The national leader., 1889-06-15
Wind AND LIGHTNING.
A Destructive Storm Sweeps
the Atlantic SeabOard.
Lives Lost, Churches Burned and
Bridges Demolished.

The Atlantic seaboard was visited by sue
cession of thunderstorms, one of which, that
fell upon New York and Brooklyn about $50
o'clock with greater severity than the rest,
carried death and destruction in its wake
New Yorks experience was typical of that
of the entire Atlantic seaboard Thunder
storms occurred at intervals throughout
New England and the Middle States with
hours of humid heat between, making the
day as thoroughly uncomfortable as if the
thermometer had been away up in the
ninetieS.
Shortly after o'clock, just as the toilers
began to turn hOmeward, black thunder
heads rolled up like scroll over the sky from
the southwest. The storm came with an in
cessant fuSillade of celestial fireworks and
lasted about half an hour
The heavy wind, which struck BROOKLYN
about $50 O'clock in the afternoon, blew
down a fOur-story frame building at Ever
green and Cooper avenue in Bushwick, kill
ing man and boy, and fatally iniur-
ing three other men and a younger brother
of the boy who was killed. All of them
had sought refuge from the storm on
the ground floor Of the house, and, when the
structure suddenly collapsed, they had no op-
portunlty to escape. They We're carried into
the cellar and buried under mass of boards
and plaster. For over an hour scores of peo-
pie worked liked beavers to get them out, but
could not work fast enough to rescue the last
two alive
ST. James's Catholic Church, in Jay street.
near Chapel Brooklyn, which was the cathe-
dral of the diocese until a month ago, was
struck by lightning during the height of the
storm, and inside of few hours was de-
stroyed by the flames, causing a loss of S6O,-
900.
Lightning played havoc at Elizabeth, N.
D., during the storm, demolishing tees liz
various parts of the city, striking buildings,
and knocking out the electric light system.
The big ball surmounting the Jeffer-
son Engine Company's Flagstaff was
knocked off, and just missed a woman
in its fall. A ball of fire entered
Wright Curtis's house in Jefferson street and
stunned the members of his family The
rain fell in a perfect deluge. That night no
electric lights were burning in the principal
business thoroughfares
Callender's insulated wire works in Harri-
son, N. j., were struck by lightning and
partly destroyed by fire. Loss, $4,000.
About the same time lightning struck the
spire of ST Aloysius Church, Newark. N. r.,
and did considerable damage, besides running
the massive organ. A barn in Springfield
avenue was set on fire and totally destroyed.
Herman Matis, age forty-five was killed
by a stroke of lightning while at work in Sol
0mon's leather factory, in Newark, N. j.
rive other workmen received painful shocks,
During the violent thunder storm. Mrs.
Anne Quirk, aged sixty, of Elmwood Mass,
fled in alarm from her house to neighbor's,
where she seated herself directly under
large pincushion which hung on the
wall. In few moments flash of hghtnins.
struck the cushion and passed into the body
of Mrs. Quirk, killing her instantly. The de-
ceased was a widow and leaves a daughter.
Reports from st. Adams, Vt, show large
amount of damage done by the storm Six
bridges were carried away. Lamberts saw
mill was completely ruined. The town it.
self losses nearly $4,000 on roads and bridges,
and the losses to individual farmers in the
destruction of crops will run into the thou
sands. Smaller outbuildings and stock were
swept away in Sheldon, Vt, and at other
places in the county bridges were swept away,
SO that the loss will be very high
A destructive washout occurred at Holyoke,
Mass, during the storm which swept out
about 100 feet of the solid stone wall on
the east side of the lower level canal de-
1nolished about twenty-five or thirty feet
of the west wing Of the water power
company's Cabot street mill, and wrecked
bridge owned by the Connecticut River Rail
road which spanned the canal
AS nearly as could be estimated the loss is
from $4,000 to 100000.