Show storehouse of smith bros down sto cdade of city jail are struck from saturdays standard one of the worst electrical storms that has ever visited this placa made its appearance about 7 coming in from the west where the mass of black clouds formed and soon drifted to the east entirely enveloping the whole of the city and adjoining district accompanying the gathering of the clouds waa much lightning and abon the vivid flashes appeared at short intervals followed by heavy peals of thunder As the storm grew closer the lightning became more sharp and the claps of thunder more terrific when the electrical display was at its height rain began falling in torrents and within a short space of time the streets in the business portion of the city were flooded miniature rivers flowed down from the bench the gutters were taxed far beyond their capacity and the overflow filled the streets from curb to curb in places to a considerable depth making them quite impassable about while the storm was raging there were several bolts of lightning followed by terrific claps of thunder which made evident the fact that the lightning bad struck somewhere close by an investigation disclosed the fact that the first shot struck the rock pile in the stockade at the city pall another bolt struck the storehouse of smith bros at twentieth street and grant avenue here the lightning struck the dome of the root and tore a row of shingles off down to the eaves the building caught alre at the place where the lightning first connected with the root and the alre department was called out to extinguish the blaze the conflagration fla gration Ws soon extinguished and the loss will be small alter the storm had passed there was the usual amount of stories circulated about the streets to the effect that many people had felt the effects of the lightning either from its running down the steel rod of an umbrella or across the rim of a pair of eye glasser these stories are mostly the result of excited imaginations about a second storm swept the city rain again fell in torrents and the lightning and thunder held sway onoe more but time did not seem so close and there was but little if any damage its duration was about one halt hour the downpour was quite heavy and aided in overflowing the different thoroughfares at the corner of twenty fourth street and washington avenue the water collected eo rapidly that he gutters were entirely inadequate to carry it off the street was entirely inundated at this point while the water backed up on washington avenue tor some distance in front of the union depot at twenty fifth and wall the same condition existed and to reach the station it was necessary to walk some distance either north or south the section of the country west of this city seems to have received even a worse drenching than that which tell here telegraphic communication was interrupted in that district there was gome delay to railroad traffic but nothing of a serious nature locally the bell telephone people had about halt of their system put out of business while the western union telegraph company had fuses burned out by the dozen the electric light people suffered some disturbances caused by the lightning but reported nothing of a serious nature the reports received from the canyon state that the storm was very severe and that many ot the campers suffered from the rain however there was no serious damage reported from this quarter early in the evening a report was received to the effect that there had been a cloudburst in the south fork canyon this report could not be verified although it was carried a resident of huntsville it is claimed j that it occurred about 11 yesterday forenoon |