The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-02-10
Up m TnE AIR.

UP IN THE AIR.
Captain Mayne Reid. in the Illustrated Sporting
and Dramatic News,
The tornado or hurricane in the far
West herrikin'n as the backwoods-
men call it's species Of tempest very
similar in character and effect to the
typhoons and cyclones of the far East.
One of its most Characteristic peculiari-
ties is that it generally sweeps over q
very limited tract of country, mere
strip of only mile or 80 in width. For
tunate its being thus confined; for within
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 50 many
stalks Of grass yielding to the blade Of
the scythe. Houses are prostrated in q
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 COM
plete annihilati0n, as was the case of
Natchez on the Mississippi some thirty
years ago.
In travelling the Western States, it is
not unusual to come across the track of
q tornado. If it be in q timbered dis
trict the trees viii be seen all down, their
tops turned in the same direction, the
roots torn up from the ground, each car
rying high, circular mass of the sur
face earth which adheres to their network
Of fihFes. This belt of prostrated timber
is sometimes only few hundred yards
in width, the hurricane seeming to have
sfot through it like bolt, leaving the
trees on each side standing aud nm
touched. Sometimes the line or column
of destrucEion is much wider, but in
most cases with q well-defned boundary,
outside Of which nature remains calm
and unscathed. Woe to the wayfarer, be
he hunter or traveller, who chances to be
caught in "herriken when it passes
in its Cyclopean strength.
The effects of such storms are often Of
the most eccentric kind. There is well
authenticated instance of barn-door
fowl, a " rooster" having been stripped
bare Of his feathers, standing tail toward
the tempest when it struck him-chanti-
cleer escaping without any further dam
agel
The results, however, are rarely of this
ludicrous character, but oftener of q
serious and tragical nature, scores of
lives being lost in the track Of a tornado.
Escapes Of avery singular kind frequently
eccur--real hair breadth escapes, one of
which, q little comical in its way, we
shall here record. 1t befell an Arkansas
sqnatter who came into our huuter's
camp and took his turn at the yarns
which served to knit Us all together every
evening when all hands were in for the
night. He gave us his narrative:
I'D made bout acre O. claim, an
had got a shanty set up for the ole wo-
man an myself on the edge o. the
staBdin' thinner
1t war in the fall seezan 0, the year,
an, the corn war ripe. / war all alone
by myself potterin' about, an totin' the
corn inter the crib. The ole gal had gone
that day to the cross read store, bout
FIVE mile of, to git some grocery fxins
for the skin O baar I'd shot the week
afore- She had the old hoss wi her, an
fort'nit for both them critters they war
away. He'd eyther O. 'em been about
the house reckon they'd a. been blown
sky high, As war myself, an moutnt a
KUN down so safe as did.
war down by the eend o. the clarin'
E-that air eend furrest away from
the shanty. / war busy pickin' off the
yeers O. corn an chuckin them inter a
basket, an didn't notice ne'er cloud in
| the sky till all at once it sud'ently dark
ened over, as if night had kum ON three
hours afore its time. ] hedn't ia mon neni
! to make spekalashuns bout what it ked
mean, when thar kim sich a whizzin' an
screekin' an craekin' an crashin' al
ef General jackson wi his hui army
hoss, fut an cannons, was pursuin' tht
Cherokee njuns through the woods.
l kedn't give the ghost O q guess whai
war up, nor he'd ] any time for conjec
term. Afore I ked count ten wa
heisted myself, right up into the ar, a
efPd sud- Rntly been supplied Wi' pai
o. wings, an flying like q eegle. Iknow't
war upin the al, but only for the short
est space O time. Then all at once't
didn't know whar was, the senses wa
knocked clean out O. me.
e When rekivered them, which di,
arter somethin' like hour, / reckip,
seed | war up in tree; but: boys, pree
haps in the most keurous preedickamen
any man war in among tree tops. Itwa
dead wood, one O. em that | girdle,
the year afore clarin, the ground. A
thar warnt no leaves on it, [ ked see al
about, an what did see were caution
to Crockett. Thar was no cparin' an,
longer. The hui country war cfarin'-
that is, thar stretched strip O felle'