The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-07-22
Record of Summer Storms
was Broken.
2INCHES, 40 MINUTES
Damage to Crops Feared. People
Afraid Of Sea Serpents and Cab
bage Snakes. Refrigerator
Weather for Several
Days.

Don't kick. Although in forty min
utes last evening the rainfall was two
inches. the heaviest of this year. and
remarkable altogether yet in India
forty inches of rain in one day is a
common occurrence Don't kick. A
horse a few days ago broke it's left
hind leg by kicking, and he kicked
at fly. on hot day. 1t doesn't pay
to kick at small things.
The Storm.
Raleigh seldom sees a storm such
as the one of last night. The, torrents
began to fall at 7:1S, without a pre-
liminary shower, and continued forty
minutes. during which time the
amount of rainfall was exactly two
inches, which may be considered an
extremely heavy rate of fall Seldom
indeed does such an one occur here.
The temperature, which had reached
the maximum of 80 degrees about 4 80
o'clock began to fall precipitately, and
within the amazing briefneSS of a
few minutes after the commencement
of the storm the mercury had dropped
IS degrees. and at o'clock the tenn
perature was still at 81. The wind We
locity was not so very high, reaching
only thirty miles an hour, from the
southwest. This storm makes a break
in the abandoned hot period. and mod
crate weather may be expected to last
several days.
... Lamentations.
n reporter was walking rapidly
westward on Hillsboro Street when the
fury of the storm was at its zenith.
He seemed to be daring the internal
regions by his consummate foolish
ness, and compared to his experiences
the itelIectuaI visions of Dante, and
the associations OF Faust are mild.
Just as he was approaching Hillsboro
Street bridge the lightning struck an
electric wire fell across the trolley
wire of the street car line, was burn
ed in two, and fell within a few yards
from his feet kissing with it's myraid
fiery tongues for several seconds. But
the reporter FASTENED on, wet to his
conscience. When he arrived in front
of Capt. S. A. Ashes home there was
a terrific report within thirty feet of
him. A fork of stuff resembling an
endless stick of exploding dynamite
made contact with the ground, and di-
rectiy there was light brighter
than the brilliant sun CLEAN.
followed closely by shaking
noise that almost deafened
him, and assembled direct to heaven;
thence thunderously out to the four
far horizons with Il multiplicity of
sharp, dull loud. faint, deep, solemn
reports and flashes of brightness that
filled the interim between heaven and
earth and where the skies meet the
world. Raging with demOniac an
ger great river of brilliancy became
a frenZied concentrated arm of burn
ing madness, and with shrek
grasped in its scintillating hand the
trolley wire. This was at the corner
of Boylan Avenue and Hillsboro
Street. In a twinkling the arm was
severed from it's sparkling body high
er up, and presto. on the wire was one
great hotIy agitated ball-presto, it
had transformed itself into a score of
smaller balls, twirling around the
wire, as in a fearful desperation-and
all was dark again. With his heaviest
artillery. with his most powerful
laundering batteries, the cloud king
fired on earth. The reporter walked.
more rapidly, on, but with a slight
misgiving. With multitude of noises
to the right, left. front and back of
him. as though the aerial heights were
rehearsing a battle which was more
fierce than all the battles of Alexan-
der Hannibal. Caesar, Napoleoan. Mel
son. Washington, Lee. Dewey, Schley,
OZama and Togo combined, he Strug-
Il
Mary's School the entire contents OF
heaven seemed to turn loose and the
lightning attached to a tree almost In
reach He was shocked, He put one
hand to his eyes (because he could
hardly see) and the other to his
mouth (to facilitate breathing) and
stopped A car was just passing to-
wards the capitol, and he boarded it.
Hard luck Five consecutive times
lightning struck the wire and several
times the circuit breaker was thrown
out at the power house. At the corner
of Boylan Avenue the car stopped
and refused to go farther. The first
class passengers were asked to walk
and the second class to get out and
push Finally it was made to go down
hill by gravity, and was switched to
the car barn. Another car was soon
on but the reporter had preceded 1T by
quarter of an hour. and when he got
to the office was almost resolved into
the elements especially water.
At this moment the street arc lights
were turned on. The worst part of
the storm had passed, and a force set
out from the electric company's head
quarters to raise wires that had fall
len during the storm.
Damages Caused by Storm.
AS the storm occurred after dark. it
was impossible to learn the extent of
damages done by it. Undoubtedly
the crops, and possibly tobacco espec-