American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-03-25
THE WISCONSIN TORNADO.

THE WISCONSIN TORNADO.
It's Terrible Visitation Upon the Village
OF Hazel Green-A Graphic Description
Wrought
Especial Dispatch to the Chicago Tribune.l
GALENA, ILL, March 11.-Coming
up from the Southwest on the afternoon
of Friday, there was a dense black
cloud, apparently about 500 feet above
the ground. The barometer was fall
ing. The weatherwise men of Hazel
storm was brewing. The cloud moved
slowly, dropping lower and lower, a
dirty lead-colored aspect above it, a
close, oppressive atmosphere under
meath. 1t looked like spring cloud at
first, and seemed sort of tattered
prophet coming to town toprognosticate
bad weather. Close under its south
western limit it was piled up in mass
i've, rugged mountains. Its center
bellied down and spread out in sort
of infiamed gray color, while the upper
and northwestern edges were sloughed
off and ragged, as though the affair
were %
COMING FEET FIRST
with its trousers worn out around the
bottom. Southwest of Hazel Green is
a small grove situated about quarter
of mile from the town. The trees
were barren of all except the dreary as
pect of winter, and as the cloud came
up the branches were revealed against
the dull and sombre front of the APP
preaching horror. AS it came nearer,
the great mass of cloud seemed to spread
and contract. 1t bulged out at the
belly, and then rolled up again, shoot
ing great masses of smoke-colored riffs
from center to circumference, and then
contracting to center again, rolling in
circles, as if some atmospheric monster
were in dire agony, and struggling and
writhing to rid itself of its intense, un-
bearable pain. Never before had such
q phenomenon been presented to the
eyes of the astounded Hazel Greenys,
and they watched the tossing and con-
tortions' OF the attacking mass, without
thought of the issue, without fear
that they might be the objects of its
search. Wrenching and twisting in its
pain,
THE GREAT CLOUD CAME ON,
swelling and fading, now deep dusky
hue, again turning grayish pale, deep
ening and fading, contracting and
swelling like some huge beast in the
throes of an antagonist, yet utterly de-
prived of any power of self-assistance,
until at point about a half-mile south
west of the grove it was rent in twain,
as if it had been in labor-pain, and had
finally yielded the child. As the mother
and infant parted, the latter spread off
northward, and the former to the south
and east. As they widened the distance
between them it seemed as if tie sides
nearest each other were perfectly
straight, and exactly parallel, while the
further sides bellied out and drew the
denser elements into great boiling,
seething masses, black as ink, relieved
in the middle by an ashen hue as if they
were the offspring of some volcano.
Between them was long, clear streak
of naturally blue sky; around them the
heavens smiled unconscious. AS the
two clouds approached the town there
came low, hollow swell,
4 LONG, DEEP-DRAwN SIGH,
like that of a ground swell. Deepening
as they approached the grove, the sound
grew into wild discordant roar, and
when, at point about quarter of a
mile southwest of the grove, the two
masses came together, there was deaf
ening crash and yell, and in another in
slant Hazel Green was strewn with the
debris of fallen houses and spattered
with the blood of its inhabitants. The
point of attack was a corn-shed, almost
in the center of the grove, little to the
northeast. Two cylinders of compress
ed air, operating opposite in their cir
cles, and maintaining a central vacuum,
descended upon that corn-shed, which
shot up through the middle of the cylin-
der and fell fiat without single splin-
ter left joined to its fellow.
Straight from the grove the cylinder
moved in northeastern direction,
massive cylinder 500 feet wide and So
rods in diameter, whirling in opposite
concentric circles. The path of the cyl
inder lay in a northeasterly direction.
Tearing through the grove and over the
splinters of the corn-shed it -.'--
STRUCK THE HOUSE OF JOHN FUNK,
c one-story wooden structure, demolish-
ing the roof and scattering it broadcast.
The next house in line was that of Mrs.
Farley, also of wood, and which was to-
tally demolished. Mrs. Farley, half
deafened by the noise and fear of what
was coming, fled with her two daugh-
tiers to the cellar, and the house was
completely demolished, leaving the floor
above the three women the only protec-
ton between them and the awful hurri-
cane. At this point the cylinder bound
ed several feet into the air, and, des
scending, bounded again, and, striking
the Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall, a
huge three-story stone building,
LITERALLY TORE 1T IN PIECES,
scattering the debris, and leaving the
structure shapeless pile of bricks and
mortar. Across from the hall was
large stone residence owned and occu-
pied by Mrs. E. Richards and her fami-