The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-06-15
MERCURY MAKING RECORDS
One Thermometer Went to liz and
Uncle Jerry's Touched 95.
ONLY TWO HOTTER DAYS HERE IN
TWENTY YEARS.

Orphan Asylum Struck by Lighting
A Cyclone at Bridgton junction Which
Blew Freight Cars Over-Troub1e
With the Wires.-A Cyclone Nesr Bel
grade.
"fhat thermometer stood at 117o above
zero about noon,'' said Mr.. A. J. Cum
mings yesterday, as he pointed with
pride to his favorite thermometer which
hangs in the doorway of the main en-
trance to the great Brown block. This
thermometer probably has as good a
record for the high jump as any in town.
But other Thermometers did very well.
Uncle Jerry Rusk's young men claim
that their thermometer is the only per-
fectly reliable one in town. 1t leads a
very exclusive life far above the crowded
pavements, and there is nothing about it
which would tend to excite it or disturb
its judgment. Yet Observer Jones had
to confess that even this thermometer
had gone up to $50 about 2 p. m. yester-
day. The observers thermometer is SO
placed that it gets the true temperature
of the air, unaffected by the radiation of
buildings or pavements, and it is usually
five or six degrees behind the thermome-
ters on the street. There have been only
two June days in twenty years so hot as
yesterday, measured by the weather bu-
reau's records. On the 10th day of last
June the thermometer stood at 95o, and
on the 23d of June, 1888, it reached 964.
This is about as hot weather as we get in
this region. On the 23d of June, 1876,
the weather bureau thermometer reached
90, and that record still stands as the
Hottest in Twenty Years.
Yesterday was hot all the way through.
The thermometer started in at $50 at
o'clock, which is a very hot morning in
this latitude.
The hot wave came Monday, having
streaked it from the ST. Lawrence river
down through Vermont, New Hamp-
shire and Massachusetts. Ats o'clock
Monday morning it had not reached Port
land, and we were 24o cooler than people
100 miles west of us. But we were not
long getting it. Yet all day Monday the
hot wave reached only over the south
west corner of Maine, and as late as yes
terday morning one of the harbor cap
tains who had been out little distance
beyond Cushing's Island, reported it
cool out there. But later the hot wave
must have extended more to sea, for it
certainly was enterprising landward, ex-
tending itself over nearly all New Eng
land and the eastern portions of the
Middle States.
A little after o'clock it began to grow
somewhat cooler. The mercury dropped
from $50 to S6o by o'clock, and the
black clouds in the north-northeast indi-
Gated shower. At $50 very sharp
electrical storm, with copious rain and
heavy thunder, burst upon the city. 1t
was the first thunder storm of conse-
quence of the season.
A Yellow Sunset.
After the afternoon shower had ended
most people thought the even
ing would be clear and pleasant, but
they were mistaken. The rain clouds av-
identity shifted from east to west and
then gradually covered the whole heav-
ems except a broad band at the west
where the sun was setting. AS the rays
of the setting sun struck these clouds
the heavens were bathed in soft yellow
J,rrh+ which wiz
first light yellow, then yellow green and
blue green, changing to almost violet
shade in places. This yellow haze contin-
ued for some time after sunset, when it
gradually faded out.
By half past seven the lightning and
thunder were resumed, the lightning
striking in several places. One bolt
struck the old tannery near the Deering
line, but did no serious damage. At 8
o'clock or thereabouts great ball of fire,
apparently, descended straight as an ar
row and struck the telephone wire at the
corner of Pleasant and High streets, sew
ering it so that one end of it fell on the
arc light wire. The lightning passed
along over the other end of the telephone
wire to the cupola of st. Elizabeths Or
phan Asylum which it set fire to, but
the people in charge of the house, with
great presence of mind, quickly ran up
stairs and extinguished the flames with
pals of water. There was no damage to
speak of, but the tremendous peals of
thunder that followed the striking of the
wire startled all our citizens. Lightning
also struck tree on Salem street which
it injured slightly and the fluid passed
off by a hitching post standing near into
the ground. Still another bolt struck
wire on Summer street.
The electric cars were not affected by
the electric storm. They all have light
ming arresters as does the power station.
They made their regular trips.
Deputy Marshal McCallum relieved
the night force from telephoning to the
central station as usual on account of the
lightning.
1t was reported that several telephones
We're burned out.
We do not hear of any serious effects
of the lightning at the islands.
A Sp1apd;d da,1b1a raioboyr xroo oh