New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1880-10-20

to some, and of much greater depth 40
cording to others, and several rods
square. This is repetition of what
was done in Reno County, Kan, on
the 18th day Of May, 1878, when at
least one-half an acre Of the soil was
shot into the cloud-spout, as though
mine had been exploded underneath.
According to the monthly weather re-
view for May, 1878, printed by the sig
nal Office, similar explosion occurred
twice at Darlington, ILL.,, on the 23d of
May, 1873, when in all respects SINH
lar tornado to that of last Sunday swept
the States of Iowa, Wisconsin and
Northern Illinois. The Signal Office,
however. gives the area of soil hurled
up in one case about one acre, in the
other one and q quarter acres. For a
distance of about seven miles along the
railroad which the tornado followed
trees are not only Frustrated and de-
nuded Of bark, but large trees nearly
three feet in diameter were plucked
up by the roots and carried forward.
In town forest trees a foot in diameter,
standing in lawns. were plucked up
by the roots and carried away. Stones
from five to six feet in their shortest
diameters were lifted out Of the ground
and carried to the top of hill. A
stone estimated to weigh 1900 pounds
fell in a field belonging to J. G. Rose,
killed with several Of his family by the
destruction of his house. The distance
il was carried and whence it came had
not been ascertained. In the great
Georgia and South Carolir tornado of
March 20, 1875, q stone over two feet
thick and weighing from $4,000 to
10000 pounds, although only expos
ing on one side five inches to the
tornado, was lifted out of its
bed and carried seven feet. As in
all tornadocs, houses, both frame and
brick, were lifted from their founda-
tons, the former generally carried
some distance, the latter hurled back
and crushed on their foundations. Like
elsewhere, wagons, buggies, carriages,
sewing-machines, everything with iron
about it, seemed to be the objects of its
especial fury. Not metallic roof of
any kind is left in town. The Post
office, owned by MIR. Smith, the most
substantial brick building in town and
covered with tin, was utterly demol-
ished, while the tornado to reach it
passed over two buildings covered with
shingles. After demolishing several
other adjacent buildings, also covered
with tin, it leaped over q brick house
covered with shingles, doing no harm,
bouncing upon the houses north, and
sweeping them and everything clean to
beyond the city limits. The High
School, covered with shingles, stood
three hundred yards from the nearest
point of the tornado's track. 1t was
intact, but, unfortunately, it's tower was
covered with tin. The whole tower to
the square was torn down. The pow
der-house stood southwest of the
school-house, not nearer than six hum
dred feet to the track of the tornado.
1t was newly built and covered with
tin. The roof was snatched off and
hurled about eight hundred feet north
west into the center of the tornado,
passing two-story frame dwelling I'M
harmed. A house two squares east of
the Courthouse, and four hundred feet
beyond the eastern line of destruction,
covered with shingles nailed upon an
old tin roof, lost the greater part of tho
roof. The mill north Of the town was
quarter of a mile from the track of
the tornado, yet the iron smoke stack
was snatched off and carried four miles
and lodged in a trce-top. The susccpti-
bility OF metallic roofs being wrenched
| off even when long distances outside of
the track Of tornadoes I have observed
| as a uniform occurrence elsewhere.
have repeatedly called attention to
the fact that tornadoes begin or ex-
pend their greatest energy upon bodies
of water or railroads. In my lecture at
indianapolis l called attention to the
fact that the tornado which passed
throug n that city On the night of the
4th of March last began on White
River; leaped to Fall Creek, then upon
the car stables at the end of the Indiana
Avenue Horse Railroad, then upon the
canal skirted by the Lafayette Railroad,
then upon two other horse railroads,
and finally leaving the city on the Peru
Railroad. doing all it's damage and
manifesting its most terrific energy at
these points.
The tornado Of Sunday drank up ali
the ponds and rivers on its track from
Arkansas to Marshfield It in all cases
manifested it's most intense energy at
these points. Take, for instance, the
Junction OF James and Findlcy Rivers,
both OF which it drank up, where it fell
with its most destructive fury upon the
adjacent settlement, which it utterly
devastated, the destruction of which is
unparalleled in the history of lorna
does.
The phenomenon that attracted most
attention and gave rise to the greatest
diversity OF opinions was the denuda-
ton of trees, saplings. hedges, shrub
berry, etc., Of their bark, either partial
ly or totally. The side facing the di-
rection the storm came was generally
Invested of bark, while the whole tree
or shrub was not generally denuded
AS most OF the area swept by the tor.
nado was a stream or perfect avalanche
OF matter, consisting of dust, sand,
gravel, stones, brick, lumber, debris of
wrecked houses, in fact everything
IAOShD1O Ill lIS PAUL, lcuCe IHciC was no
lack OF evidence that trees, shrubbery,
bushes, ETC., were hit with flying mis-
siles. In fact they were completely
peppered with them. The conclusion
was therefore jumped at that all the
denudation of bark was the sole effect
of hurled missiles assisted by the
wind. It hence became a desidera-
tum to find a locality where no
missiles were flying and where
the barking of the trees was not on the
side facing the direction-from the
southwest--that the storm was moving,
but in the direction the tornado was at
the time. Such locality I found on
the point between two ravines, on tho
declivity of the hill on which had stood
Judge Barnes house, totally wrecked
by the tornado. 1t is about one hum
dred yards south of where the road
coming from town, following one ra-
vine north, crosses the ravine coming
from the southeast, about two hundred