Evening star., 1934-09-30

President Lincoln, who worshped at this
church. The gift also included the chimes
clocks and flood lighting of the spire, whi1h
go to make up one of the most beautiful sights
Of the city.
However severe and destructive may have
been the storms within our own memory, it is
doubtful if they were quite bad some we
find accounts of in the newspapers when WASH
ington was struggling village, or mudhole, as
it sometimes before the Board of Public
Works improved the city subsequent to the Civil
War.
The Star in its issue of June % 1857, gives
an account of hailstorm that would be very
hard to beat. OF course, Washington was not
so thickly populated then it is today. and
naturally there we're not nearly so many build
jngS, and the opportunity for destroying prop
erty was accordingly not near SO great. But
its destructive force can be judged just the
same, from The Stars account which follows:
"AIl hail! 1t has rained morning and night.
for don't know how many times 40 days
in succession, and yesterday it hailed. Didn't
it, though? A threatening cloud blackened
the Western sky between 2 and 3 o'clock yes
terday afternoon, portending the usual daily
installment of rain. This We had accompanied
by fearful vivid lightning and heavy thunder.
Then occurred a pause. and then came fear
full, unfamiliar crashing sound, and a fall OF
hail or rather large cakes and fakes OF ice,
which snote mercilessly the tender vegetation
and carpeted the ground, almost instantane-
ously with thick covering Of crushed plants
and green leaves stripped from the trees The
loaded boughs of fruit trees were in many in
stances entirely denuded, fields of grain were
laid PROSTATE. as by the mowers scythe; green
houses. public or private. were naturally
stricken down with a crash and the rare
plants in many instances completely destroyed.
The westerly windows of buildings unprotected
by shutters or blinds were completely riddled
Even the heavy glass-some three -eighths OF
an inch thick-in the roof of the new Halls Of
Congress, was broken by the terrible blows in
hicted by those falling masses of ice. Houses
were unroofed, fire bells rang. cattle plunged
from point to point believing in piteous fright:
trees were torn up by the roots, or their limbs
broken of like pe-stemS; shutters were
twisted from houses the streets were deluged
with water, which moved with sluggish currents
its drainage being impeded by the admixture
Of frozen sleet, which did not melt Immediately
owing to the sudden and uncomfortable lower
ing Of the temperature in consequence of the
falling hail. The red lightning, like an at
tendant demon upon the Storm King, played
q fearfully active part. Everywhere pre-
sented something startling-something out OF
the course Of nature.
INCIDENTS OF STORM.
"The Smithsonian Institution lost 1000 panes
of glass: Huges, gardener, lost $500 peonies
and had his garden flowers and rare plants
ruined The beautiful field Of oats in the public
square west of the Smithsonian Institution IS cut
down as If with scythe Apparently not more
than one stalk out of so is left standing where
was the most vigorous field of grain we have
seen this season. 1t is cut of almost horizontally
about 1 foot from the root. In nearly all the
private gardens the grape vines, peach trees,
strawberry vines and vegetables are entirely
ruined
"The Government greenhouse at the foot of
the Capitol is a complete wreck; the United
States Hotel has lost 400 panes of glass, and
sustained a damage of $500; the new
Government Armory has lost every pane of
glass on its northwestern front; the skylights
at the Capitol Ca specimen of which is now
before us), IS of an inch thick, were cracked