Middletown transcript., 1878-05-04
Our Q9lio.
The Great Kansas Tornado.
[Emporia News. April l5th.l

drouths, the grasshoppers, and all the
calamities that Providence has sent
upon US, but until Sunday luckily es-
capped the tornadoes which have visited
every section Of the State; but the
fates seemed to have reserved their
furies for the one storm which wrought
such devastation on that day.
The tornado first attracted attention
here about 4:30 p. M, when general
apprehension was excited by the threat
ening appearance of the sky, especially
in the southwest, where a gigantic,
greenish colored cloud massed up,
swelling and writhing, and steadily in
creasing in bulk and apparent solidity
until it looked like an immense ava
lanche ready to overwhelm the earth
beneath. To the east and north of
this terrible cloud the sky was COM
paratively clear, the clouds there seem
ing to go northwest, from whence
rolled, along and across the western
horizon, a continuous volume of cloud
which entered into and was absorbed
by the growing mass in the southwest,
until it seemed as if everything in the
sky above US was being whirled toward
and sucked into that gloomy monster.
This impressive atmospherical display
went on for about fifteen minutes,
when tremendous though distant
roar began to be heard, approaching
nearer every moment, and heavy
dash of wind and rain came from the
south. The storm had reached us, the
rain shutting out further view of the
sky. This first wind and rain almost
instantly swung round and came from
the east, and lasted about three min
utes, when a perfect lull of about two
minutes ensued. This lull was sud
denly broken by blast of wind, rain.
and very heavy hail from the north
west and north. This was the storm,
in all its strength, and it ragged with
terrific fury for full half hour before
it abated in the least, and then kept
up very heavy rain for another half
hour, the latter part coming from east
and south.
1t was truly terrible storm, even
to those whose houses stood without
injury-while to those whose houses
were blown to pieces, exposing them to
the full force of the raging elements.
the experience Of that hour can never
be forgotten. The rain was the heavi-
est our oldest settlers have known
coming down like a cataract, and food
ing the ground inches deep in few
minutes. It penetrated roofs and
joints heretofore proof in all storms,
and as the heavy hail dashed in win
dows to the north, the water deluged
rooms in a few moments. The hail
stones were immense in size and the
wind hurled them with tremendous
force-most all glass in northern win
dows, unprotected by blinds, being
shattered.
Many of the hail-stones that fell
south of the Cottonwood, where the
tornado was more severe than in the
city, are said to have been as large as
goose eggs, knocking holes through |
shingles and siding large enough to
put ones fist through. The suferings
of the numerous families whose houses
were so suddenly blown to pieces, leav-
ing their inmates, men, women and
children, entirely unprotected from
the pelting of this enormous hail as
well as the food of water and the force
of wind that threw them from their
feet to the sodded earth, can be imag-
ined when we remember that this
storm kept up its full fury for more
than half an hour. The houses de-
stroyed were generally lifted up in the
air. carried a number of feet and then
dashed roof or side first to the ground,
shattering them entirely to pieces,
scattering timbers and boards for hun
dreds of feet and in some cases for more
than half mile, and of course destroy
ing all the furniture and other proper
" within them. On Pbenis and Dry {
creeks, and along the south bank Of {
he Cottonwood, between these creeks, /
very large trees were torn and twisted l
@ pieces, and the prairie is covered
With fragments of houses, and nothing '
eemed capable of withstanding its aw- t
ul power only the fences. The gale
vas simply terrible; wonder is that so
ew people were killed by the falling d
f their dwellings, or that those who |,
we're exposed to the hail were not n
,eaten senseless to the earth. d
How women and children lived, as c
nanY did, through this fearful hour, ST
nth nothing to shield them from the Il
ail, is unaccountable. Two children C,
,oro IN fact k;lIed in tb;s NOV W