Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-06-14

The season thrOugy which we are passing, says
the Cincinnati Commercial will go far to remove the
impression that the severest hurricanes are confined
to the tropics All over the Northern and Middle
States tornadoes of unprecedented violence, extent
and destructiveness have occurred. At least three
hundred lives have been lost by the force Of the
elements. There seems to have been cycle OF
tornadoes.
Within fortnight there have been four in the
Middle and the Western States, one extending from
Louisville up to Central Ohio, one in CattaTaugus
county in Western New York, one in Armstrong and
the adjoining counties in Western Pennsylvania and
now one in Iowa and Northern Illinois, which, it is
said. has surpassed all others in violence and de-
structiveness.
Whole villages have been demolished, and many
of their inhabitants either killed outright or fear
fully mangled by the falling Of houses, the mad
sweep of the winds or the flying of timbers and
trees. The imagination can hardly paint the terror
which has overtaken, in stern reality, the nhabit-
ants of the devastated districts 1t must have been
witnessed to be realized.
Never before has our country been visited by so
manv or so widely destructive hurricanes as during
the present year. They have rushed through the
country with resisess fury uprOOtng trees, demOl-
/ IShIDu fences houses anu anu S'SAA
loaded freight cars from their tracks and dashing
them to pieces. The space traversed by the last
! great tornado in Illinois and Iowa. was fully one
hundred and fifty miles in length. The force OF the
| wind has been almost incredible. Tin from roofs
was carried over twenty miles; large brick houses
were lifted completely from their foundations and
twisted around IN the air before being dashed to
e-,,,r,ants unon the ground. Churches were demol-
isbed with single thunder gust, and the whirling
and snappng Of whole forests Of trees as they were
caught up in the folds of the tremendous whirl-
winds. was awfully grand to hear and to see
An Eastern contemporary in commenting on the
recent tornado states that the 2oth OF May AoUS
| three tornsdoes occurred at Cincinnati within the
| same half hour. They occurred at ABOUT Two
| o'clock in the afternoon, were each very narrow
and within the area of the city. The account says
a general rain was falling at the time 18th violent
J crOsscurrents in the clouds Considerable damage
was done to property Several tornadOes were
formed about the same time in the Western parts OF
! Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
In looking over the records, we found accounts OF
fearful tornadoes that swept other portions OF
the country. One occurred at Charleston, 3 e., on
the 10th OF September 1871. and caused great loss
ofife and destruction Ofproperty. twas Otthe West
| India origin, lurid in appearance, and Of funnel
! shape
| sea shore in Canada and frightened the people so
| they took refuge in cellars and caves during the
| night In the morning seeing strange fish some
| thing like a whale lying upon the shore, they ven
| tured forth, when they discovered seventy lying
| upon the beach Soon afterwards they heard
/ loud believing, and on looking seward they saw
one of these animals rushing towards the shore upon
! which he threw himself " high and dry to the pc
cuniary advantage of the good citizens of that town
A comet was visible at that time, and to it was at
/ tributed the cause Of the visitation Of the storm.
At Natchez, Miss, Nay, 1910, there occurred the
most destructive tornado ever observed in the Uni
| ted States We have description 10y Toolev) of
| the dav and storm The day began warm and
| cloudy wind south 4, veering to east 5; at / D. m
| wind a gale n. E. and T.; at In. 45m. D. m. the sky
became lurid yellow, the storm striking the river
! Nhe Mississippi six or seven miles below the city
reaching it at p m The rush did last more than
| five minutes and the destructive blast but a few
| seconds Houses were burst outward, and
| the central point was a vacuum action. BIZ per-
sons were killed in the city and the river Sheet
Tin was carried 20 miles, and windows 30 miles The
direction of the track was from W. 5 W. to n. E.
and E. " E. The effect Of the storm upon the leaves
and buds Of plants was in a measure to scar them,
abstracting so much Of their vitality that such
did not die outr yht crisped and their growth
| so suspended that it was ten days or more before
| they resUscitated and begun to grow again. Some
! very thriving grape vines were killed,-even the