Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-08-15
CDRIo Statesman.

The biggest WhirIwind of the
Season TwO-StOry House
with it's Inmates, Lifted Up Int
the AIr-Isarns Going Up Like
Balloons.
y. The Kankakee (Ill') Gazette Of Angus
I'd says: ~ r..f ....... ... =
We ave indebted to J.. Milk, Esq, for de-
tails of a frightful aud destructive tornado
that occurred at his plantation, tifteer
miles from this city, on Saturday evening
July %. In many respects it was the mos
unprecedented storm of wind, hail, light
ming and thunder, and in its peculiar oper-
ations, that has ever been our fortune t(
hear of. The storm took its rise in thu
, northwest, at about 6 o'clock p. M, ant
proceeded in q direct southeast line
Straight as an arrow, and faster than any
horse could run, sweeping and whirling by
their doors with terrible sound, demol
ishing in an instant their corn. cribs, sta.
bles and cow-yards, scattering their frag
ments in every direction. ..... o. .t..
1t then passed through 640 acre corn
field to the eW and extensive buildings OF
MesSrs. L. MIX, Of this city; William Z
Bancroft and Leonard Soaring, of Cayuga
county, N. Y. ...
1t being Saturday evening, the workmer
had left for their homes except three. AS
the storm was seen approaching In terrible
fury, two of the three men rushed out fol
the open prairie, unwilling to hazard theiI
lives in the buildings, which they knew
would not stand such q storm, but one
brave fellow named Robert Martin sought
shelter and protection in the corn-crib
which was very strongly built with heavy
timbers. There he remained until the
storm was over, and, as it happened came
out unhurt, although the crib was lifted
and turned up and down, as it were, and
racked and twisted in all shapes, threaten
ing his life every moment. There were
two horses and a colt in the stable, but
they escaped without injury, though the
stable was lifted from over them and hurled
In countless fragments through the air.
So terrific and powerful was the storm
that the pieces of the demolished buildings
were hurled and scattered over two hun
dred acres of the prairie, all around where
they stood, many more appearing in the
rear of the storm than in its van, as il
drawn and sucked back as the storm adj
vanced in its awful whIrl and contortions
The duration of the storm was only seven
. or eight minutes.
After doing its work on the premises
named, the tornado, in passing on, struck
the southwest part of "AIilks Grove" seiz-
ing and twisting down every large tree in
it's way and hurting it back headtOremost
IN the rear. These gigantic trees had the
appearance of having fallen toward the
storm, and not, as is usual, with it, or in
the direction it was going. When we state
that these trees averaged from one and a
half to three feet in diameter, but were lit
orally torn and twisted to pieces, or swept
back like feathers and laid PROSTATE in the
track of the destroyer, sometimes many
feet from where they stood towering in
their majesty and strength, some idea may
be obtained of the prodigious and fearful
force Of this ''wild freak of nature"
The path of the storm through the grove
was fifty yards or more; smaller trees were
bent flat to the earth as if they had been
pressed down by some vast weight. Sew
eral large hickory trees were completely
skinned for nearly half the length of them.
Earth was carried for thirty or forty rods,
and such was the force with which it was
borne along that it struck the trees and
stuck there as if it was cement or plaster,
thickly covering them with ''coat of
mud"
The next objects receiving the "atten-
tiOn" of the storm were Mr.. Compton's
house and stable. The house was q by q
feet, two stories high, in which were him
self and family; but it was taken up bodi-
ly and borne distance of eight rods, and
then set down again lin good ORDER" not a
person hurt nor a single piece of
crockery nor anything else displaced.
The stable was torn to atoms, but
the horses that were in it were left un-
hurt. From this pointthe storm continued
in direction south of Clifton, on the IL
linois Central railroad, and soon disappear
ed, and, it is hoped, forever, since nothing
has been heard from it up to this time.