Connecticut western news., 1879-04-30
A TORNADO,S WORK.
oARoLINA-INoIDENTs OF THE DEsTRUc- TIoN OF WATERFORD.

A Charleston, 5. O., paper gives us some interesting details of the destruc- tion of Walterboro', in that State, by tornado. Walterboro' contained court house, jail, two hotels, a number of law offices, a dozen stores, one academy, seven churches, and about ninety dwell- ing-houses, besides the large comple- ment of kitchens, negro cabins, barns, stables and other outbuildings always found in an old Southern town. There IS no money with which to rebuild, the people having been very poor, and the process of restoring the ruins must nec- essarily be 8 somewht slow one. Until that process is partially completed, there must inevitably be suffering.
 Tho approach of the cyclone was as sudden as it's effects were disastrous. Wednesday was lowering, cloudy, sultry day, with hardly breath of wind to stir the green leaves of the many trees about the sandy streets of the town, or sway the rose bushes which bloomed in almost every yard. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon almost all the inhabitants had finished dinner, and most of them were about their houses. The profound quiet and tranquility of a summer day in Southern country town pervaded everything. Only the crow ing of cock, the sleepy chirruping of bird, or some occasional village noise disturbed the silence. A dark cloud be- gan moving up from Q direction some-
 what west of south, and very soon after I ward came gust of wind, and terri l ble sound universally described as re- sembing the rushing of many trains of steam cars. Those who looked toward I the cloud saw the tall green tree tops in
 the woods tossing about like troubled | waves, and the earth trembled, it's vii
 brations being distinctly felt, and the houses, which were almost without ex- ception of wood, seemed to shudder. as if endowed with life and sense. Nasty movements were made to shut the doors and windows against the storm, and families, as if by instinct, huddled to- gether. Then some houses were felt to twist and shake. Persons in others were instantly envelopod in darkness and masses of debris. In about one minute the rain poured down in torrents, and
 there was no wind, but light breeze.
 Those whose houses stood were horribly astonished on going to their doors to see vacancy where minute before build ings had been, and the fallen trees piled
 upon one another in wild confusion.
 The roar of the wind was such that the tremendous crash which must have been,
 was heard by no one. One gentleman, who was looking from his piazza at the time, saw three large trees fall in hls front yard, but heard no more sound than if they had been feathers. He says they were not dashed to the ground, b ut went over slowly, as if they had been undermined.
 The air was filled during the passage of the storm with flying fragments of all sorts. Groves of scrub oaks on the out skirts of the town have the bark entirely beaten from them by the showers of laths, shingles. slaves and other things which encountered them.as they whirled along. It is probable that what was taken for cloud accompanying the storm was merely the mass of leaves, sand and other objects taken up by the wind. The rotary motion of the cyclone could be distinctly seen.
 Tbo ouo1oyo Coop,oc +o houo vooIo ,,,> about four miles southwest of the town, no traces of it being found further ill that direction. Its track was never ap- parently more than mile wide. Where it crossed the road the trees were piled so thickly that travel was almost impos- sible. On the other side of Walterboro' the course can be traced distinctly for miles, an even swath being cut through the pine trees. Probably one in four in it's path remain standing. From an ele- vation the broad track can be traced as far as the eye reaches by the white tops of the broken trees. Many of the trees were not blown down, but broken off from five to forty feet above the ground, and in such instances some of them pre- serlted ths appearance of having been wrung of, the twist being apparent in the remaining wood. A grove of wild orange trees few miles north and east of town was stripped of its berries, which descended in shower ten miles beyond. a lady's trunk, which was se- cured, locked and placed in the garret of dwelling, was taken by the wind as the house fell, and carried half mile into the swamp, the clothing in it being scattered in every direction. Some of it was found up tree, away off in the woods. Several buggies were blown forty or fifty yards, one or two of them being completely smashed. A four-horse wagon was lifted from yard and blown thirty feet away over fence eight feet high. One remarkable occurrence was that of basket of books being taken from house, and deposited in tree three fourths of 8 mile distant, without losing any of it's contents, which were found intact. A sheep was found lying in the road with every particle of wool taken from it as cleanly as razor could have done it. Many people were buried under the ruins, and it is marvellous that they were not killed. One lady as she felt the house giving away, gathered her children in her arms and knelt by 8 bed with her infant under her body. The building fell upon them, and they were nearly buried in shower of bricks