Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-07-02

ed part. 1t is said that old stumps
over which the cyclone swept,
were, in some instances, cut off.
fresh and smooth, as by a circular
saw; this would be in conformity with
a well-known law of tornadoes, which,
Wnen passing over level surfaces, do not
quite touch the ground, but expend all
| their force within few feet of it. The
| lnconceivably rapid whirl of the air
would operate exactly like saw upon the
stumps, as above described. But when it
comes to house, or a forest, or hillock,
or any large-sized object which obstructs
It's way, then its power seems to be exerted
more downward; then it strikes into the
eaFtn and roots up everything. One of
TIE Iowa stories speaks Of scooping out
ceuars, stones, human inmates, and all,
Whlchls not improbable We lack exact
information about the width of this tor
nado's path. Probably it was very mar
row, not more than two or three hundred
leet the intensity of the action being pro-
portloned to the concentration at the base.
"A cyclone in Connecticut many years ago
lett devastated path of not over two hun
dred Feet leveling all objects In its course,
ana not even breaking the boughs of trees
just outside that limit. It's swath was as
Well-dehned as mowers in the hay-field.
MANY years since a tornado struck piece
q country near Kearsarge Mountain, New
hampshire, and Frustrated every giant
tiee IN belt about three hundred feet
wloe, hnally passing UP the side of Kear-
sarge and breaking its force on the sum
NIT. The path of this tornado, straight
ana clean cut, could be seen for long
time on the mountains side. It follows
from these facts that if one is appraised of
the approach of a tornado in season, and
notes the direction Of the wind that pre-
cedes it, he may possibly escape its effects.
But 1t generally sweeps too suddenly upon
IT'S prey to permit this. Fortunately, in
this country, such cyclones as that of
Iowa are among the rarest of phenomena.
Two very remarkable meteorological &C.
currences foreran the Iowa event, and it
will be worth the while for scienti
fic persons to see if they were not condi-
tlons precedent Of that grand climax
One was the wonderful solar halo seen on
Monday, the Goth, in this city and vicin-
lty, and we do not know where else
Some authorities speak Of this as a not
uncommon phenomenon; and that is true
OF some circles which appear about the
sum-. but this particular one was very
marked and striking The attention of
the most careless observer was most pow
u
der1ngly guessed at. These haloes have
been explained on the theory of the pres
ence OF small ice-crystals moving in the
upper air, and when coming between the
spectator and the sun, causing the appali
tlon CT the halo by their united refracting
power. Their passage through the air in
great numbers, SO as to produce the phe-
nomenon OF solar halo, indicates, we
may suppose, a violent disturbance in the
atmosphere and presages storms. The
movement begun in this part of the coun-
try may, perhaps, have terminated in the
trlghtful cyclone Of Iowa. The other
prodigy of which we would speak occurred
IN Iowa, as far back as the 14th instant, or
a week before the tornado burst forth. At
Des Moines, Iowa. and at other places in
the State, the air was filled with electri-
city, although no storm occurred. For
several hours it was impossible to work
the telegraph wires; but that was the least
astonishing part of the manifestations
On the eastern bound express train on the
Rock Island Road the track seemed a road
Of fire under and behind the cars. The light
was SO vivid as to illuminate the track for
some distance in the rear. One observer
describes it as a trailing banner of
flame" This of course, was Immediate
lyicaused by the friction Of the car-wheels,
but the atmosphere must have been very
highly charged with electricity to permit
its exhibition through such simple !
agency. Des Moines is only nine miles
from the center of the tornado track, and
| that city herself suffered to some extent !
from thunderstorm on the eventful 22d
instant. The incidents to which we have
referred are separated by time or space
from the Iowa tornado, but that is no rea-
son who they shoulG be summarily reject
ed from the equation. Nature works fast
in some things and slow in others. It is
| a well-settled fact that the greatest convul-
sions Of the elements, which come upon
us suddenly, as if without warning, are,
! in fact, slowly prepared, and heralded by
minor phenomena for weeks beforehand.
| This is known to be the law in respect of
volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and
we believe it also to be true in relation to
tremendous outbursts of atmospheric en-
ergy. At present the weather bureau keeps
itself to reckoning the probabilities for
tWenty-four hours in advance; but when it
has become more familiar with the now
little-understood laws of the weather, it
may be able to foretell the coming of tor
nadoes like that of Iowa, and to fix, prox-
lmately, the scene of their ravages.-N.
Z. Journal Of Commerce.
'--t~
! A Terrible Punishment.
Mr.. James Greenwood has published a