The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-05-22
The Wake OF the Storm I'm PIckens
County.

~hsO "uhAc tkS SCOrn IN PlckSnH
County.
The storm Of wind, rain and hail that
crossed the lower part of this county
on wednesday afternoon Of last week,
the l4th inst, was the most severe storm
of the kind ever witnessed by the oldest
inhabitant.
About 3 o'clock p. M, m angry-look-
ing cloud was seen coming from the
northwest which everyone in its track
watched with feeling of fear. The
stormed crossed Keowee river between
the II. d ID. bridge and Lawrences ford
and struck tho farms of Central town
ship. AT this point its path is about
one and half miles wide Then it
showed that the fears Of tho people were
not unfounded. Rain fell in bucketfuIs
accompanied by hail, tho like of which
had never before been known in
this region, and the wind blew
q perfect hurricane. The hail
stones were the largest ever seen and fell
Ill great quantities. Although the wind
was perfect tornado it could not be
heard for the noise of the falling hail. |
Though the trees were falling and small !
buildings were being un-roofed and
blown down, boards, plank and fence
rails were flying through the air, no one |
was conscious Of anything going on but |
the hall.storm. Wiudow-glass were bro. |
ken, shingles knocked off, and in some
instances weather-b boarding split. The |
bark was peeled off the trees and limbs. |
ana leaves covered the ground. There |
~ no trult left IN its wake. In most in. |
stances the fruit trees are rs destitute of |
verdure rs in December. In the cotton
fields where few hours before had been
n tinn c,>
the storm there was 10 sign Of either !
plant or row, the young plants had been
beaten into the ground, and all sign of |
the row effaced. Splendid fields of |
wheat were cut dowL and beaten up until |
1t looked rs if it had been run through |
feed chopper and scattered over the
ground, and corn was split into ribbons. |
a strange popularity of this storm was
that at the same time, directly south and |
parallel with it, was hurricane travelling |
across the country, leveling fences and |
trees without number. Its width was |
about half-mile. The damage done by |
the hail and wind will be hard to esti |
mate. report from few of the farms
will only give small idea of it. l.. Ross
Eaton lost almost his entire crop, dam
aged about $700. The north part os
Commissioner Martins farm was wiped
bare of crops and vegetation. MIR. jas.
f. Lays whole large farm was swept
clean from stem to stern. Ho is dam
aged over 81, 900. On the DR.. CLAYTON
place east of Central the damage is cstima
ted at $500. +. V. Clayton's entire farm
was swept clean. j. Nccly Boggs had
70 acres in cotton and acres of wheat
swept as clean as q floor. A. Mat Boggs
60 acres of cotton, all worked over, en-
tire loss, besides IS or 20 acres of wheat,
damage, 81 900; his fine peach and apple
orchard was almost ruined. j. l.. Gary
and w. II. Chapman, adjoining farms,
were swept clean. Their loss will
amount to several hundred dollars. Earle
2. Taylor and Tom j.. Taylor had each
large crop which was looking well.
After the storm their fields were barren.
Brsil Callahan and NJ. II. Blue Tom)
Smith were in the track and lost their
| crops. Smiths place was almost washed
away, and the soil is much damaged. In
the Carmel neighborhood it seems as if
the wind and hail united to ruin the
| community. Timber and fences were
prostrated. A great number of the large
stately oaks around the church were
blown down. Trees that had stood the
storms Of a century were uprootcd. Mr..
Albert Arial, who has Il fine farm near
the church says he caurot estimate his
loss. He had fifty acres Of cotton all in
fine shape, worked over. Now he has
none. The tenants on the Taylor place
are cleaned out, and all will have to be-
gin anew. On the Col. Hamilton place
the fine grove ut tho old homestead was
blown down and tho place terribly wash
ed. Capt. Mig Williams and s. Cherry
McWhorter come next in line, and they
feel rs if they We're broken up. Such n
fine prospect for good crop a few days
ago. Now they have none. The Cooley
brothers were in the track of the storm,
and besides their crop, they had q fine
orchard trimmed of fruit and leaYes.
Some of the trees are ruined. The
Messrs. Sheriff, James Brown, Tolbert
and Hamp Bryant, Thomas and Robert
Hinton, on the DR.. Cureton place, Till
man Fcnnell and w. NJ. Hagood's ten
ants are all heavy losers, having their
entire crops to replant, and it is difficult
to find the row where the guano was
placed. This is only a partial list of the
losers. There is large number of 9th
crs whose names are not mentioned, that
have been equal sufferers with those
mentioned. The people in the stricken
district have gone to work with will to
rctfleVe Their loss as lar as possible.
From either side, their neighbors have
como to their assistance and most of the
farms have been replanted.
If there should be an early frost this
fall there will be little cotton raised by
those who have suffered from tho hail,
and the loss to the farmers will reach
1000, or more. The wonder is that
no stock were killed by the storm,
though some were damaged by being
caught out. Taken all in all, this Is the
worst calamity that has befaIlen tho
county for many day.