The Portland daily press., 1893-10-11
1t Blew Out Windows on Orr's
Island.
RAILROAD MEN FOUND 1T TOO
MUCH FOR THEM.
Some Vessels Had Hard Times-Peculiari-
ties of the Gale, Which Was Tremen-
dnr.s and LIGHT hu l,urrs


The wind that struck this city Mon
day afternoon, and whistled through the
night, swelled to a tempest along the
coast, and made night long to be re-
| embered, and on many of the islands,
| a night of terror. Outside, it was not SO
very rough, that is not on the open ocean
for the captain of the MarthaD. McClain
reported to J.W. Trefethen, that while
there was heavy wind outside, there
was nothing in the nature of tempest
If the historic Pearl of Orr's Island,
had been in her native home, she
would have been kept awake. That
island happened to be where the wind
wanted to blow it's widest. and the re-
suit simply astonished the oldest resi-
dent who didn't know what to make OF
it. The wind blew on in wild way, but
with nothing SO very terrible about it
until about one O'Clock, when without
warning except that the night was black,
it swelled to tempest and threatened
to take before it every house on the
island" as one man said. The little
Mascott hotel, so familiar to summer
visitors, was struck with the full force of
the wind and storm. The blinds gave
way, the windows followed and then
the wind did pretty much as it pleased
with the house. Strangely enough it was
not demolished, but was left scene of
wild confusion, according to the reports
received yesterday.
Mr.. M. Hartshorn, of the Harpswell
boat, gave yesterday graphic description
of the storm at Harpswell,
where he was supposed to
be resting that night. About one o'clock
he was aroused by the bursting of the
storm upon him. 1t came without the
least warning, and took his windows
before it, sending the rain and accom-
panying wind into the room until it was
worse than the deck of his steamer
coming up through the roads. 81 sprang
from the bed, he said, when telling the
story, aand dressed even putting on my
boots, and then / thought that should
like to know where was to go. The
wind was a tempest and there would
have been no use in going outside. At
first thought. that the part of the house
where was, had been left and the rest
of the building taken, but ! soon found
my mistake. 1t was time of wild ex-
citement. Nobody knew what to do, or
what might come next. I think that
the widest time with the storm was be-
tween two and three o'clock this morn
ing. It was the hardest wind we ever
knew along the coast"
Several schooners dragged their anchors
and went ashore, and yesterday morn
ing there were many indications of prob
able loss, although the steamer men who
watched every island they passed with
the keenest interest, were unable to see
that any buildings had been blown away.
1t will be probably several days before
structive storm and wind will be fully
told, and it will be many years before it
will be forgotten. The storm varied in
force even within the space of a few rods,
some houses being struck with terrific
force, while others but short distance
off were hardly touched. 1t may be that
we were visited along thescoast of Maine
by wandering western cyclone, out on
a fall tour down east.
But if it was night of terror to the
residents of the islands, it was still
worse with the sailors of vessels anchored
off the coast. AS was said Monday eve
ming, the hope of many schooner lay in
the fact that the sky gave long notice
ahead of the coming tempest, and it
found some ready and others not Every
schooner anchored off the port had her
sails blown into ribbons before morning.
The schooner Earl P. Mason was the
worst handled. She lay where they got
the full force of the storm, and where
the wind was at it's widest. Those who
saw the harbor when the sudden wind of
Monday afternoon broke up the mill pond
surface, and sent the big waves rolling
in, can comprehend something of what it
was off shore The Mason was swept
continuously, and lost all her sails that
could be carried away. She lost her
foresail, mainsail, jib, and flying jib.
She was taken in esterday and will be
none the worse SO far as her hull is con-
cerned, because of the rough handling
she received. The schooner Clara Leavitt,
was suddenly boarded by a big wave that
made things very lively, and wet down
every part of the vessel. The cabin was
entered and everything movable was
sent afioat. Neither captain nor crew
had dry place to rest in through the
night The Lizzie Hyer and Matte B.
Russell, lost sails. A tow boat man said
that the former schooner was in a very
exposed situation through the storm,
and that there was some doubt at one
time of the result. The Russell was
towed in all right, and will be repaired
here Up to last evening J W. Trefethen
reported no fishermen in. The most of
the Portland fishing fleet happened to lie
in before the storm, and if the captain
of the McClain encountered average out
side weather, it was not SO very rough
"on the deep blue sea" and hardly more
uncomfortable than on land. The wind
was very high along the line of the Grand
Trunk, and the afternoon freight was