Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1910-04-21

A very destructive hail storm visited
this place at 80 Friday afternoon, in
which great damage was done to grow
ing crops and gardens. Vegetation
was beaten into the earth by the rain
of hail stones, which came down from
the heavens as if poured from buckets.
The town was strewn with leaves
beaten from the trees, even this year s
growth of pine trees being severed
from their stems by the hail stones.
Hail stones are reported as large as
small eggs, and there were none under
the size of cherries
The storm was noticed gathering
about 1890. Two storm clouds ap-
preached, one from the south, and one
from the north, and met apparently
over tire head of Point Wannalancet.
west of town. From there the cloud
swooped down into the valley, accom-
panied by high wind, and hail COM
menced to fall at once in windrows
upon the ground. At the handle
works the noise on the metal roof and
sides was so terrific that the men could
not pay attention to their work, and
the machinery was shut down for
half hour until the fusilade ceased
The space between the main building
and dry house was mass OF hail
stones to the depth of several inches.
The sheet iron roof of the last store
house to be erected was penetrated by
the hail stones in many places, and
quite number of finished handles re-
ceived drenching. The iron had
rusted from the inside, making it pos
sible for the hail stones to penetrate
it.
At Coppinger Cove. two miles north
of here, no damage is reported and
very little hail fell. At the dwelling
occupied by the Widow Coppinger
about mile from here up the Cove
road, very little damage was done.
In Sequachee there is not garden
left that is worth looking at. Onions
were smashed to earth, beets and small
Vegetables beaten to shreds. Potatoes
escaped in some parts, of town, while
in others they were beaten fiat. Fruit
trees, which this year for wonder,
were loaded with fruit, were half de-
nuded of their promise of full crop
Nothing escaped the whitening blast
of hail. which dashed from the heav-
ems with clash like steel as it rolled
over and over. The turnip field own
ed by G.. Sherman, which was ripen-
ing seed, is a total loss Window
lights also suffered. All those in the
upper front windows of Smiths block,
except four, were broken. Nine were
broken at E. S. Haynes house. Six
were broken at Chas. Curtis, and one
at John Lawson's, and nearly all
cracked. Others report damage to
windows glass, among them being A.
J. Beeler, every window light in his
house being broken.
:, The hail feature of the storm did not
reach Jasper, but the pike between
here and the DeSabla farm was white
with hail. it apparently falling there
thicker than anywhere else.
John Henderson set out tomato
plants that morning, but that night
fouhd them vanished from his sight,
along with the rest of his garden. A
great many others will have to COM
pletely replant their gardens.
Young persimmon trees in the south
end Of town looked as if they had been
battered with rocks, so much OF the
bark had been beat off by the hail.
A. l.. Mccullough, while hauling
logs on the mountain, was caught in
the storm. His mules grew frantic as
the big hail stones hit them and tol
nreyent runaway he unhitched
them, and while so doing received
such severe pounding on the hands
from the hail stones that they were
swollen greatly next day.
The deck roof to bungalow owned
nv w. s. Pryor, which was covered
with paper, was penetrated so badly
that new layer was necessary next
day to keep out the rain.
A feature of the storm was the sud !
dem drop in temperature caused by the
mass of hail upon the ground after it
ceased falling. 1t was almost as if the
place was a mammoth refrigerator.
Fires were lighted generally to keep
ont the ensuing chill.
The rain kept falling steadily Sat
urday, and while large amount of
water has fallen, it has not penetrated
the ground very much, as some dlscov-
cred who tried to dig post holes and
conldnt. The last heavy rain is re-
norted to have been on the first Tues
dav in March, and since then the alb
sence of rain had reached climax un-