Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-09-14
THE DROUTH BROKEN.
The Lightning Plays Havoc Dur
ing Mondays storm.


Places.
The drouth which has prevailed since
July. was broken SATURDAY. by a rainfall
OF .4j inch. This welcome storm settled the .
dust and revived the parched vegetation,
but the damage to corn and other crops
had already been done. The precipitation
was not sufficient TO have effect upon the
streams and springs This storm extended
over the whole northern part of the coun-
try. In Wisconsin and Michigan nearly
two inches of rain fell, checking the prog
ress of forest fires. In portions of Penn
sylvania the rain was SO heavy that serious
hoOus were caused. The rainfall extended
north into the Canadas.
There were copious showers throughout
the day Saturday, the total precipitation
being !. - inch. These showers were &C
companied by thunder and lightning. The
severest storm took place soon after six
o clock, and the vivid flashes and deep re-
verberatiOns were followed by a heavy
downpour Of rain.
The most serious damage from lightning
was at the Valley Fair ground. where the
large horse barn, known as barn A. at the
north side of the ground, between the
sheds and the track, was struck and burn
ed. The flash struck the barn on the west
end, and in an instant all that par; of the
building was ablaze. II the other end of
the barn at the time were .. L. Whipple
Fred Weatherhead of GuilfOrd Trainer
Winchester. Frank Lafriua. and a Young
man named Brown. Some of the men
were waiting for the shower to pass so that
/ they could leave for supper
Latrina felt the shock more severely
than the others. being nearer the end
struck He was unconscious when carried
out to the track Later h. was taken to
the CLARK farm and from there carried
home. One side of his body appeared to
have an excess of blood, being very red.
while the other side was pale. He was in
distress all night. but the following dav
recovered sufficiently to return to work.
The men worked with all possible speed
and although the barn was mass OF flames
in few minutes they succeeded in getting
out the y horses, the two trotting sulkieS.
harnesses and blankets. the grain and
other articles were burned. one colt
/ Mack j., 10y Mack. standard bred animal.
registered in Walton's register. was killed
/ by the lightning, which struck directly
/ over its stall. When Mr.. Weatherhead.
its owner, rushed into this part Of the
building the colt was kicking convulsively.
/ The colt was carried out but it was dead
/ in few seconds. Mr.. Weatherhead would
not have sold the colt for. $500. Ii was
/ hot work TO save Nj Weatherhead's other
/ two colts which were il adjoining stalls.
/ The most valuable horses were led out. but
. the others were cut loose and driven out
/ After the tre they were found in different
/ places. four being Oh the camp ground
The bright light from the fire was seen
from all parts OF the village and an alarm
was pulled in from the box Oh Washington
street, as ii was thought that the sheds at
the fair grounds might take fire The fire
had however, spread to all parts of the barn,
| when the alarm was sounded. and the sheds
were so thoroughly wet as to be in no dan
ger OF burning.
The fire department responded. and
steamer No. , and large amount OF hose
were taken as far "a the top of Prospect
hill, when il became known that services
were not needed, and the firemen returned.
The horses in the building were valued
at from S35, 900 TO $4,000. Among the
animals were Sigight, 2:224, with a prac-
tlce record OF 2:ll, owned by Col. L. II
Chase. value $1,000: Linden, 2:lj. the
Stallion that won the free-for- all race al the
! Valley Fair last year. valued al ST.. 600 and
owned by j. H. Clark of Hoyoke: J. A.
~.
Minors Gold Bar, 2:2S4, Col. Mansur and
Straightedge; Milton Miller's Mary Howe
$500; Bay Wilkes, $1,000, a very promising
three-year-old owned by n NJ. Divoll Of
Rockingham. Daisy Wood. a $500 mare
sired by Victor Wilkes and owned by y.
=. Wood of Mortified, was Frustrated by
the stroke of lightning and could not
move. She was dragged outdoors, where
she was revived by the falling rain. She
was badly scratched and bruised. Nh
| Weatherhead had in the building Col. Eg-
bert, promising three-year-old by Eg-
/ bert; and yearling by Victor Wilkes.
! There were also in the barn several other
| horses for ordinary use.
The barn was built at a cost Of upwards
/ of $500, and il was insured for $500
/ The plans for rebuilding the structure
were made Tuesday and the contract given
/ to Holden d Martin, who already have Il
men at work. Ii is expected that the barn
will be completed Saturday of next week.
| The new building will be 200 feet long by
! 40 wide
! Mr.. and Mrs. 5. ". Estey of West DUN
merston had a singular experience with
| the electrical fluid. The lightning struck
| their house during the heavy shower of
| Monday night, divided al a partition, and
] apparently ian III Dull directions. MI.
and Mrs. Estey, their daughter, and son
/ wife and her Two children were in the
/ kitchen. Mr.. Estey was thrown into one
/ corner of the room and Mrs. Estey into
another corner, both being rendered IN
/ conscious. The others in the room felt
/ the shock, but not seriously. They poured
water upon Mr.. and Mrs. Estey, and after
time restored them TO consciousness.
/ Mr., Estey, when in Brattleboro Tuesday.
was still suffering from the effects of the
shock, and Mrs. Estey was confined TO the
I bed. She had one leg badly burned. the
stocking being stripped of its entire length.
/ There was a hole in the centre of the
house where the lightning entered. the
laths and plastering torn out showing its
course inside, but there was no mark 10 in
dictate where il left the building
The worst cyclone that ever passed over
Franklin county visited a portion of New
Salem, which is about three miles south of
Orange Monday night II covered a space
$50 rods wide and about nine miles long.
tearing down barns, unrOoting houses up
roofing large trees, laying vast forests fiat.
One hundred acres of valuable timber
We're twisted, and big naples and pines
that were TWO feet through We're torn from
their roots. The money damage is est-
mated from So, 900 to 500 Following
the cyclone was a heavy fall of rain
Rpria6 W EaV j. one of the baa y-iapt