The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1910-01-07
MIR. WORCESTER'S LETTER
FROM THE PHILIPPINES.


the States gives an account of the
havoc done in September by a gale
that went through the Northern
States at the rate of 40 to So miles
an hour, taking down telephone
poles, unroofing houses, BLOWN g
down trees, &C., and it made me
wonder what some of you people
would say if you should by chance
get a real wind.
Let me tell you of one that we
have been having.
On the afternoon of Saturday,
Oct 23d, a heavy rain set in that
drove every one to cover. There
was some wind afternoon and even
ing but not more than usual at
such times. About a. m. it began
to blow in at our west window and
soon increased so that our daughter
got up and took things off the porch.
In short time it swung into the
North and she called to us that she
thought we had better get dressed.
That while she did not look for any
danger, it was likely to blow in if
it came harder and we might have
to move things. By the time we
were dressed it looked as if it would
blow the doors in that faced the
North, and we began to brace and
hold them.
Our son was gone and we had a
young civil engineer from Maine.
He said " If the doors go your roof
will" and he worked like a hero.
The storm kept increasing and
soon we heard cries, and the inhab-
itants of one of the mems houses
came running to the house saying
their house was blown down. We
did not dare to open the door but
took them in through an East win
dow.
Soon another house went and
then another and another till we
had the front room 25x12 packed
full. We had the men in a solid
row trying to hold the north end
from blowing in but the upper half
of one door and the half of the
suale in the gable got away from us,
but after perhaps an hour it began
to let up and we began to think
that the worst was over, when to
my dismay it began to come in at
the East window. This gave me
scare for it made me think we were
near the centre of a typhoon-and
soon this proved up. From the
East the wind swung to the South,
and then we faced what a real wind
was. We moved the lnen to the
South wall of the house where we
braced our backs and shoulders
against the wall and for half an
hour held as men do not often hold,
but in spite of all we could do three
times we felt the side come over.
The roof is of Calon grass held
in place by Stats of bamboo in A
shape tied at the edges, and this had
stood the blow from the north-but
the south wind took this and lot
of roof off and the rain came in in
sHEETs-not in drops or streams
but it was like being under the
apron of a dam.
The house did not go DOWN but
by actual measure the studs 9 feet
high stood 81 feet out Of plumb.
When at last the daylight came the
great wind was passed, and we be-
gan to see what was left. Of 10
houses for help one was still stand
ing. The machinery house was
intact as far as the main frame was
concerned, but half the roof and a
good deal of the sides were gone.
The windmill that stood on a 40 #.
tower, was down, and the water
tank that stood 20 feet to the east
and on a 20 #. tower was on tep of
the MILL but did not hit the tower.
In the house everything was soaked
and blown or thrown over-books
and papers, beds and clothes, all
drenched. All about us trees were
twisted to pieces-and the ROUGH
OUTSIDE BARK on the south side was
blown off, leaving them smooth and
white. Pieces of the iron roof have
been brought in from some TWO
MILES away.
At the town of Cabanatuan 400
houses were wrecked including two
large rice mills and a great stone {
church. Only 29o of the houses
escaped.
At Nazerett not house was left l
and so it went.
At the signal station on Mirridare
the wind registered o5 miles an hour
and then the instrument was carried 9
away but at another station in the
path of the storm it registered 1876 S
niles an hour-which makes your e
10 to So look small.
The typhoon started Southwest |
If us and cut diagonally across