It is rather a long piece of text from the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent for 8th July 1843, which I have included in its entirety, plus some follow-up articles from the same newspaper, and an account of a further storm in August of the same year.
From the
‘Sheffield and Rotherham Independent’, 1843.
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8 July 1843
TREMENDOUS HAIL
STORM
On Wednesday
evening [5th July 1843], a thunder storm, attended by a hurricane of
wind and a terrific shower of hail, passed over the town, doing almost
incalculable damage. Tuesday and
Wednesday had been oppressively hot, and during Wednesday afternoon thunder was
heard at intervals, and dense clouds floated through the atmosphere. At six, the sky was overcast by clouds from
the south west, and the heavens continued to gather blackness for about a
quarter of an hour. The storm commenced
with rain, which was quickly followed by a most impetuous wind, driving before
it vollies [sic] of bullets, of hard clarified ice, the size of small marbles. Hailstones have been computed to fall at the
rate of 50 miles an hour, but these, driven by the wind, must have had a much
greater velocity. So terrific was the
violence of the storm, aggravated by the glare of the lightning, the thunder,
and the rushing of the wind, that had it continued half an hour, we doubt
whether any animal exposed to it could have lived. Happily the hail had passed over in little
more than five minutes, but in that short period a deluge of water was pouring
down our streets, and an immense destruction of glass was effected, probably
greater than was ever known in Sheffield. The storm appears to have spread widely, but
the course of the hail, as far as we can ascertain, was about a mile broad, and
its fall very capricious. Indeed, we are
inclined to suppose that the hail-storm must have moved in two columns, or that
there were occasional discharges of hail at some distance from the main body. There was no considerable hail at Chesterfield. In approaching the town, it appears to have
embraced Totley and Dore on the one side, taking in Greenhill, and then missing
Bolehill and Woodseats, but extending eastward to Coal Aston, Norton, and
Hemsworth, whence it came over Heeley to the town. An account of its effects in the neighbouring
parts of Derbyshire, will be found below.
At Lowfield, we understand that the hail scarcely left twenty squares
entire in the vineries of Mrs. Thomas, and the place was filled to a
considerable depth with hailstones. The
premises of other residents in that neighbourhood shared a similar fate. At Sheaf House, George Younge, Esq., has
sustained much loss. Windows having a
south or south-west aspect suffered fearfully.
St. Mary's Church appears to have
escaped, but in Brunswick Chapel, the windows on the south side have about half
their squares demolished. The great
force of the storm seems to have extended, but by no means equally, from
Glossop road, near the top of Fitzwilliam
street, to Suffolk
road. Northward of the first named
point, the force of the hail seems not to have sufficed to break, but only in
some places to crack the squares of glass.
There are a few cracked in the upper part of Broad lane, and we did not
observe that the south windows of St.
George's Church
were broken. But down the north side of West street, many
are broken. Going down Fitzwilliam street,
in the upper part we observed comparatively few windows broken; towards the
middle of the street they are numerous; but near the bottom, there are scarcely
any, though the windows from Broomhall
street to South street have the same aspect. Crossing to the east side of South street, we
find abundant indications that we have reached that part of the track of the
storm where it was most severe. In all
the cross streets, the windows facing the south are destroyed to an amazing
extent. From 25 to 50 per cent. of such
windows as have fared the best, are broken; but in some, there is not a whole
pane left. This is particularly the case
in Messrs. B. and J. Raworth's grinding wheel, in Arundel street, while Messrs.
Friths', which are parallel to them on the opposite side of the street, have
escaped with a handsome discount. In Furnival street,
and Howard street
the damage is very great. Howard street
Chapel, and the houses of Dr. Holland, Miss Squires, and others on the same
side have suffered much. Messrs. W. and
S. Butcher, in Eyre lane, had some hundreds of squares destroyed, and goods
injured by the rain. The storm seems
almost to have concentrated its fury on the Music Hall. Eyre
street served as a direct channel for the wind,
which drove the hail with such force against the gallery windows of the saloon,
that not one square remains. The windows
under the gallery, and on the staircase, as well as those of the Library, are
also greatly demolished. Of 64 panes in
the Library windows, only twelve remain.
It is not surprising, when we see how rudely this building was assailed,
that the utmost consternation should have prevailed among the company assembled
within. The darkness, the tremendous
pelting of the hailstones on the roof, the crash of glass, the howling of the
wind, and the glare of the lightning, must have been a frightful combination,
even to such as apprehended no danger; but when to this was added the
apprehension that the place had been struck by lightning, it is not surprising
that some fainted, others prayed, and others rushed wildly to and fro in a
state of distraction. The meeting at
that time must have resembled the passengers of an emigrant ship in a storm. It is providential that none set the example
of rushing from the place, or the effect might have been most disastrous. The houses of Mr. Thomas and others, in a
line with the Music Hall, have suffered greatly. The south windows of St. Paul's Church are riddled as if it had
been the afternoon’s sport of a hundred idle boys to pelt at them. The illuminated dia1 of the clock is broken
between the figures, and in that respect the clocks of the Parish Church
and the Town Hall have shared the same fate.
The Roman Catholic Chapel, the Nether Chapel, and Norfolk street Chapel, have all suffered
much damage on the south side; and lower down the street, we understand that
Messrs. Rodgers and Sons have lost many hundred squares of glass. High street, from Messrs. Whelan and Whitty’s
to the top, Church street throughout, the south side of the Parish Church, Campo
lane, and all the streets of similar aspect about, have sustained great damage. The dome of the great dining room of the
Cutlers' Hall is destroyed. Of eight
large windows that light it, five have not an
entire square left in them, and the broken glass and hail falling on the
coloured glass screen below, have done great damage, though, fortunately, much
of the coloured glass was protected by copper wire guards, and there the injury
is small. Beyond the river Don, Pitsmoor
seems to have been the boundary of the hail.
Several gentlemen in that neighbourhood have sustained damage. Bridgehouses Chapel had some squares broken,
and the Pitsmoor Workhouse rather more. The
whitewashed front of the Workhouse is peppered as if it had been the employment
of the pauper children to knock off the whitewash. The hail passed off, we believe, in two
directions, right and left of Attercliffe, one column going towards Wombwell,
Darfield, and Selby causing fearful havoc; and the other in the direction of
Darnal, Beighton, Whiston, Wickersley, &c., and stretching a' southward to
Aston and Wales. We fear that the damage
to the crops in this district is most serious.
In one field near Wickersley, we understand that the tops of the wheat,
to the breadth of several lands, are swept off as completely as if with a
scythe. At Todwick, we are told, there
was a heavy hail-storm earlier in the afternoon. From Richmond
the hail was seen moving magnificently along at a distance, like an immense
wall; and there, though beyond its immediate range, the storm raged with great
violence, and the wind was so powerful, that it seized a large tree, and
twisting it round by the boughs, broke its trunk some feet from the ground. At Page Hall, the seat of James Dixon, Esq.,
we understand that two fine trees were destroyed.
It would be
tedious to enter into an enumeration of the number of panes destroyed in
different places. The Botanical Gardens,
we apprehend, must stand first in the list, where the number is computed to be
5700, and the damage is estimated at £100 or more. We fear that the plants in the conservatories
must have suffered as well as the glass.
Richard Bayley, Esq., of Castle Dyke; has sustained damage to the amount
of £50, while the vineries of Miss Silcock, only about 100 yards distant, have
escaped almost entirely. In Upper
Hallam, the wind and hail for a limited breadth, passing over the crops, completely
swept them from the ground, and the hailstones were so large and solid that
they lay drifted in quantities until Thursday afternoon. At the Railway Station there are reported to
be 621 panes broken or cracked. In the
Primitive Methodist chapel, Coalpit lane, about 300 squares are broken; and
many also in the Baptist chapel, Eyre
street. In
the grinding wheel, at Trafalgar works,
belonging to Mr. Thos. Wiley, Haymarket,
400 panes are broken and there are 367 in seven cottages and three shops in
King's Arms yard, Fargate, belonging to Mr. H. V. Bartlett. These few facts may give some idea
what immense damage the town has suffered.
According to the
old proverb that it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good, this is the
harvest of the glaziers. We understand
that some of them immediately sent messenges [sic] to the neighbouring towns to
buy up all the glass they could, and to engage assistance. We saw one gentleman of this lucky trade very
blythely riding about on Thursday, with his horse's head decorated with
ribbons! We doubt whether there be glass
enough in Yorkshire for the necessary repairs,
and a month at least will probably elapse, before the traces of the mischief be
removed.
The last storm
of a similar character which we find recorded is thus mentioned at page 128 of
the Sheffield Local Register, May, 1811 :- “In the afternoon, between five and
six o'clock, this town and neighbourhood were visited by a tremendous storm of
hail, accompanied with thunder and lightning - the streets were covered with
hailstones three to five inches in circumference; fruit trees, hot-houses,
&c., were destroyed; on the premises of 32 persons only, 10,710 panes of
glass were destroyed."
NORTON.
The storm raged
here with awful violence. The weather
during the afternoon was fine and bright, but the air was remarkably sultry. At about three o'clock, thunder was heard at
a distance, and it gradually became louder, until about six o'clock, when dark
and dismal clouds approached from the south-west. The thunder then became louder, and the
lightning was fearfully vivid. Shortly
after, rain and hail fell in torrents, and the wind blew violently for a few
minutes. The hailstones were as large as
full-sized marbles. These formidable
missiles destroyed panes of glass by hundreds, and caused the most grievous
havoc in the gardens. Potato stalks were
battered and beaten to the ground, as also were peas, beans, onions, and most
other vegetables. Such was the rush of
water at the time, that many houses were filled more than a foot deep in some
of the lower rooms. At the Oaks, the
residence of W. J. Bagshawe, Esq., (who only reached home during the evening.)
the water entered several rooms and the principal passage, and required the
combined aid of all the domestics, as well as a number of labourers, to arrest
its progress into other parts of the mansion.
Here about 40 panes were broken in the upper rooms by the hail, as well
as many large ones in the dining room windows.
The dome-lights over the passage were also completely demolished, and a
large chandelier or lamp, suspended underneath, shared the same fate. Nearly all the glass in the vineries was
likewise broken, and the flowers and vegetables in the gardens more or less
injured. Norton Hall appears to have suffered
but little from the tempest, only about 18 panes of glass being broken. But nearly all the panes in the hot-houses in
the gardens were smashed. The vicarage
and the church happily escaped without experiencing much injury; not more than
half a dozen panes in the latter were broken.
Norton House, the residence of T. B. Holy, Esq., was less fortunate. All the glass in the vinery and many of the
house windows were broken. Nearly 70
panes were destroyed in Mr. S. Slack's, and many in Messrs. Linnekers' windows.
-Mr. Bunting, at the Bowling green,
had about 200 broken ; and Mr. T. Hazard and Mr. Staniforth, at the Herdings,
about that number between them. About 50
panes are also broken in the windows of the Norton free-school; and 130 in the
windows of the Bagshawe Arms, at Hemsworth, where the water, in some of the
rooms, was about a quarter of a yard in depth: Mr. J. Green, of Jordanthorpe,
had most of his windows destroyed, and his growing crops have also suffered
severely. To enumerate all the sufferers
would take up too much space, but not a single window escaped which was at all
exposed to the storm. At a moderate
computation, there cannot be less than from six or seven -thousand panes
destroyed in the parish of Norton. A
fact may be worth naming, which to the villagers appears somewhat singular and
inexplicable. The house occupied by Mr. W.
Gascoigne, plumber and glazier, which was quite as much exposed to the pelting
of the storm as his next door neighbours, escaped with one broken pane only,
while those around him had most, if not all, theirs demolished. A large beech tree, the thickness of a man's
body, was blown and battered down, and the boughs of scores of trees were
stripped and blown about the roads. In
the yard at the back of the inn at Hemsworth, the hailstones were several
inches in depth, many of them of an extraordinary size. The residence of Miss Thorpe, at Norton Lees,
also suffered considerably. The glass in
the newly-erected vinery was all broken, and the windows of the house did not
escape without injury. The cattle in Mr.
Holy's park were so greatly alarmed at the storm, that they broke through the
fences and did great damage in a field of growing wheat. The hay-crops are beaten close to the ground,
and the wheat-stalks are a good deal bent and twisted. Lintals (sic) have also been cut and bruised
by the hailstones; but the early-sown potatoes appear to have suffered the most. An oak tree in Lightwood lane was struck by
lightning, the trunk partly split, and several of its branches shattered in
pieces. Within a few yards of this tree,
Mr. P. Linley, gamekeeper to W. J. Bagshawe, Esq., and Mr. Cartiedge, of the
Intake, were standing under another tree for shelter. Their narrow escape may be considered truly
providential. At Beauchieff (sic), the
tempest is reported to have made sad havoc on the property of B. B. P. Burnell,
Esq. The glass in the conservatories and
many panes in the
house windows
are demolished. The crops in the gardens,
&c., have also shared a similar disaster.
The number of panes broken are said to amount to hundreds.
GLEADLESS.
The storm also
visited Gleadless in its course, the wind stripping part of the roof from the
barn of Mr. John Pearson; Mr. P. Linley's, Mr. J. Barker's, Mr. H. Hoyland's,
and all the windows facing the storm were more or less demolished.
DORE.
At Whirlow, the
storm appears to have been equally terrible.
Acres of newly-sown turnips were washed, soil and all, into the roads
and fields below. The unfortunate owner
of one of these fields, Mr. Dungworth, will be a considerable sufferer. A field of wheat adjoining seemed totally
destroyed, the stems being mostly cut in two and laid flat on the ground. The same sad disasters as before mentioned
have occurred in the gardens. Our informant
says, that there is scarcely a whole pane of glass left in the district. At Whirlow
Bridge, cart loads of
hailstones might have been gathered from the road. Abbey Dale and Little Common also contribute
to the melancholy catalogue. All the
panes in the toll-house at the former place were driven out by the hail.
COAL ASTON.
The destruction
of glass and injury to the crops at this place is quite equal to the foregoing
places. Mr. Sydney Oldall's and Mr. George
Stevenson's property is said to have suffered the most.
HEELEY.
This village has
experienced its share of the calamity; and we are sorry to state that Mr.
Godwin, nurseryman, has property to the amount of from £10. to £15. destroyed.
WENTWORTH AND
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.
On Wednesday
afternoon, Wentworth and the neighbourhood were visited by a severe storm of
thunder, lightning, rain, hail and wind.
The day had been intensely hot, particularly in the afternoon, a gentle
southerly wind, a few fleecy clouds floating about, and occasionally some drops
of rain. In the afternoon dense clouds
began to accumulate, and about half past four o'clock, there was distant
thunder and every appearance of a pending storm, but the clouds apparently
changed their course, and followed the valley of the River Don. From this time until about half past six
o'clock, it continued to thunder, when the storm suddenly commenced, and lasted
more than half an hour, with but little intermission. The rain came down in torrents, mixed
occasionally with large hailstones ; the thunder was continual, but not very loud;
and the lightning was one continued flame, accompanied by gusts of wind. The hailstones have done considerable damage
at Hoober and Street, near Wentworth, by breaking a great number of cottage
windows. Had the hail storm been as
severe at Wentworth as at the above, places, the vineries and conservatory at Wentworth
House, would in all probability have been much damaged, but there were only a
few hundred panes broken. From nine to
ten o'clock, p.m., the lightning from north to east, above a dense cloud on the
visible horizon, was very beautiful, darting to and fro with amazing rapidity,
and highly illuminating the atmosphere with every shade of orange colour.
DONCASTER.
During the
afternoon of Wednesday, Doncaster and
neighbourhood were visited by a violent thunder storm and hurricane. The temperature of the atmosphere during the
forenoon was so unusually close and oppressive, as to warrant the expectation
that a thunder storm would be the result.
Nor was that expectation disappointed. Almost immediately after noon, the atmosphere
presented the most striking indications that it had become much disturbed. At three o'clock, dark and thundering clouds,
mass rolling over mass, approached from the south-west, and brought with them
comparative darkness. It was soon
evident that they were fully charged with electric matter. Flash followed flash in rapid and awful
succession, and the thunder rolled fearfully.
Indeed, for the space of nearly an hour, it was one continued roar. At intervals, the rain literally fell in
torrents, but these were of short continuance.
After a short pause, as though the storm had been lost in its distant
progress, the sudden rush of wind, the herald of portentous import, indicated
that a more violent storm was immediately at hand. It speedily approached, with increasing
gloom, and blew a complete hurricane, accompanied by lightning and thunder,
heavy rain and hissing hail. Some idea
of the prevailing violence may be formed, when it is stated that many of the
hail stones measured in circumference an inch and a half. It is to be feared that much injury has been
inflicted in some localities. The
hurricane, however, was but of short continuance, as it hastened onwards on its
destined course,
(Continues with
details of the storm in Derby.)
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15 July 1843
THE
LATE STORMS.
In
addition to the long catalogue of disasters, arising from the late awful storm,
which we enumerated in our journal last week, we are sorry to have to add the
following
particulars.
—— It is calculated that the damage done to the growing crops of Mr. S. Oldall,
of Coal Aston, will amount to at least £100; Mr. Morton, of Aighton, computes
his loss at several hundreds; Mr. Green, of Norton, is a considerable sufferer.
One fine and promising crop of wheat,
covering several acres, was almost entirely destroyed. Its yield now, under the
most favourable circumstances, is not expected to exceed three bushels to the
acre. A large breadth of equally promising grain, belonging to T. B. Holy,
Esq., of Norton, was all but destroyed; and Mr. J. Walker, a near neighbour,
gives a similar melancholy account of the effects of the hail on his farm. It will be recollected that we stated the
storm had been terribly severe at Whirlow, where lands of soil, crop and all,
where washed away by the flood of hail and rain. Among the rest, a field in the occupation of
Mr. Wall, gives a fearful proof of the extent of the tempest. The field alluded to is steep, and was sown
with turnips. The great weight of rain
and hail seems as if it had commenced at the head of the field, for nearly all
the soil is washed from the top to the bottom. So furious and powerful indeed was the rush of
water, that a block of stone, supposed to weigh at least two cwt., was carried
down the field and washed over the gate, at the foot, where the soil, &e.,
had formed an embankment as high as the uppermost bar of the gate.
A
thirteen acre field at Beighton Lodge, was also cut down by the hail, and
almost entirely destroyed. In fact, all the crops exposed to the storm were
injured to a very considerable extent. The
losses will fall particularly heavy on the farmers, who perhaps at no former
period, were in a worse condition to bear them.
The
storm on Wednesday week, was exceedingly terrific in the neighbourhood of Darfield,
Wombwell, and Hemingfield. In the Rectory Gardens at Darfield the damage was very
great, upwards of 1000 feet of glass having been broken in the hothouses and
greenhouse. At Wombwell, nineteen out of
twenty of the panes of glass fronting to the
S.W,
were broken. Very great damage was also
done to the corn fields in this locality.
One field of wheat containing about 16 acres, and another of barley
containing about twelve acres, both belonging to Sir Theodore Broadhead, and in
the Occupation of Mr. John Swift, of Hemingfield, are so seriously injured,
that on a moderate calculation,
Mr.
Swift will lose upwards of £120. Above
nine tenths of the wheat stems are broken.
Another of Sir Theodore's tenants, Mrs. Hinchliffe, will also suffer
severely. A many (sic) of the hail stones were as large pigeons' eggs, and
inflicted severe cuts on the heads and faces of several individuals who were,
unfortunately exposed to them.
The
storm extended to various northerly parts of Lancashire, and to parts of
Westmorland, Cumberland, Northumberland, and it
was also experienced over a considerable tract of country in Scotland; slightly in Glasgow,
Paisley, and other places west; at Kelso, Dumfries, &c., in the south; at Perth and Dundee in the north; and, apparently with the
greatest severity, at Edinburgh.
The storm appears also to have commenced further South than was known to us on
Saturday. It was felt over a considerable portion of Worcestershire,
Gloucestershire, and Staffordshire.
(continues)
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22 July 1843
THE LATE HAIL STORM. A special. meeting of the members of the
Literary and Philosophical Society, was held yesterday evening to hear a paper,
which Mr. W. Jackson had undertaken to furnish, respecting the late destructive
hail storm. Dr. Favell occupied the
chair. After some remarks on the state
of the previous days, Mr. Jackson observed that, on the 5th July, the day was
very sultry, and the wind veered much about.
With regard to the direction, the devastations, and the partiality of
the storm, Mr. Jackson's remarks corresponded in the main with the accounts
given in our paper on the 8th inst. Though
the width of the rain might be from 10 to 15 miles, that of the great force of
the hailstones seemed to have been confined to 200 or 300 yards, with
occasional divergencies (sic) as though particular localities had been selected
for attack. He had a statement from the
curator of the Botanical Gardens, as to the state of the thermometer which had
ranged from 80 at noon to 64 in the evening.
In Manchester,
the variation, during the day, was 21 degrees, though there they had only
showers and distant thunder. Eckington
and places further east suffered considerably. Rotherham escaped, but Darfield, Selby, and
Ripon (missing Leeds,) suffered much. The line of the storm seems to have been from
the Severn across the island, leaving its last mark at Scarborough and Newcastle. The Chairman, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Wilkinson, and
others, communicated some confirmatory facts; and Mr. Lucas produced the
observations of Dr. Dalton and Mr. Rochetti, of Manchester, as to the state of the wind and
the barometer. Dr. Harwood said, it
appeared to have visited Brussels
severely, six or eight hours after it had passed us. The thanks of the Society were voted to the
reader of the paper; and a suggestion from Mr. Holland, for the erection of a
vane on the Music Hull, as a very eligible situation, was appointed for
consideration at the next meeting of the Council. Several specimens of the Argonauta, from the Mediterranean, were presented from the Rev. Mr. Blackburn.
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12 August 1843
THUNDER
STORM.— On Wednesday [9th August] evening, about eight o'clock, a
violent thunder storm from the south-west passed over the town. The rain fell in torrents, and the Chesterfield road was
completely deluged with water, the drains not being sufficiently large to carry
off the flood which accumulated from the neighbouring hills. Fields of corn were partially laid by the
rain; but we have not heard of any very serious injury to any of the growing
crops. The storm proceeded in a
north-easterly direction. At
Ecclesfield, the lightening descended the parlour chimney of the house occupied
by Mr. Jackson, tailor. The plaster was knocked
off the walls and some fustians on a shelf in the same room were considerably
scorched. The electric fluid then
appears to have ascended the staircase, and entered a bed-room, setting fire to
a quantity of draperies in a corner of the room near the bed. The flames caught the latter, destroying part
of the bedstead and most of the bed-clothing.
The family, consisting of six persons, were at the time in the room
adjoining the parlour, and hearing the noise up stairs, ran up to ascertain the
cause. Owing to this timely discovery,
the fire was got out, by the zealous and active assistance of the neighbours. The goods in the bed-room, consisting of
fustians, woollen-cloths, &c., were either destroyed or rendered nearly
useless, and the damage is estimated at £70.
The house was filled with a strong sulphurous vapour, but providentially
no personal injury was sustained by any of the family. We have not heard of any other serious casualty
arising from the storm in this neighbourhood.
STORM
AT EAST RETFORD. — On Wednesday last, a little
after eight o'clock a storm of no common import broke over the town, and became
fearfully awful : peal succeeded peal in rapid succession, whilst the flashes of
lightning became more and more intense. The rain fell in torrents, and this, with the
thunder, continued nearly in the same state until between eleven and twelve
o'clock when it had materially abated. The
rain continued, with slight intermission until between five and six p.m. when
the wind veered round in the east, which soon produced an immense twain (sic) cloud,
evidently highly surcharged with electric matter, which soon bore down upon us,
and produced a storm calculated to appal the stoutest heart. Thunder rolled and cracked in every direction,
whilst each roar of thunder was almost immediately (some instantaneously)
preceded by a tremendous flash of lightning.
As evening drew on, the storm increased, and the rain literally fell in
torrents. Between nine and ten, a
partial abatement was apparent, and a little before midnight the contending
elements were hushed, and the heavens had resumed their wonted serenity. The rain which fell at East
Retford was 1,575 (sic) inches [?1.575 inches], in about the
course of 14 or 15 hours ; and yet strange to say the barometer remained nearly
stationary during the whole time! Such
was the intensity of the lightning, that it absolutely ignited the gas in the
shop of Mr. Clater, chemist and druggist.
At Warsop, a man was carrying a loaded gun, which a flash of lightning
caused to explode. Several sheep, and
other animals have been killed in this district, but happily in no instance,
that has come to our knowledge, has any
human life been sacrificed.
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