A belt of timber had been levelled to the ground about
two miles in length, and about one hundred yards in breadth. At the
entrance of the town it crossed the river Speed, and uprooted about
six acres of wood, which had been thinned out, and left by Mr. Galt
(late superintendent of the Canada Company), as an ornament to his
house.
"The Eremosa road was completely blocked up for nearly half-a-mile,
in the wildest confusion possible. In its progress through the town
the storm unroofed several houses, levelled many fences to the
ground, and entirely demolished a frame barn. Windows were dashed
in; and, in one instance, the floor of a log house was carried
through the roof. Some hair-breadth escapes occurred; but, luckily,
no lives were lost.
"About twelve years since a similar storm occurred in the north part
of the township of Douro, but was of much less magnitude. I heard
an intelligent settler, who resided some years in the township of
Madoc, state that, during his residence in that township, a similar
hurricane to the one I have described, though of a much more awful
character, passed through a part of Marmora and Madoc, and had been
traced, in a north-easterly direction, upwards of forty miles into
the unsurveyed lands; the uniform width of which appeared to be
three quarters of a mile.
