The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1877-07-14
THE AWFUL
Hotc 1t approached n Doomed Town o
Mt. Carmel, IH.


Hotc 1t approached the Doomed Torn of
Mt. Garnet, IH.
The natural phenomena that presaged
the fearful storm were as grand and
aWe-inspiring as was the demonstration
of its awful power. Due west of the
little city, at a distance of several miles,
is q forest which skirts the prairie that
stretches thence to the town. Nestled
amid the unddlations of the ridges, the
inhabitants of the doomed town watched
the gathering of the tornado with no
fear at first. In the west a bank Of
clouds began to form, first on the edge
of the horizon, and then grew with
magical swiftness, creeping up against
the sky, which it presently totally
covered with it's terrible frown. Blacker
and blacker it grew, and opwapd it
rushed with irightfM velocity, the face
OF the cloud dark and the edge tringed
with fantastic wreaths of vapor, whirled
into a thousand varying forms as the
awful and death dealing tempest swept
over the face of the smiling country.
Although it was daylight, a dusk almost
like that of twilight fell upon the little
city and the smiling fields and blooming
plains that girded its fourishing borders.
Then fear fell upon the inhabitants, who
began to think where safety might be
found. The school building, which was
thronged with children, was in the path
of the tempest, and the little ones,
frightened by the appalling spectacle of
the galloping storm, begged leave to fly
to their homes. They were all huddled
On the ground floor, except a few who
could not be restrained, where a special
Providence appeared Ito work out their
safety.
With the lightning speed of a race
horse the tempest came onward and
leaping over the wood That skirted the
prairie, rushed upon the ground and
swept toward the city with tht un-
earthly shrek of a fiend. The residence
of DIR. Harvey, midway between the
forest and the city, sitting fair upon the
level plain, fell shattered before the
fearful blast, which a moment later fell
upon the doomed city and its in
habitants.
With an awful crash the tornado
swept through the streets with a COLI
tinuous noise like the explosion of bomb
shells. so frightful was its velocity and
80 vast and irresistible its force that the
buildings of the town shivered before it
like sand, and fell as if crushed by the.
weight Of an Omnipotent hand. EnOr-
NOUS substances weighing hundreds of
pounds were lifted upon the wings of the
wild wind and borne forward like dead
leaves upon an autumn gust. Walls
crumbled like sand and went prone upon
the earth, and massive buildings erected
to stand the test of years, sank under it's
force and left scarce a trace of their pres
ence upon the devastated earth.
This lasted but a moment, an awful
moment, pregnant with the fell harvest
If death and destruction, and the fright
sned and awe-inspired people, who had
the crash of their homes and
ooked upon the relentless tempest which, j
ike an inflriate monster, seized upon |
he fair village and tore its beauty from
he face of the earth, could scarcely |
ealize the truth that their senses bore tes- t
This Mortified amazement and 8
tupor lasted but for a moment. Fol t
in the wake of the tornado came a
torrent of rain-tears which Heaven /
eemed to shed over the desoIation it C
ad wrought, and with which the pitiless
ames that began to leap from the ruins
'as partly quenched. Then thunder |
rashed and lightning flashed from the Ii
'mbre sky and fed upon the homes the Il
ind had spared.-EUonsviM Journal. 81