The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-10-01
THE STORMS HAVOC
IN PENNSYLVANIA
Great Damage Is Reported from Almost
Every Section.
SERIOUS LOSS IN OLD LANCASTER
The Tobacco Crop Nearly Ruined
and Other Destruction Is Severe
Beyond Recent Parallel..TwO Men
Killed by the Collapse of q Roof.
Breaker Demolished at ShamOkin.
Other Losses.

CtttlflSlS utStTuCtiNt iout III
eastern, middle and western counties OF
the state, Houses barns, and bridges
We're blown away, crops ruined, streams
and rivers are out of their banks. wash
outs and landslides have blocked rail-
road tracks and In several places llNes
were lost The damage to property
will amount to probably two million
dollars.
At Lancaster and throughout Lam
caster county the storm was especially
severe. The covered bridge over the
Susquehanna river at Columbia, used
by the Frederick division Of the Penn
sylvania railroad was blown away. Sew
eral men are reported to have been
killed when the bridge went. but this
rumor is unconfrmed. The tobacco
crop in Lancaster is nearly ruined and
The money damage of all kinds in the
county Is estimated at Sl,OOO,OOO. by
the collapse of the roof of the casting
house of the Temple furnace. at Tenn
pie, Berks county, Edward Rissimiller
and Samuel Trout We're killed and Will
liam Collar, Joseph Ruthenberger, Har-
ry Becker, William Shadler and Will
liam Wertz all more or less hurt. All
the men were employees of the furnace.
The round house of the Cornwall and
Lebanon railroad. at Lebanon, was
blown off and eight locomotives We're
damaged.
IN OTHER SECTIONS.
The Juniata Is out of its banks at
Huntingdon and in Blair county and
the valley is inundated and experience
ing a flood scarcely less destructive
than the memorable one Of 1880. Be-
cause of washouts and landslides traf-
fic on the middle division Of the Penn
sylvania railroad Is suspended. but
inn
OF Lock Haven. on the Northern Cen
tral.
At Shamokin the breaker of the Pat
terson Coal company. together with
fourteen houses, was blown down. Thir-
ty mules IN the stable of the colliery
were killed by the collapse of the build
ing. John Chalmers was fatally in
jured and the infant of Mrs. SaVineski
was killed and Mrs. Savineski had her
leg broken. The above instances are
only q few of the destruction wrought.
There is no telegraphic corNnunica-
tion from this city further west In the
state than Mount Joy. twenty-seven
miles from Harrisburg. and details or
the damage done in that section are
still lacking. The wires OF the tele-
graph companie suffered as they never
did before. and up to 9 o'clock tonight
communication with points south OF
Baltimore was still cut off. The storm
was not particularly severe in Phila-
delphia and only tritling damage was
done.
AT THE STATE CAPITAL.
Harrisburg, Pa, Sept. 30.-A hurri-
cane toyed with Harrisburg in the
night and when the day broke through
the fast disappearing masses or gray
storm cloud this morning. the city
Of Iamnlit
destruction that it has not witnessed
in the last quarter of u century. The
mark of the whirlwnd that passed
over this city will not be effaced in a
month, or q year. Roofs Will be re-
stored and houses repaired. but
thousand MANNED trees-many of them
survivors of the time when the state
capitol was but a struggling hamlet
and to which citizens were in the habit
of pointing with pride-will remain to
show where the storm blaZed it's path
1t had been q rainy Tuesday with
gusty drives of rain that made walk
ing uncomfortable early in the evening.
But this was but q foretaste OF the
coming gale. BY midnight the storm
had begun. 1t hissed around corners
and whined through the telegraph
wires in way utterly foreign to Il
September equinOctial and terrifying to
the timid. 1t was a gale at midnight:
II lashed itself into sections of Whirl-
wind thirty minutes later. and by l
o'clock and for an hour after it showed
the teeth of q small cyclone. There
were scores of people in the city who
spent the night after twelve in their
cellars praying that the fate of st. Louis
might not be in store for Harrisburg.
There We're thousands more who sat
shuddering until morning waiting for
the fury of the wind and rain to abate.
All We're fearful. and, after the hurri-
cane wearied itself out. the streets
We're full of people anxious to learn
the havoc that they knew must lie in
its wake.
BALL OF FIRE.
At 1910 q ball of fire, to observers as
large as a September sum-, flashed out
into the blackness from the southwest
and hung for a full minute in the angry
heavens. Those who saw it say that
1t died away slowly. not with the flash
ing brilliancy and sudden eXtinguishing
of a meteor. but changing from white
to red and then fading like a dying
coal. After this the worst was over.
The hurricane veered frequently and
seemed possessed of as many whims
as school girl 1t would wrench
roofs from their fastenings, several
houses together and then skip skyward
lOI tNo vi tiItt UiOChS DtlOTe DCSlH-
ming its work Of ruin.
On PETER street trees were uprOOted
and blown down on one side of the
street, while the other remained un-
touched. 1t was the same on many
streets with windows. one side of the
thoroughfare escaping, while the Oppo-
site houses would be glassless. Wires
We're down over town. but gangs of
men were soon busy clearing the debris
away. The wires were not gotten into
shape entirely all day; but Third street
cars were running by s o'clock. There
was hardly an avenue or a street that
was not filled with tree limbs and
wreckage.
1t will be several days before the
supervisors of the various districts
can have the dead limbs af the trees
hauled away. In Capitol park the
spectacle is pitiful one. The grounds
Will not regain their former appearance
FOR long time. Big trees that have
weathered the winds of half century
We're bowled down like standing nine
pins. The hurricane seemed to brush
them out of its path like twigs. Roots
with masses of earth clinging to them
as big as room. lie upturned along
the walks and throughout the park
Many small sapplings recently plant.
ed VIII have to be dug up. The storm
cut them in half near the base and
they will be useless. 1t was the same
along Front street and the river bank
IN LANCASTER COUNTY.
Lancaster, Pa. Sept. 30-Late reports
received from all sections of the county
show that the damage done will reach
In the aggregate nearly O million dol.
lars. Hundreds of farmers have lost
their entire tobacco crop, which was
ready for the market. In addition to
frame buildings. numerous brick struc.
lures were razed to the ground. The
largest was thnt of II. Burd Casset
ev-chairman of the Republican county
committee. His brick planning mill
collapsed, destroying valuable machin.
cry and involving q loss OF about slO.-
900. Deputy Auditor General Frida,