lifted of
nd fell on the old engine house. Two
boats of the Schuylkill Navigation
Company became unmanageable in the
Schuylkill at Watsunk, and it was
necessary to cut the towlines to save
the mules. The coal shed of William
Davis Jr.. & Co., at Conshohocken,
was totally demolished, and out-hou-
ses az { nall shedding were carried
or tt. gale for 100 feet or more.
CHESTER COUNTY.
WEST CHESTER, Pa, May 1O.-A
wind storm Of an almost cyclOnic char
acter passed over this borough, at 4.45
this afternoon, which for time struck
terror to the minds Of the people be-
cause of the weird and threatening ap-
pearance of the surging clouds. Tele-
graph and telephone wires were
snapped and thrown into great disorder
in a twinkllng and many trees and
fences were twisted off and felled with
great force. A flying limb of tree
struck a horse ridden by young man
and felIed the animal to the ground as
though it had been struck with a
sledge. Another limb crashed into
a carriage and wrecked it In the most
complete manner. On the West Chester
and Philadelphia Railroad. near Ash
bourne Station, the storm Is reported
to have been very severe, and bag
gdge car was crushed by falling tree
and the engine tank had two holes
made in it. The train was running at
the time and thelpostal agent and pas
sengers narrowly escaped with their
lives. Boxes. barrels and signs we're
caught by the gale and sent in many
directions. The cloud was of peculiar
hue, and its velocity was something
like seventy miles an hour. At Nal
vern, one car of freight train, filled
with cattle, was unroofed without any
further damage.
BERKs AND sCHUYLKILL COUNTIES.
READING, Pa, May 10.-When the
heavy stOrm-cloud gathered over this
city at 4.30 O'Clock this afternoon
Causing an oppressive atmosphere and
a darkness not before known at that
hour of the day almost everyone
thought Of the terrible cyclone on JAN
uary 9th, four months ago, when the
Reading silk mill and other buildings
were wrecked and over 20 lives lost.
The wind was terrific. On the out.
skirts of this city it, twisted off
large trees like pipe-stems, Half a
dozen houses were unroofed. three
IN one row, near the corner of