100 Weather at Philinsburg, Pennsylvania ; 



beaten down by a tempest. Above, the tall trees drooped 

 and swung heavily ; their branches glittering, as if formed of 

 solid crystal, and, on the slightest movement of the air, striking 

 against each other, and sending down an avalanche of ice. 

 During the night of the 8th, and on the succeeding morning, 

 the limbs of the trees began to give way under such an 

 unusual load. Every where around was seen and heard the 

 crashing of the topmost branches, which fell to the earth 

 with a noise like the breaking of glass, yet so loud as to make 

 the woods resound. As the day advanced, instead of branches, 

 whole trees began to fall ; and, during twenty-four hours, the 

 scene which took place was as sublime as can well be con- 

 ceived. There was no wind perceptible, yet, notwithstanding 

 the calmness of the day, the whole forest seemed in motion ; 

 falling, wasting, or crumbling, as it were, piecemeal. Crash 

 succeeded to crash, until, at length, these became so rapidly 

 continuous as to resemble the incessant discharges of artil- 

 lery ; gradually increasing ; as from the irregular firing at 

 intervals of the outposts, to the uninterrupted roar of a 

 heavy cannonade. Pines of 150 ft. and 180 ft. in height came 

 thundering to the ground, carrying others before them ; 

 groves of hemlocks were bent to the ground like reeds ; and 

 the spreading oaks and towering sugar maples were uprooted 

 like stubble, and often without giving a moment's warning. 

 Under every tree was a rapidly accumulating debris of dis- 

 placed limbs and branches ; their weight, increased more 

 than tenfold by the ice, and crushing every thing in their fall 

 with sudden and terrific violence. Altogether, this spectacle 

 was one of indescribable grandeur. I could not resist devoting 

 the whole day to the contemplation, notwithstanding the con- 

 tinued rain, of the desolating and tremendous effects of this 

 unusual phenomenon. It was necessary, however, to be care- 

 ful to remain at a prudent distance from the falling timber. 

 Of all the scenes in the American forests, this was the most 

 awful I had witnessed. The roar, the cracking and rending, 

 the thundering fall of the uprooted trees, the startling unusual 

 sounds and sights produced by the descent of such masses of 

 solid ice, and the suddenness of the crash, when a neighbour- 

 ing tree gave way, I shall not easily forget. Yet all this was 

 going on in a dead calm, except, at intervals, a gentle air from 

 the south-east slightly waved the topmost pines. Had the 

 wind freshened, the destruction would have been still more 

 appalling. It was awful to witness the sudden prostration of 

 oaks of the largest class. These trees were the greatest suf- 

 ferers ; and it seemed remarkable that the deciduous trees 

 should be less able to bear the additional burden than the 



