The age-herald., 1898-08-26
THE ELEMENTS
 DECLARED WAR And Birmingham Came Out Second Best
 in the Battle. HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING An Electrical Bolt RazGd the Flag on
 Fox Building. BOLT BURSTED A GAS PIPE Which Was Followed by Small Blaze Wreck on A. G. s. Caused by
 Storm-Nameless Negro
 Tramp a Victim.
HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING
IT BURsTED A GAS PIPE

The elements under command of Jupiter Pluvius declared war yesterday afternoon and when the battle cleared away it was discovered that Birmingham and the sur rounding district had gotten considerably the worst of it
 About 2:30 o'clock terrific electric storm broke over the city, accompanied by heavy, driving rain, which lasted for about one hour The lightning was very severe and the heavy peals of thunder were nll but deafening. The electric fluid played along the telephone wires in b1e streaks and gave forth a cracking sound, badly frightening many persons who were In range of telephones.
 The rainfall was 1.S2 inches, the heaviest that has fallen in the city in some time. The streets were flooded and crossings im- passible.
 Business suspended
 Business was entirely suspended and wagons and carriages left standing, while the drivers sought safety in near by houses or stores.
 During the thunder storm a heavy bolt of lightning struck the flag staff on the Fox building, corner of Fourth avenue and Nlneteentn street, anu uiu lo Oiu 0ioEy what the dons failed to do. The pole was left standing. but was split for several feet from the top.
 Another bolt struck the steeple of the Twenty -first-stree Methodist church in North Birmingham and passed down both sides of the walls of the church. knocking off almost all the plastering
 The end of the Market House was also struck, and small restaurant in the building set on fire.
 Gas Pipe in a BInze
 The store tof P. w Earle & Co., in First avenue. between Nineteenth and Twen- tieth streets. also suffered from the storm. One of the heavy bolts followed the gas pipe into the building, bursting the pipe and causing the gas to, ignite.
 The fire department wRvs called out in the heaviest of the storm by a false alarm from Eighth avenue and the laddies and horses got good drenchng.
 Several other places were struck by lightning, but no serious damage was done. After the storm cleared away there was a perceptible change in the atmosphere At noon the thermometer registered 93 de- grees and everybody was sweltering. At p. m. 73 degrees was registered, fa,' of = almost 20 degrees. Weathermaker Jacobs seemed to have lost control of his machin- cry and "let her go Gallagher"
 He seems to enjoy the sport however, and has predicted another thunder storm chuckle and say that sunshine is certain.
 Nameless Tramp Killed
 Railroad officials got word last night of wreck due to the storm, which occurred on the Alabama Great Southern near Huu, Ala. between Tuscaloosa and Meridian, about o'clock yesterday afternoon. An unknown negro tramp was killed and twelve freight were wrecked. At the point where the disaster occurred, the track is low, running along the banks of the Warrior river. The heavy rains of the af- ternoon undermined the track. The engine passed over safely, but the middle of the train was caught. It was the through freight which leaves Birmingham in the morning. The passenger train was delayed several hours.