Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-07-03


A Kansas lady. in q familiar letter 10
her mother in Boston, gives this ex-
perienee Of the recent cyclone: s6
heard low rnmhle of thunder, and
saw il was dark; 50 | gathered in my
little hcck and shut the cellar doors
and picked Up things generally. then
let them stand in the porch. as now and
then a hail stone iell the sire Of apes,
and they wanted to watch. I was cut
Ing ont dress Cor May and humming
lev ID snysesf, Wilh0a9 q Efonnfsk uf
harm, when The she'd door vas opened
and shut quickly, and Howard looked
into the bedroom. Temarking with q lit
lie laugh. and quiet, even gay.vOice.
"The children better not stand there,
had they?" knew that such exces-
sive cheerfulness meant that something
was afoat.
In minute or two there came q
body OF folks from the other house,
pointing, exclaiming, shouting and wav-
ing their hands towards the southwest.
Howard ran out, and they seemed 80
excited that followed, and my heart
went down, TO my boots at The sight
Of the dark cone coming directly To-
wards US. ! believe | didn't scream,
but that won't swear to. I knew ]
asked If we should 60 to the smoke
house, and Howard and Tom SAID, "NOt
quite vet; wen watch q miaute."
looked at the dear babies standing
in the porch and thought that ! would
give everything had in the world to
feel they were safe and out OF danger.
For a few minutes / bore the sight oi
the hanging tongue licking the ground
in a circle, then cried out that il was
unbearable, and turned my back, then
put on my waterproof, clasped Hoddie
and rushed over TO Toms. Kitty met
me at the door with pale face. Kate,
behind her, carried Ned's puppy, the
idol OF her heart. Both had cloaks on
and the boys hung around in despair.
The hail began now to come fast and
very large. and the other folks came
back, saying that the cyclone had yeered
and was going north rapidly. We had
not time TO do more than dodge into the
shed, for hail fell that broke on the rool
with a report like gun, and louder.
As we stood in the porch, and the
hail ceased dropping, the wind increased
and blew Kitiy's bedroom into fear
full state, from the four broken win
dows. mean The iour broken panes
of glass. vas listening TO that account
from Fred, and was not watching the
whlrIwInd, which still moved on in its
mad waltz, when Howard drew our at
tention TO the cloud over US, the eastern
end Of the whole trouble. He saw il
first, and quote few words from bis
letter to Lizzie, as he knew Of il from
the first movement: "The eastern end
of the cloud now began 10 show signs
OF uneaseness, 10 surge and swell, and
slowly to revolve in large circles. -
Everybody carried white face as we
all looked above US. directly over US, al
the revolving, twisting, heavIng green
and gray and black mass.
The CHASTITY fascination Of the thing
was beyond measure dreadful. II was
like boiling pot Of horrible mixture,
with tongues and ragged edges, thai
licked around the edge and shot out
from the sides, all at last meeting in the
centre in funnel-shaped trunk leading
TO the internal regions above 1t. This
hung over Us for several minutes, while
the thing still swung around. then slow
ly II began TO drop, slanting little al
first. Still at the northwest, the other
one kept on, almost at the river now,
and'I looked at my baby chaltering ia
my arms, at Helen and Kate picking up
haIlstones, with unconscious serenity:
at May trembling and moaning with fear,
and told Howard that we must 60 "a
the smoke-house for at least shadow
Of safety.
Ttook May and Helen, and as we
turned the edge ogthe walk blast came
down that seemed as IL it surely was
upon us, bat il was not yet. II was
surely beginning TO move, and TO move
over us, going north. / was in the
smoke-house with the children, and
Howard, stationed at the door, told me
not to fear any more, IL was passing
away, revolving in its destructive car.
eles as Before, but had not struck yet
When we went down threw con.
lorter Of waddies over the children:
heads, thinking if the storm broke and
tore the roof 10 pieces the falling stones
and dirt might not iDiure them so much
May thankfully covered under it, bui
Helen tossed It of. my don't want
that old, hot thing over my!' she SAID
contemptuously.
Well, we saw It strike the hills The
other side OF the river. and know now
that II tore the Disney house TO pieces
iniuring every member in it. and Mrs
Disney is now probably dead. The
doctor said il was not possible for her
to recover. Where itpassed over fields
without twisting around them, il GOV.
cred them with paste of mud, blacl
az If FIRE had been there. In other
places ittore the grass out by The root,
and again cut il of, as III had beer
moved. II went on doing damage ev'
erywhere, and at last struck the towr
Of Delphos, little place, almost sweep
ing everything away in IT, and killec
forty people.
The number injured Il would be hare
to tell about. We have not heard more
from that one. but the first one, sever
miles away from Us. tore stcrehon~G
to pieces, killing little girl. and at II
Bars 10 made shocking. havoc. The