The Red Cloud chief., 1880-06-21
the track of torpadoes I have observed

tlTougn THAT CITY on TIC uiSHs vi thr
4th Of March last began on White
River; leaped TO Fall Greek. 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 to Marshfield. IL 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, where If 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
" or totally. The side facing the di-
rection the storm came vas 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, debrgs OF
wrecked houses, in fact everything
movable in its path, hence there was no
lack of evidence that trees, shrubbery,
bushes, etc, were hit with flying mis-
silcs. In fact they were completely
peppered with them. The conclusion
was therefore jumped at that all the
d~enudation Of bark was the sole effect
of hurled missiles assisted by the
wind. 1t hence became a desidera-
tum to find a locality where no
missiles were fiying and where
the barking Of the trees was not on the
side facing the direction-from the
southwest-that the storm was moving.
but i'm the direction the tornado was at
the time. Such a locality | found on
the point between two ravines, on the
d~ecliyity OF the hill OF which had stood
Judge Barnes house, totally wrecked
by the tornado. II is about one hun
dred wards south of where the road
coming from town, following N IA
vine north, crosses the ravine coming
from the southeast, about two hundred
yards above the mill. There is Il pile of
wagons and wheels 1T the crossing. The
tornado, after destroying Barnes house,
for n few moments stood still at the
base of the hill and then leaped upon
the hill east. While standing still its
center was about one hundred and fifty
yards southeast Of the point to which |
have reference. The trees at this point
had lost their bark on the southeast
side, that is on the side facing the tor
nadO. and a strong wind-as is shown
by some trees broken down or uproot-
ed-camc from the northwest, that is
from the side opposite to that from
which the trees had parted with their
bark. Here were trees standing up
right shattered, as elsewhere, into thin
strips, no thicker than lath, not like
those which were in the track of the
tornado facing the direction the storm
came. but in the direction it was then
hating, that is southwest.
was so fortunate as to
find more than | sought, in fact more
than | dreamed of as existing. found
ONE treeS-biack oakS-ihat had losta
strip or two of bark, but all that re-
manned on the tree was separated from
the trunk and some of il hanging loose.
| found the bark entirely detached from
the stem and incasing it like n sheath.
| pulled it off by piecemeal all around
one tree and down to the roots. Further
search resulted in finding a hickory
tree-species. carya s~uica:a, the thick
shelled and thick-barked hickory that
also had its bark detached by an explo-
sion from the stem, not n particle of
it gone, however, but most of it hang
ing so loose that il can be shaken. Not
a vestige can be seen on the bark Of any
flying missile having struck the tree.
1t is one of the most wonderful. i'm
pOrtant and significant physical facts |
ever saw. 1t should be secured by some
scientific institution, and, if not for its
scientific importance, rs a mementO of
one of the most fatal tornadOeS on
record. But it will be of ineStimable
value for study and information to fu-
ture generations in their researches into
the mysteries of Nature. The tree
stands about a rod northwest. of a shat
tered black oak equally as interesting
and significant. whose top, bowed
southeastward-for | hold there was no
windy the electric attraction of the
intense vortex, was prevented from
breaking down by forming a brace of a
strip two inches thick, split off the
trunk by a simultaneous explosion. The
strip is not separated from the trunk at
its ends. The brace makes an angle of
about one hundred and. thirty-five de-
grees. 1t is evidently owing to the
simultaneousness of the pull and ex-
plosion that the brace was formed. The
fragment, forced out by the explosion.
was prevented from returning by the
shattered trunk bending from the pull
at its top at the same instant.
l brought away specimens of limbs.
stems from Usage orange hedges and
tops of brush that were in the track of
the tornado. They are not only divest-
ed of their bark. but the ends of the
limbs and the smallest twigs even are
rifted into fine fibers so that they look
like paint-brushes or little brooms.
There is a significant fact accompanying
this rifting which gives 4 clew that I'M
ravels the whole mystery. This fact is.
that only green branches and twigs are
rifted into fibers, the twigs to the very
stems to which they are attached. The
dry and dead branches and twigs are
intact.
What explanation can be given of
these phenomena, and what cause can
be assigned for their occurrence There
is but one explanation that can be given.
and / It n cause that EAR be assigned
for al of them. That explanation is
that they all are the effect of electric
action. and consequently that electrici-
ty is the cause of them.
That electricity is the cause of them
is evident from well-established cleo
trio laws and from well-known modes
of electric action. Beccaria, one hum
dred and fifteen years ago, perforated a
solid glass ball two inches in diameter.
In one end of the perforation he put a
wire and a drop of water on the end
of it; in the other end he put another
vv;ro In oopfaof with tho u-ofar Roth