The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-06-08
Historic Cyclones.

| y
on Sunday, the 22d day of April. is no
new occurrence in that region of coun-
try. On the contrary, it is only one of
a recurring series of storms, which, if
they have not visited the self same 10
calities, have at least swept over the
same belt of country several times in
the historic period of that section of the
State. 1t is well known that earth
quakes frequent certain districts of the
earth. and through periods of centuries
repeat their ravages, not only in the
same regions but even in the same
places. 1t appears to be quite as reas-
enable, and, if not absolutely aScer-
tanned, is to be believed on the testi-
mony of many facts, that great atmos-
pheric disturbances travel over land
and sea in well-defined tracks, which
are traversed time and again by these
hurricanes, Without, however, pre-
missing too much on this score, it APP
pears from the records that a belt of
country across the State of Mississippi,
and embraced between the parallels of
| thirty-one degrees and thirty-three de-
grees north latitude, has several times
been visited by destructive storms, and
it is quite likely, if careful investigation
were made, it would be found that there
have been in the district mentioned
more cyclones than those of which
records are at hand.
| Leaving to the scientists to discuss at
length the nature and origin of these
/ storms, and to discover the reasons why
they frequent particular districts and
travel in chosen paths, it may not be out
of place to suggest that a study of the
phenomena of the later and the earlier
cyclones furnishes us grounds for be-
| lieving that the destructive power of
such storms does not reside wholly in
the mere force of the wind. The cy-
clone does not traverse the country
on given line, sweeping everything
| impartially in its course. 1t chooses
the objects it will destroy or spare, and
these are not in proportion to their
weakness on the one hand or power of
resistance on the other. The testimony
| of observers is that the most solid and
substantial structures failed to resist the
force of the destroyer, while the frailest
abodes sometimes escaped. At Beau
regard iron window-bars were torn and
twisted while the glass behind was I'M
touched. Indeed. glass oftenest escaped
injury unless broken by blows from
falling or moving bodies, while metals
are usually torn and rent. A picture
was torn from a frame, while the frame
was left hanging to a peg in the wall.
Trees were stripped of their bark to the
utmost extremity of the smallest twigs,
while the trunks were not broken or
twisted. A pine splinter was driven
through an oak sapling with force it
could not have had if fired from a
musket, and yet the point of the
splinter was not battered or crushed.
A fragment of roofing slate was driven
through a dry fence-rail with extraor-
binary force. Fragments of buildings
were scattered in all directions, as if
they had been operated on with some
powerful explosive. Houses were
blown from over the heads of the as
founded inmates, who were left where
they were instead of being carried aw'
with the fragments of their dwelling ..
Members of families met the storm
locked in each others arms: one would
be taken and the other left. The entire
hurricane in its course swerved from
side to side, or lifted itself bodily and
skipped over certain tracts of country
only to fall the more tiercely on some
other locality. All these facts, OBJ
served in any cyclone, seem to show
that some force other than the wind
electricity, for inStance-must play an
important part in those great disturb
ances in the atmosphere.
To return to the record of cyclones
in Southern Mississippi, it is seen that
a very notable one occurred at Month
cello on the 22d of April, 1882. on the
very day, one year before the tempest
which visited Wesson and its neighbour
ing towns and country. Monticello is
in Lawrence County, which adioins, on
the northwest, Copiah, the county in
which Beaureguard and Wesson are
situated, and is not more than twenty
miles southeast of the two last-named
places. That storm was so violent that
1t wrecked the entire town. leaving only
three houses standing and killing some
fifteen people and wounding many
more. The'storm was also very severe
at Bogue Chitto and at other places in
the country around, and the damage to
both life and property was very great.
Before that there are stories of storms
in that region of Mississippi from time
to time, but the records of dates and
places are lacking and they must be
left to the recollection of the oldest in
habitant or any other man. The fol-
lowing, from Mr.. ID. S. Pattison, of
Martin, Claiborne County, recently
published in the Matches Democrat
under date of April %, speaks of other
storms in that section: MANY, many
years since tornado passed across the
road from jackson to Brandon, about
half way, destroying the H. r. Moss
place and making much such awreck of
the timber. Twenty years since in
March stormfollowing the same course,
passing through my place, not so vio-
lent as this one. but doing the more
mischief, as many houses in its course
were blown down, this one struck no
houses"
Going back still further among the
records, the great storm at Natchez. one
of the startling events of more than
forty years ago is reached. There is
something historic and tangible. Nat
chez is sixty miles eastward of Wesson,
and little south of the parallel of lati-
tude on which the latter is situated, but
is near the center of the belt of country
designated at the commencement of this
article. Forty-three years ago Natchez,
if not SO populous as at present, was a
city of considerable trade and general
importance. On Thursda.. May 9, 1910,
two o'clock in the afternoon, hurri-
cane from the southwest struck the city
of Natchez, and in two minutes of time.