Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-06-19
Tho 1Iiebty Power Of the WhIrlwind.


The Mighty Power OF che whirlwind.
The freaks and the forces of the wind, as
exhibited in the late tornado By which one
one hundred and thirty-four lives were lost
and twenty-for hundred people rendered
houseless in Iowa and Illinois, would be in
credible without strong attestations. To the
many illustrations already published, We add
the following from the newspapers of the vi
cinity of their occurrence, which are if pos
sible, still more remarkable, though no doubt
truthful statements: 7T Il.
At Camanche, one of its most singular fea-
lures is found in the entire absence of furni-
ture among wrecks. Here and there the
round or leg Of chair, or sofa may be found
but that is about all. Trunks, clothing, beds,
carpets, and all kinds of furniture seemed en-
tirely missing; all that remains of the con-
tents of the many houses that were destroyed,
could be placed in room twelve feet square.
The rest must have gone into the river.
A plank two inches thick etfectually closed
the door of Waldore's new Hotel, by driving
through the door and floor of the building in
slanting direction, and sticking there one
end out of the door, the other through the
floor. The lower story of store on First
street was cut away as smoothly as if sawed,
and blown into the river, when the upper
story settled down in its place, almost unin'
iured. The front of q frame house was blown
away in the upper Fart of the town, and the
furniture in it left uninjured; while in Mr..
Parks house, the windows were blown in
and all the furniture crushed to pieces, and
yei the house stood only slightly injured. It
must be remembered that partial destruction
occurred only in the outer edge of the lorna
do. In its direct course, the destruction was
complete in every instance One man told
us his first realization of the storm consisted
in seeing horse come through the air about
20 feet from the ground, followed by COW
at about the same heighth. The COW must
have been carried some 20 rods from where
she was when the storm began. Mr.. Butler
saw his stable taken over the tops of some
cherry trees, leaving his horses on the ground
there was no floor to the stable) attached to
the rack. lrzs t
At Albany, large warehouse, about 80
by 100 feet, was moved from its foundations,
and is now standing at the distance of a
square from them; the building must have
been moved some three hundred feet
Mr. Ralston. living three miles west of Ca
manehe, saw the black column of destruc
ton directly advancing upon his house, and
sent his family to a small grove Of locusts,
with directions to lie upon the ground and
cling to the trees. While lying, there they
saw the house taken and carried about twelve
rods west, and returned to within q few feet
of its origiUal position 1t was then, as Mr..
~ H. 4 !
rub out SNOWFALL between your hands,
Not fragment remains. At De Witt, where
the curse was due east, a building with the
whole family in it was carried from the east
to the west side of the highway and deposit
ed without even breaking the crockery. .I-,i,,
South of De Witt, Just in front Of the spot
where Mr.. Hatfeld's house stood, a lot of
eordwood, containing, according to the esti-
mate of the Wood Agent Of the c., I. N. R.
R., about twelve cords, is deposited in a aheap.
The strange part Of this incident is that no j
wood of this character can be found within
several miles of the place Wherethis was de-
posted. -.aH2' a-'-e' .Es
A singular instance of the power Of the
tornado, has been furnished by Mr.. Reed, of
the firm of Reed & Harper, Of BertraIn. A
large rock, weighing over twenty tons, about
twelve feet long, eight feet wide, and six feet
thick, was embedded in the east bank of the
Cedar River. Only about eighteen inches Of
the rock projected from the bank of the riV-1
er, the rest was firmly planted in the clay
The tornado, striking the rock, Wrenched it
from its bed, and turning it over, end for
end, until it surm ounted the bank, and car
ried it about one hundred yards. In many
places where the soil was, ploughed, its sur
face has been wholly blown away ,as if wash
ed of by freshet; and in several instances
where the prairie had been broken, the5sods
turned By the plough have been wholly.
swept away, On Mr. BpEge's farm5 south
of Mt. Vernon, an Orchardof $50 epple trees,
Of large growth, Eas carried Of, root and
branch 5and not q Restige left to show thata
tree had ever been grown there. l,ola5 sd
In several instances wagons were torn in
pieces, and the tires of wheels Strengthened
out perfectly fat. A portion of the ware
house Of Rabinau & PtaHtz, at Lisbon, was \
found sixteen miles away north of Onion
Grove. It was recognized by the particular
color Of the paint There is the testimony of
four eye Witnesses, living in Bertran, who
say that they distinctly saw man in the very
vortex Of the tornado as If passed BeFtram,
high 1abOEe the tops of the tallest trees.
Atthe Rogers Settlement two little sons of
Mr.. Carney and a GeIl9In were fishing, and
seeing strange looking cloud, tive Of them
rushed towards 1t to see what it was. They
were literally torn limb from limb, only their
trunks remained ff
In the vicinity of Mount Vernon and Lis
bon, the tornado appeared dreadful in theex-
treme. The air was filed with branches of
large tree, and the fragments of the buildings
it had destroyed in its course. Cloud flakes
were WhirIed from its sides. Its roar was
deafehine, and as the destroying column
swept onward, the stoutest hearts were ap-
palled. The. tornado seems to have attained
the maximum fits furyst this point Among
the wrecks which it left here, were the head
Of an infant and the arms and legs of grown
person, which it is supposed were brought by
it from the west side Of the Cedar, a distance
of many miles. Three persons were seen to
be 0vertaken by the tornado, while they were
seeking shelter, and they were carried up out
of sight, and neither track nor trace has since
been found Of them -Four buildings, some of
large size, and a barn City feet square, were |
ground 10 pieces-not fragment larger than |
g pieeeof stove wood can be found.
HH