Account of a Hurricane at Shelbyville, Tenn. 255, 
of the night, but the storm did not reach its utmost fury till mid- 
night. The lightning was unusually brilliant, the flashes were so 
continuous as to enable us to see objects with perfect distinctness, 
and even to read without the light of acandle. This unusual brill- 
iancy of the lightning was remarked in many distant parts of the. 
State. The lightning was not accompanied with very loud thunder, 
nor did it appear to have struck or injured any object in the neigh- 
borhood of the village. 
~The town of Shelbyville is situated on a bill which fills up, so to 
speak, a long gorge between two chains of highlands, which lie on 
each side of Duck River; this hill is at the eastern extremity of the 
valley. This circumstance contributes very much to the pleasant- 
ness of the site for a town, commanding a fine view, and catching 
every breeze of summer ; but it likewise exposes it to the fury of 
every gale that sweeps up the river. ‘The court-house occupies the 
brow of the hill. Around the court-house is a small square or com- 
mon, and on the four sides of this square are built the principal stores 
and shops, the bank, and the taverns. It was on this part of the 
town, that the hurricane exerted its greatest violence. Few families 
resided in this portion of the village ; and it was mercifully ordered 
that the catastrophe should occur at an hour when the inhabitants had 
retired from the business part of the town. The wind had blown 
with great fury and violence without doing any injury for three hours, 
when suddenly the houses began to crack, and in fifteen seconds the 
besom of destruction swept over the devoted village, and left it a mass 
of ruins. Those who were within the range of the tempest were 
warned of their danger by the shaking of their houses the moment 
before they fell. A change of position saved the lives of some, 
and caused the death of others. Some found themselves suddenly 
in the open air, surrounded by falling timbers, planks, and bricks ; 
others were buried in the ruins of their houses. Some met death 
whilst endeavoring to escape; others perished in their beds, crushed 
beneath their falling dwellings. Only five persons were killed. A 
few were dreadfully bruised, who recovered from their wounds. 
The interpositions of a merciful Providence for the preservation of 
life in the midst of such danger, were numerous and astonishing to 
all who knew the facts, and so much out of the way of common 
events, that they would scarcely be believed on the testimony of a 
single individual. Whole families were rescued from the ruins of 
their houses without any material bodily injury. Individuals were 
