Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-06-20
THE TORNADO DANGER.

The storm which struck Beloit, follow
ing close upon that which devastated
Racine, warns us that the tickle cyclone
is deserting Kansas and Missouri ior Wis
consin. The track Of the last storm is
not so far from that Of the Racine storm
that we can consider il mere chance tEat
Wisconsin hassuiered from both There
are evidently causes at work to produce
the conditions favorable to severe storms
in this region. Sergt. Finley, the sig
nal service officer at Kansas City, has
made extensive observations Of tor
nadoes, and has Published pamphlet on
the subject which ought 10 have an In
terest to the people OF Southern WisCOn.
sin. Particularly that part which gives
the directions as to how one one should
act in q tornado. UuSuaIly one acts
very much as man who has sWa lowed
horsa-liniment by mistake-he dances
and howls and finally goes all to pieces.
Sergt. Finley says when a tornado comes
a man should run to the north-never,
under any circumstances, should he run
to the east or northeast. 1t is impossi-
bic, he says, to save any building that
may lie in the path of the storm, or any
property that cannot be got out Of its
way No material, no method Of con-
structon can be competent to resist the
raging destruction The most practical
bic measure Of precauti0n is to construct
"dug-Out' at some suitable point with
in easy reach from the house, to serve as
a place Of refuge or shelter. The retreat
should be entirely underground. with a
roof at least three feet thick, not rising
above the surface of the earth, and en-
tered from the northern or eastern side.
If, however, the storm cannot be escaped,
If no refuge is at hand, or there is not
time to get to it, the safest thing to do is
to place ones self against the west wall
of the cellar, face forward, or against the
south wall as near the southwest corner
as possible The Northeast quarter is in
any case fatal position, and should al
ways be avoided. 1t one is actually over
taken by the tornado, his only resource is
to cast him face downward upon the
ground, with his head to the east and his
arms thrown over his head to protect it.
If in house with no cellar, he should
get into the west room, On the ground
floor if possible, and away from all stoves
and heavy furniture.
The directions are numerous and ar
rangad very much after the manner of
Hoyle on games AS in Hoyle "when in
doubt lead trumps,' so in Finley, when
in the storm run to the north" Or, it is
like a work on the manual of arms.
Undoubtedly the directions are based on
a careful study Of the habits of tornadoes,
and If one could follow them he would
stand a better chance for his life. But
the trouble is that man finds himself
flying through the air at the rate Of 100
miles an hour before he knows it, and he
is likely to be too agitated to read the
directions very carefully, or to forget
them if he has been able to commit them
to memory 1t is fact pretty generally
acknowledged that in the midst of
tornado is not the best time to collect
ones thoughts, which are likely to be
as scattered as his households effects. In
such region as this, where a tornado
may or may not strike, people will not
suspend business to watch for it. If it
comes, it catches us unprepared and
there seems to be nothing to do but run
our chances without making row. I'm
til some one inVents method OF chain
ing up the tornado, houses will be blown
away and lives will be lost in spite Of
signal-office Observation-Disclosures Sen
tineE.