Osage Valley banner., 1880-05-20
ELECTRICITY AND TORNADOrs.

Electrical Cansc OF Cyclones.
tFrom tho 81. Louis Repubicanl
The word cyclone is Of comparatively
recent invention, and is only to be
found 10 the more recent editions of
dictionaries. 1t is the generic name
for all storms that have rotary motion
around an axis, such as whirlwmds,
tornadoes, waterspouts and hurricanes.
These are species of cyclones Hence
every tornado is a cyclone, but every
cyclone Is not tornado, IL may be
dry whirlwind, q sandspout, a water
spout. etc.
From all facts so far ascertained the
Storm-center. whose cloud-canopy car
ried the tornado, had a forward motion
or translation across the continent from
southwest TO northeast at the rate of
forty-three miles an hour. Evidently
the tornado was not continuous, nor
was 1t formed ut any fixed point on the
cloud but at various points on the
cloud and at different times numerous
intumescenccs formed which developed
into cloud.spouts and dropped rs tor
nadoes. In proof OF this, fifteen min
utes after the tornado had passed
through and devastated MarshGeld, an
other cloud-spout was seen dangling
from the sky and sweeping with equal
ii not greater fury through Panther
Valley, fourteen miles south Of Marsh
field Nor did the tornado sweep with
uniform velocity along the face Of the
earth, but it was seenat times for few
moments 20 stand stilf, and then with
inconceiyable velocity 10 dart forward
again, however, only 10 halt again for
breath. IL was on such dart that il
swept through Marshiield in less than
half a minute. One OF the citizens of
rndoubted yeracity, who was in it, but
whose house was fortunately not
wrecked who was looking at it while
coming and passing, TO give an idea of
the shortness of its duration said he
could think Of nothing that would give
AN idea of il except 1" that two of us
being together, |, facing south, saying
Here she comes3 he. facing north, say
ing There she goes. Twenty per-
sons at least were present who were in
the tornado and they corroboated this
statement, They said~-and their state
monts were confirmed by Mr., I. X.
Paul aud others who had war expert
once that an unearthly bowling. as
though the air were filed with thou
sands of dying shells, heralded the APP
proaoh of the tornado. a momentary
tremor of.the house and then w-h-i-sh
and the house was gone, and all was
over
have repeatedly called attention to
the fact that tornadoes begin or OK
pend their greatest energy upon bodies
of water or railroads. In my lecture at
Indianapolis ] called attention TO the
fact that the tornado which passed
through 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 its damage and
manifesting its most terrific energy at
these points.
The tornado of Sunday drank up all
the ponds and rivers on its track from
Arkansas 10 Marshheld. II in all cases
manifested its most intense energy at
these points. Take, for instance, the
junction OF James and Findley Rivers,
both of which it drank up, whore 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 d.
Teetion the storm came was generally
+. dlyested of bark, while the whole tree
or shrub was not generally denuded'