The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-01-21
rRR DEMONs OF THE ARR
particulars Of the storm in kentucky

Road, from which we make several
extracts. Cave City contained about
four hundred inhabitants, and IS shell
tered west and south by a chain of
mountain knobs, or spurs. On Sun
day, the day Of the disaster, il rained
By spells, accompanied by thunder
and lightning. The correspondent
describes the storm and its effects as
follows:
About half-past four. the down
train having passed some time, a dis
tant roaring or re%verberatlng noise
was heard, approaching from the
south and west. Those who heard
it compare it with the sharp, loud
roar Of a cann0n-discharge. which
lasted but a few moments, when the
wind. monster swept over the doomed
town, aud left destruction where peace
and quiet was nesting around. The
approaching cyclone came ~shrlekIng,
whistling, roaring, on the ground, IN a
dense black cloud, accompanied by
sharp. loud, electrical discharges;
while preceding the demon of the
storm, balls of fire burst and flew
from its front, while within it, con-
tinually curling, and vibrating with a
terrible individuality, were myriads
of electric spirals, all forming q terri
BILE cloud of such peculiar, spiratory
motion, that it appalled, the spectator.
Prof. Williams, a most intelligent
and scholarly gentleman, observed 1t
from his window on its approach, and
saws that it moaned and shrieked al
it tore along the ground with an IN
earthly power.
Before it reached the town, the air
grew warm and thick with impending
misfortune, the flashing of the light
ming became one constant illumlna-
tioD, and suddenly all grew dark
again. The demon of the winds, IN
the form Of this dense, dark cloud,
hugging the earth, came sweeping or
with a terrible roar, and in a moment
commenced its wild work of destruc-
ton. Striking J.. Ell. Browns house,
in which we're himself and family, In
a twinkling it scattered it piecemeal,
iniuring no one but Mr.. Brown him
self. In front of his house was a tim
Der growth ofred oak, post oak, black
jack and hickory, many OF he trees
measuring from ten to twenty inches
in diameter, which the storm wrenched
up by the roots, twisted into fantastic
shapes. splintered and threw down
again, carrying bodily an hundred
feet many of these huge riven
trunks, and sweeping the ground
after il as with a gigantic bosom, car
| rying like chat heavy plank fencing,
hundreds Of yards, strewing for miles
| Unfortunately the little hills with
the debris and shreds of house and
barn and fence. leaving nothing to
| mark where either stood, but here
and there a few Stats with lime adher
ing to them and split rails driven
down into the ground; a nursery be-
longing to Mr. Higgins Il Son, num-
bering thousands of young peach
trees, was whipped into smooth, bare
little switches. their friDged tops
showing how complete and entire the
wind had shorn them of every vestige
of foliage, and how biting had been
the searching wind. Scoring such
| small game, the tornado leVeled the
| timber right and left of the Bowling
Green, turnpike, strewing the road
with shapeless heaps and confused
piles of large and small trees, carried
bodily into and over each other, as
a child might fling a handful of
crushed and broken wisps of straw to
the wind.
On both sides Of the turnpike,
scattered for a quarter of a mile,
were some forty cabins belonging TO
the colored people, only two of which
now stand erect amid the undistin-
guishable ruins about them. About
forty or fifty colored families are
houseless and poverty-strieken.
The dumb brutes in their stables
generally escaped harm, and but very
few met with death. One tree, TWEEN
| ty inches in diameter, was torn up by
its roots as if by the hands of some
mighty, intelligent power, twisted and
carried twenty yards distant, while
the hole in the earth from which it
was wrenched was partially filled By
posts pulled from the ground a quar-
ter of q mile distant, and driven in
deep and firm, as if some huge trip.
hammer had been employed.
Mr.. Bad Neyill's house, on the left,
and Prof. Williams lfouse, on the
| Il&iL VI Tic AQG0f 0CAO 81 SAAAACAy
demolished by the storm that Rothing
but here and there small fragments OF
the woodwork can be seen. Mr..
NeYill's wife was thrown out ia the
storm. wounded. Miss Puss Nevill,
about sixteen years of age, a very
attractive young lady, 81 struck IN
the head, the skull fractured, allow
ing the brains to protrude.
n--a VNT.HHs--9 49, -
story, strongly built, and substantial
were his wife and three children,
Rev. Mr.. Grubbs Ga guest), three
young men (boarders). and a lady,
Miss Drain, companion to Mrs. Will
liams, who is an Invalid. Prof.
Williams, who had arisen at the ap-
proach of the storm, and who saw il
coming as described above, turned to
his frightened wife and children, and
placing them on the bed together
crowded it to the partition. The first
sharp blow lifted the house, whirled
it around like a top, and dropped il
again. Bending over his terrified
family. he awaited the destruction he
felt so certain was upon him, and in 8
moment, amid appalling noises and
sensations, the house was lifted ur
and parted-fell to the earth a shape
less, shivering mass, burying the fam
lily beneath its ruins. When Pro.
lessor Williams, stunned, bruised
and wounded, became conscious, the
air was filed with whirling fragments,
his o o wife was shrieking over him.
and his little children lay scattered
about insensible. The fire on the
hearth was not extinguished be seat.
ed his wife beside it, and found and
placed in her lap his apparently life
less childi overhead a carpet was