Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1917-06-07
HAIL STORM
| CLOUD BURST
Does Great Damage in Head
of Valley Saturday
Morning.

A40Sb Oaeutuog OAAAhB ttiO hOau VI
the valley fifteen miles above Pike
vile, WAS visited by one of the most
destructive hail storms in years and a
cloud burst which washed away grow
ing crops aud destroyed bridges and
drowned young stock.
Residents of that section, while
down at court Tuesday report that in
some sections in the extreme head OF
the valley, that hail fell in almost a
continual sheet of ice for over an hour
and that by actual measurement 1t
was eighteen inches deep at some
points. Hail stones as large as wal
nuts were found in the lot, though the
most of it was about the size Of mar
bles. Mr.. Parham, who lives fifteen
miles above Pikeville states that dur
ing the storm 1t became 80 dark that
1t appeared as though the night had
come. He states that following the
heavy bail, rain fell in torrents or
sheets and that the corn fields were
soon covered with floating logs from
the mountain sides and fences were
torn away by the rushing waters
Huge rocks which had lain on the
mountain sides for years were torn
loose by raging torrents and rushed to
the valley with roar.
J. A. Narramore, who lives in the
same locality, reports that the hail
measured SIX inches in bis yard, and
that the river rese seven feet in about
90 minutes and that all bridges along
the way were washed away.
A popularity of the storm VS. that
hundreds Of fish were found along the
banks of the river after the water had
run down. 1t is supposed that the
quick rise In the water with the I'M
usual muddiness of the water caused
the fish to seek clear water and that
they we're left on the banks when the
water ran down The fish were all Of
all varieties and in great quaniti-
ties, and we're gathered up by the cit.
liens in atiocality as soon as they
were discovered.
A number of cattle were found dead
on the mountain side, supposed to have
been killed by lightning. This is the
mosst destructive storm that has visit
ed this section in many years and the
damage will amount to thousands of
dollars. Bledsonian. Pikeville.
The following is another account Of
the storm, and is taken from the
Crossville Chi onicle:
Saturday morning one of the most
disastrous storms that has ever visited
this county swept through near the
vandever neighborhood and into the
head of Sequatchie valley, where it
did m any hundred dollars damage in
washing away crops, fences and barns.
On the mountain the hail cut the
leaves from the trees SO that in places
half or more of the leaves were gone,
aud the road badly washed out and so
many trees blown down that the roads
were almost impossible.
The greatest destruction was
wrought in Sequatchie valley. At
the home of Emmett Kerley one pen
of his log barn was moved about for
ty feet In it was span Of mules
One mule remained in the barn and
was not injured. The other one was
carried a quarter of mils and lodged
in huge drift. The mule was alive
when rescued but had several ribs
broken and had narrowly escaped
being drowned
The water came down the narrow
valley so rapidly and was so high that
Mr. Kerley and family could not es-
cape from their home until after the
storm was over. Water rose in their
home nearly two feet and they had to
get on tables aud beds to escape the
raging waters.l One child was almost
swept from the room, but fortunately
the father succeeded in catching it be-
fore it was carried from the room by
the water Most of their household
goods were practically ruined. The
total loss to Mr.. Kerley was around
$4O0 His crop was badly damaged as
we'll as there being much fence swept
away.
Near the home of Mr. Kerley great
boulders wera carried down by the
swift waters and piled up few feet
from his residence in great drifts that
would represent many tons of weight.
John Parham also suffered severely
in destruction to his crops and fences.
James Brown had a portion of his
barn swept away, fences torn down
and his planted fields quilted and
washed away to such an extent that
his loss will run to several hundred
dollars Hail fell in large quantities.
1t piled up against the barn of Mr..
Brown 80 much that it was more
than a foot deep Sunday morning
when people visited the scene of the
wreckage.
While the direct property loss was
not very heavy, the damage to the
plowed fields and growing cropswss so
severa that il will cauae "A loss direct-