the rear wheels of his wagon. Mr. Smith went down with his team, but escaped serious injury. July 16, 1879, a disastrous tornado swept across the state from west to east. The towns in the Connecticut Valley suffered severely. The weather for many days had been intensely hot and atmospheric conditions were similar to those which cause cyclones in the West. The storm was at its worst in Northampton, where many of the largest of its famous elm-trees were uprooted. In Amherst, also, the storm was severe. A heavy fall of hail destroyed crops and broke many hundred panes of glass. The Durfee Plant-house on the Agricultural College grounds was wrecked. Lightning struck many buildings, including the almshouse at South Amherst. As witnessed from Amherst, the storm presented a most imposing and awesome appearance.

Sept. 6, 1881, is known in New England annals as the "yellow day." During the early hours of the morning an intense darkness prevailed, lightening at sunrise. About 9 A. M. darkness began to settle down over the earth, the sun being completely veiled from sight. The air was thick, a sickly yellow vapor seeming to rise from the ground, and giving out a very pungent odor. Gas was lighted in the stores at an early hour in the forenoon, the scholars in the public schools were dismissed and fowls sought their roost as in the "dark days" earlier in the century. The darkness continued to increase until noon, but about 2 P. M. the sun began to show a little through the clouds and by sunset the air was fairly clear. A curious coincidence in connection with this phenomenon was the fact that the following day, Sept. 7, had been fixed upon by a certain sect as the date when the world should end, and some, even of the skeptical, were not a little alarmed at the "yellow day," which might well have ushered in some extraordinary event. The cause of this phenomenon has never been fully ascertained, but is generally supposed to have resulted from great forest fires in Canada.

New England's great and only blizzard began on March 11, 1888 and continued through two nights and one day. In Amherst, snow began to fall lightly on Sunday evening, continuing through the night and Monday morning with increasing vigor. By Monday noon the wind was blowing a gale and the air was filled with sharp ice-crystals that cut into the flesh of those who were exposed to the fury of the storm. As night drew on the storm increased in violence and nearly every road in town was rendered impassible for teams. The mingled snow and ice was piled by the wind in drifts reaching in many cases to the second-story windows of dwellinghouses. During the night, while the storm yet raged, an alarm of fire was given and in less than an hour Palmer's block and the "Cooper house " were in ashes. Snow was banked about the engine-house so that it was impossible to open the doors, but the hose was dragged out through the

windows and an attempt made to stay the flames, but this was impossible. The storm continued through the night and, the following morning, residents of Amherst "looked upon a world unknown." The whole outline of the landscape had been changed in a day and night. Teams were at once set at work breaking out the highways but full communication was not established between the center village and the outlying districts until late on Wednesday afternoon. Some drifts at East Amherst measured over twenty feet in depth. Travel on both railway lines passing through Amherst was suspended from Monday noon until Wednesday night. A passenger train on the New London Northern road was stalled near the Amherst depot, while on the Massachusetts Central road an engine was wrecked while trying to force its way through the snowdrifts in the "cut" to the west of the station. No mails and no daily papers were received in Amherst for two days. Telegraph wires were down, and news of the fire in Palmer's block reached the New York papers by way of long-distance telephone from Northampton to Boston, and then by cable via London, England, to New York. Milkmen were unable to cover their routes, and the supply of fresh meat in town was nearly exhausted ere the blockade was broken. The expense of opening the highways for travel was more than $1,000. Many persons attempting to reach their homes from their places of business Monday evening, had narrow escapes from death by exposure or exhaustion. There were no fatal accidents caused in the town by the blizzard, but many persons were rendered ill by exposure. Sept. 11, 1895, a tornado passed over the town.

Lasting but half an

hour, it did great damage to property in a limited area. At the height of the storm the wind-gauge at the Hatch Experiment station indicated a velocity of 92 miles an hour. Rain fell in torrents, and was succeeded by

a fall of hail the like of which had never before been noted in this latitude. Trees were blown down, chimneys demolished, houses unroofed and thousands of panes of glass broken. Telegraph and telephone wires. were broken and tangled. The fruit crop was badly damaged. In less. than a half-hour after the storm began the sun was shining brightly.

CHAPTER LIII.

THE OLD CANNON.-SLAVERY AND THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT.-AUTHORS. -SCIENTISTS.-NATURAL FEATURES.-LOCALITY NAMES.—PUB

LIC CONVENIENCES.-SOCIETIES.

The struggle in regard to the opening of Triangle street was but an incident in the contest, long continued, for supremacy between the settlements at the East and West streets. Another feature of this contest, and a most interesting one, is found in the efforts made by the younger element in either community to secure and retain possession of the "old cannon." After the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne, the American army was well supplied with new and improved brass and bronze field-pieces captured from the enemy. Some of the old iron cannon, which had previously been in use by the American troops, were presented by the government to officers who had served with distinction in the campaign. Among the officers thus honored was Lieut. Ebenezer Mattoon, who was given charge of two iron field-pieces, six-pounders, with carriages and all appurtenances. The guns were forwarded to Hatfield, whence they were brought to Amherst by Oliver Clapp and Joseph Blair. One of these guns was loaned to go to New Salem, where it stood for some years on the common, being used in firing salutes on July 4th and other public occasions. It was stolen by boys and hidden for several years, but was found in the early '60s and restored to its place on the common. Soon afterwards a foot or two o the muzzle was blown away owing to overloading. After this accident the gun disappeared in a mysterious manner for the second time and has never been recovered.

Not less eventful, and even more exciting, was the history of the gur that remained in Amherst. Lieutenant, afterwards General Mattoon, willingly loaned it for use in patriotic celebrations, and it was in general demand on July 4th and similar occasions. Gen. Mattoon lived at East Amherst, but this did not prevent the West street "boys" from frequently gaining possession of the gun. Time and again it was hidden away, in anticipation of future use, by one faction, only to be discovered and stoler by the other. It is related that one Fourth of July, when the gun chanced to be in possession of the West-street faction, the young men at East street organized themselves into a regular artillery company, and having procured a cannon from Belchertown marched with it to the West street at midnight on July 3d and fired a salute, hoping that the West-street faction would bring out their gun, when it was proposed to have a pitched battle for