The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1873-06-21
Some Incidents Of the Recent
Tornado IN lows.


n On account sent from Keota;
At Sigourney, fourteen miles from
here, the storm was observed, aecor.
ding to the prep0aderance of opinion
about > o'clock in the afternoon, Hal
fell heavily; such hail as has not beer
seen since the plaques of Egypt, came
down thick and fast In q straiai,t line
the air being unusually calm out.
side the disturbing influence OF the
tornado, which was some ten miles
away. The size of the hail will test
the credulous powers of many, ard
were there no concurrence Of testi.
mony, ! would hesitate to mention It.
Mr.. j. n. Doraty, . conductor on the
Rock Island Railroad, man of intel
ligence, stuffed, that he was in a drua
store, when several were picked up'
weighed, and measured. One of them
weighed seven and Il half ounces. and
was ten inches in circumference. A
gentleman had Que weighing eight
ounces, and 90 large and solid were
they that 1t took three hours for the
largest to melt. They resemble large
Jumps OF clear, transparent ice. Some
were round rs a cannon ball: some
slightly oblong like an egg; others
were fiattenetl like door-knObs. Down
they came with q detonating sound
like the report Of . pistol. No one
was in the streets. It was as much
as life was worth to be struck by one
OF these curious celestial missiles.
Horses tried to dodge them, and in
doing so broke away from their hitch
ing-posts, and dashed wildly through
the terrified town. More than one
vehicle met the fate of the e-hoss
shay" Windows were broken aud
much small injury done in various
ways. The only indication Sigourney
had Of the work Of destruction going
on in the distance was a low rumbling
sound, like far-away thunder, or the
noise of q train Of cars moving rap
idly overa bridge. The tornado started
on its mission Of death from the vicin-
ity Of Haysville, in Lancaster Town
ship, Keokuk County, not far from
the town Of Lancaster. Mr.. james
Craig, an old citizen of that place,
states that two clouds seemed to come
together, unite aud move rapidly in
q northeasterly direction. The first
obstacle it encountered was the Jones
School-house i'll tic vicinity of Lam
caster. School was in session. The
teacher and scholars barely noticed
the darkening sky when hail began to
fall, aud the sound OF the approaching
cyclone sinOte their ears like q mes
senger Of death. They were frightened
but did not anticipate serious danger.
Suddenly the building was lifted from
the ground, turned around and car
ried twenty feet away, where it was
laid dewn right side mp with care as
if the Storm King felt there were
within precious, innocent lives that
should not le sacrificed. The inl,ab-
itants Of the building hardly knew
what Happened before the destroyer
passed IN search Of other victims.
The children were bruised and cut by
the falling desks and seats, but none
were seriously injured.
On swept the irresistible column,
announcing its approach by the same
loud roar, which brought the people
of Lancaster to the doors. They saw
it in the distance-a dark, cone-like,
opaque mass, moving with appalling
swittness. 1t was coming directly
toward them. It struck terror into
their hearts; women swo0ned and
brave men held their breath. It lifted
one house from over the cellar where
the family were crOuclling in fear, and
the roof was raised from another build
ing. The outskirts of the village suf-
fered most, probably because the
houses, being isolated, had nothing
but the foundations to hold them to
the earth. The smoke-house and gra-
naries Of b. G. Moore, one mile from
Lancaster, were utterly demolished,
and Jacobson's log house was caught
up and the logs Of which it was con-
structed distributed far and wide.
Jacobson was hurt, but not fatally.
Louis Benefits home and fences went
to the four winds, his loss being per-
haps $1,000. Mr.. Low, an aged in
valid, was seriously wounded by fly
ing timbers. Having created confu-
sion and alarm in Lancaster, the storm
swept proudly by until it reached the
barn. out-llopses and fences Of Mrs.
Dagsett. which were broken up into
kindling= wood and carried off on the
current
Near Skunk River woods a flock of
I.5W sheep were quietly grazing when
the storm arose. With an instructive
dread they gathered in q circle, that
companionsbip might alleviate the
sense of danger. They congregated
directly in the line Of the storm, and
when it came it elevated them until,
as an eye witness expressed it. "they
looked like a flock of birds" They
circled round and round, the velocity
of the inner current overcoming the
attraction Of grayitation, until the
centrifugal motion moved them TO the
edge Of the cyclone, where, the vel
ocity being diminished, they fell to
the earth. Of the 800, only 40 were
c,ol ol;co mn to this afternoon and