Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-07-20
CAUGHT UP IN A CYCLONE,
BY AN ILLINOIS boy,

in the east and in Canada; and now, with
your permission, Mr.. Editor, have an
adventure to relate which l think will
interest your Eastern readers.
Perhaps, however, 1 should call it an
incident or an accident, instead of an ad-
venture; at all events shall tell it Just
as it happened, and you can call it what
you please. 1t happened to me and
friend of mine a few months ago.
1t was on Saturday, the day of the
week on which we had no school, the sth
of August, l think, but am not quite
sure, though know it could not have
been far from that date. For good rea-
sons, as you will presently see, was not
in condition to make an entry in my
diary on that evening, nor indeed for a
week afterwards. I
At any rate, it was Saturday, when
there was no school, and Harvey Rob-
inson and myself were fishing in the
Illinois river, We had not been fishing
for some weeks, and we went prepared
to have good time. We were ina row
boat which belonged to Harvey's broth
er, and we had started out about three
o'clock in the afternoon. Besides our
fishing-rods and pound Object for bait
each of us had taken biscuit and
pocketful Of pears to eat by the way.
1t was very warm afternoon; We
were aware of that before setting out.
But we thought there would be breeze
on the river, and we said we could take
a bath in the shade of the elms if the
sun was too hot.
Unlocking our boat we padded down
to bend, some half a mile below, and
there, in the deep water, threw our
hooks.
But it was warmer than we thought,
and no breeze came. At last it really
seemed as if the sun would bake us.
There was belt Of rather dark, misty
clouds away up in the northwest, but
they did not keep the sun from reaching
us.
81 wish some of those clouds would
rise little higher and cover the old
haymaker upr Harvey said, and he
dipped up handful of water to vet his
head.
Just then, however, fish bit at Hsr-
vey's hook; then another took my bait,
and hauled big fellow in. Then the
fish seemed to wake up at once. We
caught five in less than three minutes,
and the sport grew so exciting that we
forgot how fearfuly hot it was.
But suddenly we became conscious of
something unusual; strange sensation
which came from the air. and of an un-
natural stiffness. The air seemed dead
and oppressively heavy; it fairly bore
us down, and the effect was such that it
seemed as if my head would burst. At
any rate, my head felt strangely.
This is queer weather." Harvey said,
drawing up his line and looking around;
and when he spoke, l noticed and SO
did he, that his voice sounded strange
ly.
Lets pull back to the landing place."
l said, for thought that possibly an
earthquake, or something of that kind !,
was Mt hand.
"Yes, let's do that" replied Harvey, and
we both took to the oars We had pulled
no more than a dozen strokes, when a
noise,-like nothing 1 can describe,--a
sort Of murmur, caused us both to look
round up the river. And there, all up
in the north and west, was the strangest,
widest sight ! ever saw.
The clouds were not very black, but
they seemed to. be swirling round and
round, streaming up with frightful swift
ness toward the zenith! 1t was just aw
full! But where we were not breath OF
air was stirring.
ITS tornado There's a cyclone
coming" Harvey exclaimed. 1--WE
must get ashore"
Almost before the words were spoken,
l caught sight of something out through
the trees. above the landing place, that
fairly made nv hair rise
1t was black as ink, three or four hun
dred feet high. and looked like an i'm
mense balloon painted black, with the
lower end just touching on the ground!
For mercy's sake! what's that" Har-
vey cried out.
We both dropped our oars and grasped
the side Of the boat-for we saw that
whatever it was, it would be on us in an
other minute!
The strange murmuring sound had in
creased to horrible roaring, and above
1t we heard loud crashes like thunder
claps!
1t struck the oil-nut trees by the boat
landing, and every leaf and small limb
seemed to fly up off them, rs if sucked
into the vast, black globe. Not leaves
and branches alone; the great whirling,
roaring sphere gathered up everything
in its course!
In that moment of its sweeping down
upon us, saw fence-rails, cart-wheels,
calves, boards, green corn, pigs, tons Of
hay and lots of sheep, all whirled round
and round together, hundred feet up
in the air! And on each side of II a
shower of all these things, living and
dead, was rained down like hail.
When the lower end of this horrible
maelstrom touched the river, the water
rose up in white stream into the black,
dusty mass, with shrill, kissing noise,
like the tearing ofa thousand pieces of
cluth
Ali this in moment; then it struck
us-that whizzing, roaring whirlwind of
dirt, grass, corn, fence-posts, dust and
water! and up we went into the dark!
The boat, with us in it, was whirled out
Of the water into the swirling air like
leaf!
| remember feeling a swift succession
of heavy thumps and blows, as c.ung
to the gunwale; then was dimly con-
sciousof being whirled over and over in
the mir; and then tor time, / knew
nothing more about it.