The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-02-25
A SQUATTER'S ADVENTURE.
BY CAPT. MAYNE REID

Inc TORNADO or hurricane Oh Tue Iaf
West. herrikin" the backwoodsmen
call it's species of tempest very
similar in character and effects to the
typhoons and cyclones of the far East.
One of its most characteristic peculiari-
ties is that it generally sweeps over a
very limited tract of country, a mere
strip OF only mile or so in width. For
tunate its being thus confined; for in
that strip or belt its action is fearfully
destructive, and the forest that chances
to stand in its way goes down before its
breath as if the trees were so many
stalks OF grass yielding to the blade of
the scythe.s Houses are Frustrated in a
like manner, and wooden ones are often
carried for miles distance from their
ancient sites, or deposited on the tops
of trees Towns have suffered almost
complete humiliation, as was the case
with Natchez on the Mississippi some
thirty years ago.
In trayersing the Western States it is
not uncommon to come across the track
of tornado. Ii it be in timbered dis
trict the trees will be seen all down,
their tops turned in the same direction,
the roots torn up from the ground, each
carrying high, circular mass of the
surface earth which adheres to their
network of fibers. This belt of pros
trated timber is sometimes only few
hundred yards jim width, the hurricane
seeming to have shot through it like a
bolt, leaving the trees on each side
standing and untouched. Sometimes
the line or column of destruction is
much wider, but in most eases with a
well-defined boundary, outside of which
Nature remains calm and unscathed
Woe to the wayfarer, be he hunter OF
traveller, who chances to be caught in 9
herfikin" when it passes in its Cyclic
pean strength.
The effects of such storms are otter
of the most eccentric kind. There is 1
authenticated instance of barn
door fowl, rooster" having beer
stripped bare of his feathers, standing
tail towards the tempest when it struck
him-chanticleer escaping without any
further damaged!
The results, however, are rarely OF thi
Mdtcrous character, but oftener of Sc
rious and tragical nature, scores of live
being lost in the track of tornado. Es
capes of very singular kind frequentl.
occur-real "hair- breadth escapes,
one of which, little comical in its way
we shall here record. 1t befell an oil
Arkansas squatter who came into GU
hunters camp and sstook his turn" a
the ''yarns" which served to knit us a.
together every evening when''all hands
were in for the night. He thus gave hi
NARRATIVES:
tsI'd made bout acre O. claim, al
had got a shanty set up for the ole VIC
man an myself on the edge o. the stand
in thinner.
sit war in the fall seezun o. the year
an the corn war ripe. war all alon
by myself potterin' about, an totin' til
corn inter the crib. The ole gal ha
gone that day to the cross-road store
bout five mile off, to git some grocer
fxins in change for the skin O. a baa
I'd shot the week afore. She had th
ole boss wi her, IAN fort nit for both thel
critters they war away. He'd eyther I
'em been about the house reckon they
a been blown sky-high, as l war m,
self, an moughtn't IA kun down {
safe as did.
81 war down by the eend o. the ella
in'-that air the eend furrest away fro
the shanty. war busy pickin' off Il
yeers o. corn an shuckin' them inter
basket, an didn't notice meier cloud
in the sky till all at once it student
darkened over, as if night had KUN {
three hours afore its time. l hedn't
moment to make speckalashuns 'bo
what it ked mean, when thar kim SIGH
whizzin' an screekin' an crackin' a
crashin' as eli General jackson wi h
hui army-hoss, fut, an cannon-w
pursuin' the Cherokee Injuns throus
the woods.