The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-05-11
The Wind Swept Down Upon
the City and Its ViCin-
ity, Bringing Havoc
With 1t.
OH, THE CLOUDS OF DUST.
Two Unfinished Houses Wrecked
What Everybody Has to Say
About 1t Today.

~
About 1t Today.
The clouds that hid the sunshine from
the gaze of the residents of this city at
five O'Clock yesterday afternoon were not
like the ordinary storm clouds, black,
but they had an ominous tinge of yellow
that frightened the more, because of their
unusual aspect
They did not seem to be clouds even.
They were like bilious monsters of the
air, with heads in the sky and feet on
the earth, marching hitherward from all
the points of the compass.
This city seemed to be the battle
ground, on which they were making
furious advances, and people gazed IN awe
upon them as they came. A few minutes
later one of the great monsters swept
through the town riverward. He Kicked
up cloud of dust as he went on to the
scene of conflict, that, driven by a tor
nado of wind, blinded every eye and cut
into every luckless cheek that was barred
to it.
Men counted for nothing against it.
They were swept involuntarily wherever
swept by THE JERSEY CITY NEWS Office,
their skirts Tapping like sails in gale. 1t
was not many minutes before every living
thing from the street had been swept to
places of shelter One old lady, lifted
bodily up the City Hall steps, turned
around when she landed in the hall,
to chide the rude fellow who had dared to
take such liberties with her. But he had
taken her eyeglasses off too, and con-
WINGED that her inability to see him was
due to that bereavement, she delivered a
lecture on respect for the aged with only
the easement of the door to listen.
TREES AND FENCES SUFFER.
It may be assumed that the tornado, or
simeon, or whatever you may choose to
call it, left its traces all over the land
scape. Trees were torn from limb to limb
and the white blossoms in Colonel Gil
Robinson's apple orchard filled the air
like the flakes of a blizzard snow storm.
Fences were levelled and garden growths
were prostrated as though an army of
cavalrymen had driven through them.
During the storm the tall flag pole on
Public School No. was struck and almost
completely demolished. One of the largest
and finest trees in Van Worst Park was
blown down and two large willows in
Bonner avenue, one near st. PauPS ave-
nue. and one near Laidlaw avenue, met
the same fate.
A BUILDER WHO MUST BEGIN AGAIN.
A two-story frame house which was in
the course of erection at No. 10 Boyde
avenue succumbed to the 1orce OF the
wind, and was completely wrecked. 1t
was owned by Mrs. Vlckers, OF Hoboken,
who will lose 81, 200.
The storm also damaged the three-story
frame house, at No. 773 Ocean avenue,
which was almost completed. Frank
Chase, of No. $50 Ocean avenue, the owner
will lose about $500. The building was
erected by Campbell & Ramsay, builders.
Fortunately the men who were at work
on both buildings received sufficient
warning to escape before the buildings
were wrecked
A noble old chestnut at Concord and
Hoboken avenues was blown down. and
another on Summit avenue, near Hicks
street, was also Frustrated.
A large swinging sign belonging to o.
T. w. Mcdonald, of Monmouth street,
near Newark avenue, groaned
and creaked for several minutes
as the gale caught it and swung it vio-
lently about. Finally it broke from its
fastenings and fell to the. street with
loud crash, narrowly escaping in its fall
several people who sought shelter under
the shed from which it hung.
A gentleman whose veracity is unques-
tionable relates an interesting story in
connection with yesterdays great blow.
He was standing at the corner of Grove
storm burst upon the pedestrians in that
neighborhood Among them was girl
pushing a baby carriage in which sat
a grooming little infant. With scream
of terror the girl left the baby and the
carriage to their fate and sought shelter
in neighboring hallway A gentleman
rushing past grabbed the child and ran
into the same hallway. Scarcely had he
burdened himself with the infantile
charge when the carriage was picked up
by the wind and whirled out of sight.
The storm struck the Erie depot just as
the trains were coming in from the races.
Thousands of passengers were plunged in
almost total darkness and much excite
ment prevailed during the blow, but
there was no panic, and no accident has
been recorded Several window sashes in
the upper apartments were blown out and
a number of way bills carried off with the
wind. Policemen Corliss and Goetz rem
dered effective service during the excite
ment.
llStrange to say, the wind storm yester-
day afternoon did little damage ON the
Hill, the most damage being the demoli-
tion of few trees and the tearing off of
numerous branches A good sized limb
from one of the trees was blown across
the street, through the window in the
front of Heller's saloon, and landed on
the bar near some men who were drink
ing, but did no other damage.