The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-08-10
CYCLONE NEAR NEW YORK
Houses Blown Down at Chappaqua,
N, Y, Bury Victims.
STORM SWEEPS HARLEM VALLEY

Hailstones an Inch and a Half in Diam
eter Fall - Kenslco Cemetery Badly
Barns Destroyed - Hudson River Al
Ossining Sucked Dry by the Wind.
New York City.-A tornado with a
water spout attachment made mischief
on the Hudson River and at Chappa'
qua, a few miles above here. No re-
ports Of it were heard from the north
Jersey shore, and its westernmost ap'
pearance was when it began to suck
up water from the river opposite o.
shining. The weather Lid been lowering
in the middle Of the afternoon, with a
brisk wind driving the black clouds
furiously, but no rain fell. Suddenly
the waterspout, apparently fifty feet
in diameter, appeared, and rising
high in the air in funnel shape, swept
west across the river to the upper
Nyack shore. People along shore say
the volume Of water was so great that
it barred the river bottom for a long
distance.
A large new wharf building, at the
summer home of Joseph Hilton, at Up
per Mack, VIZ swept lay, and
pieces of boards and timbers were
whiried off through the air. The Wa
terspout rushed through Crumbie's
Clan fa0 riY1O a a rr-a q nl1rn nor of fInnC
but after it struck The land it soon
broke, the Water falling in large vol
ume. People for miles along the lower
Hudson watched the waterspout from
the time it formed until it broke and
disappeared.
Chappaqua, which lies in a valley,
was hit at 3.45 o'clock in the afterno IN.
For half an hour before the storm
burst the people Of the town knew
that something was going to happen.
Heavy, awirling, dark clouds from the
southwest and northeast Travelled rap
idly toward each other, meeting over
the northeast ,orner Of the town.
The currents carried along with
them great clouds Of dust, and the cur
rent met, it is asserted, with a crash
like a clap of thunder. Then there
vas the sound of falling walls and
crashing timbers.
Five houses We're RACED and a great
number of barns and Outbuildings
were demolished. The a.: currents
seemed to meet almost over the house
Of .drs. Anna Washburn, in which
we've Mrs. Washburn and her mother
Mrs Hibbs, of Philadelphia, who was
paying her daughter a visit. Mrs.
Hibbs was eight. years old.
The building went down like a
house Of cards and Mr.. Hibbs was
killed by falling tinbers. Mrs. Wash
burn was seriously injured. The others
injured in Chappequa were: Warren
Tompkins, Walter Sarles, Mrs. Hes
ter Cox, Cyrus Dodge and Mrs. Mar
tina Morrow.
Chappaqua is located thirty-three
miles from here in a valley which
formed a pathway for the storm. The
town was in complete darkness and a
terrific wind ragged, while the rain and
hail fell in torrents. Hailstones an
inch and a half in diameter fell. Many
rushed from their houses and threw
themselves fiat on the ground. The
storm passed over them as they lay
there. Few of them were injured.
In the barns that blew down were
many horses, several of which were
killed OF so badly injured that they
had to be shot.
Considerable damage was done at
fIa Konc;oo Torootarp uharn fba fall
ing hail completely shattered the
glass in the big Conservatives. All the
Conservatives in the path Of the tor
naio were ruined.
After the storm had partly abated,
the fire department turned out, and.
with the assistance of many summer
boarders, formed a rescuing party.
Drs. Mills, Hatch, Champlain, SaZel
and Cox Joined the party and did
good work caring for the injured.
In the night the fremen of the vii
lage formed a vigilance committee and
patrolled the streets and guarded the
houses which blew down, as some of
them contained valuable property. A
conservative estimate places the loss
of property and crops at 100000.
This amount, it is feared, will be dou-
bled when full reports of the disaster
are in.
The path Of the tornado is about
half a mile long and 800 yards wide.
After spending its main force at Chap
paqua it passed on to Unionville, de-
stroying many farm houses. Then it
travelled down the Bronx Valley to
Kensico Lake, where it seemed to lose
it's force.