The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-14

Providence road. a part Of 1t striking
a delivery wagon in its flight and up
setting It, The driver and horses es-
capped serious injury. A chimney on the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western
station was blown down.
WIRES CAME DOWN.
The Central Pennsylvania Telephone
and Supply company was one of the
heaviest losers by the storm. All of
it's wires supplying the North End of
the city which run out Capouse avenue
are down and It will take days to get
the service in smooth working order
again. The Capouse avenue poles sus-
tained one hundred wires, sixty on
cross and forty in a cable, the latter
furnishing the means of communication
with points north of the city. Between
Phelps and Ash street heavy wire
guy was used to strengthen one of the
poles where the avenue makes bend.
When the wires and tops of the poles
began to sway from the force Of the
wind this guy wire snapped and with
q cracking sound the pole followed its
example, carrying the cable and wires
with 1t to the pavement.
But the trouble did not end there.
There was more cracking and snap
ping and one by one fifteen other poles
followed the example of the first bring
Ing the wires down from Ash street to
n point between Pine and Olive streets.
The strain on the poles must have
been tremendous as many of them
cracked and splintered almost from top
to bottom. The poles were all tall ones
and In falling reached to the fence
line on the opposite side of Capouse
avenue, making the roadway i'm
passable. The feed wires and trolley
wire of the Traction company were also
carried to the ground by the falling
poles and several of the Traction COM
pany's poles were also brought to
earth.
CAUSED CONSIDERATION.
The greatest CONSERVATION was
caused on Capouse avenue when the
poles and wires began to come down.
Two trolley cars were on the switch
near Pine street and a falling pole
struck the roof of a car nearest to the
westerly curb and effectually eld it. The
motorman and conductor threw them
selves prone on the floor to avoid in
Jury and one woman who was in the car
tainted. A block further up the street
a pole descended on the wagon of Me-
gargel & Connell. but fortunately nei-
al hnr N
4 surrey standing in front of Lebig's
hotel was badly wrecked by falling
pole and the driver of the delivery
wagon Of Atlas & Sayre had harrow
escape from injury, the vehicle In which
he was seated being pinned to the
pavement by the same pole that smash
ed the surrey.
william Witherill, Of Dunmore, a
driver for the Atlantic Refining COM
pany was not SO fortunate. His wagon
was near Phelps street when pole fell
crushing him to the seat. His cries of
pain soon brought help but as he was
surrounded by perfect net work of
wires, any Of which was apt to be
heavily charged by contact with the
trolley cable, the work OF relieving him
was attended by much difficulty and
danger. When finally removed from
his painful position it was found that
several Of his ribs were broken and
that he had number OF painful
bruises. He was removed to his home.
A STRANGE APPEARANCE.
Capouse avenue presented strange
appearance Immediately after the storm
and during the evening 1t was visited
by hundreds Of sight-seers who were
anxious to view the destruction that
had been wrought. The telegraph COM
pany promptly put large force Of men
at work clearing up the street and at
ten o'clock last night the wires had all
been cut away, the poles moved to one
side of the street and travel again made
possible along the thoroughfare. Be-
fore the work Of clearing up the wreck
was begun, however, the fire alarm wire
was fastened in a temporary way to the
poles on the east side of the street, so
that an alarm could be rung In case Of
a fire in the North End of the city.
The cable containing the forty tele-
phone wires was uninjured by its fall
and this preserved telephone communi-
cation with Carbondale and intermedi-
ate points. The service within the city
was over the open wires carried on the
cross arms of the poles and a force of
men was engaged all last night trying
to arrange temporary service that can
be put in operation today. The poles
that went down yesterday were all
sound and were erected less than two
years ago.
Superintendent Fox, of the Traction
company, also had force Of men work.
ing last night repairing the damage
done to its wires and poles and by 9
o'clock this morning hopes to have cars
running again on the CapOuse avenue
line.
IN THE CENTRAL CITY.
Connolly G. Wallace were among the
very heaviest Of the storm sufferers.
The roof cutters could not carry the
water and 1t overfiowed through the
skyllght and down into the store. In
the rear Of the store there is a depres-
sion in the alley where a small lake form
ed This lake found an outlet through
the basement windows and while the
SkyHBItt WIS oIl
ground floor the cellar was being de-
luged by the flood from the alley. Near
ly everything in the kid gloves and cor
sets departments, which were directly
beneath the skylight, was damaged
more OF less by the water and every
thing within six inches Of the floor in
the basement suffered like fate. To
make matters worse the cap on a sewer
trap In the front cellar was broken off by
the force Of the water decnding from