SOMETHING LIKE A HAILSTORM.

Tuapeka Times, Volume I, Issue 29, 29 August 1868, Page 5

SOMETHING LIKE A HAILSTORM.

A. San Antonio journal gives an account "of a fearful hailstorm, in describing which it says, "Our city is a perfect wreck; j every house in it has received some damage ; many are in complete ruins, with ! nothing but fragments of walls standing. The hailstorms penetrated the best roofs, going through the'best tin roofs like cannon balls. All the windows facing the north have been smashed in ; even window shutters aud doors were broken down. The appearance of the city c mid not have been worse under a severe bombardment. The roob'ugof theeiithe city is perforated like a sieve. The hailstones were of irregular shapes and sizes, as if a mass of ice had broken above onr devoted heads, and been driven by a tornado to the earth. One hailstone was found weighing over live pounds, while a great many as large as a man's fist were picked up. Many of the families whose houses were beaten down took shelter under beds and tables, and thus escaped bodily harm. We have only heard of one death, a negro boy ; several had limbs broken and were severely bruised, while the whole population were frightened almost to death. The damage is of every character, and half a million dollars will not cover it all. The corn patches and gardens are flattened to the ground, and have the appearance of having passed through a chopping mill. All the fruit crop is di'Btroyed. The, storm resembled a terrific battle ; so fearful was the noise that no one could bear unless, they screamed in each other's ears. We learn that the hailstorm extended from live to twenty-five miles in extent—destroying every tiling over a region of thirty miles from north to south, and ten to twenty mile* from east to west."