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Seugeg Exposed w@ do of 1850 —™ ar beam, and his neck and arm were broken. James and his mother were buried under a mass of ruins. Li massive tornado brought its fury to the people ga of Reach Township and surrounding area during the afternoon of July 5th, 1850. The following report, written by Port Perry Star editor Samuel Farmer, indicates the day started as most others, but by mid-morning it became very hot, the skies began to darken, and bolts of lightning struck. “There had been great heat in the morning. About noon clouds be- gan to gather, and the thunderheads piled high like battlements and towers. Everything was curiously still and expe tant. By degrees it grew very dark, and in the distance forked lightning was cutting the back masses of cloud, making a grand but terrifying display. Three hours passed and then the storm broke. Wind and hail came together — hailstones as large as walnuts and wind such as we nev- er wish to experience. Everything was driven helter-skelter before that storm. Nothing could save what was in its track. The wind, which blew from north-west to south-east, was a whirlwind which followed the course already indicated. The track covered was from Lake Simcoe to Lake Ontario. It passed through the northern townships, Reach, across the south end of Scugog, into Cart- wright and the north-west corner of Darlington, and on to north of Bowmanville and Lake Ontar- io. A little west of Greenbank, Mrs. Ianson was alone with her two boys — James, 8, and John, 12 years — and Mrs. Hunter, a sister who had been in Canada but three weeks. The family could see the storm coming from the north-west and ran into the house, and wait- ed for a few moments in terrible suspense, while outside the shriek and roar of the wind mingled with the artillery of hail, thunder and lightning. What happened in the next few minutes on the Ianson farm cannot be described with any degree of fullness. All one could do would be to pile up adjectives depicting destruction. The house was caught in a whirlwind, and scattered in pieces here and there over a distance of two es. The big old-fashioned chimney, built of brick from the ground up, fell on Mrs. Hunter and killed her outright. John Janson was struck by a 22 Focus On Scugog When they freed themselves after a time, they entered a new world -aworld of chaos. They attempted to make their way to a neighbour’s, but the paths were blocked. All around was a hopeless confusion of twisted and broken trees that shut from view everything but the sky. Household effects, clothing, harness, hens mixed with bits of board and = A lamb was found safe un- der a potash kettle which had been upended by the wind. ™@ A broken tree which had been ripped out of the ground was found with the stump driv- en deep into the ground and the roots sticking up in the air. @ The tornado levelled the entire bush, providing a clear view from Prince Albert to Borelia and from Borelia to Greenbank. = A Saintfield man had to cling to a stump to keep from being blown away. > One Port Perry house was blown over and over, ending up in Crandell’s field across the road ™ An elderly man running to safety with a child in his arms was struck in the head by a log and killed instantly. limbs of trees filled the air and some of these things were carried as far as Scugog Island. Among the odd things seen, two might be mentioned. A rail was found which had been driven endwise into a stump several inches. A tree was also found which had been broken off, the stump ripped out roots and turned upside down, so that the top of the stump was driven into the group and the roots were left sticking up in the air. hortdi he | ’sthe Horn’ Ashor lived. Fortunately for them Harry Bewell ran in and warned them of the approach of the storm, inducing the family to go down cellar. That likely saved their lives for they had barely got down cellar when the house was blown away bodily. As the wind swept on it cleared a passage through the bush so that one could see all the way from Borelia to Greenbank. The trees were mowed down in an immense swath, and remained in that condition in some parts for years. Young Peter Lansing was blown about ten feet in the air. When he fell to the ground he was rolled over and over like a bundle of hay. Finally he caught hold of a stump and managed to hang on. After awhile he began to look around a bit and saw things blown everywhere. Presently he glanced up and saw a small hemlock, roots and all, sailing by like a big umbrella. At McLeod’s home not far away, the old man was killed. He was in the house with his little grandchild, and, thinking the place was not safe, he picked up the child and started to run out into the open. Just as he reached the door a log struck him in the head and killed him instantly; but the child was unhurt.” For full report of the Tornado of 1850 visit the website at - www.heritagescugog.com Stories published in Focus On Scugog are from the hardcover book “Scugog Exposed”, written by J. Peter Hvidsten, and published by Observer focus@observerpub.ca