The Dawson journal., 1883-05-03

New Orleans Times Democrat. I

| ANCH CIttttilo / Illus 4}tIGDtTaG. |
A map Of the late tornado and cyclone
in the South would certainly have a very
curious, corkscrewish appearance. We
have studied The map carefully, the time at
which the storm reached the various towns
and villages, and the direction from which
ii came, and can only come to one con
clusion-that there was a general tornado.
or ordinary storm of rain, wind and cleo,
tricity throughout the South, and that in
the midst OF this storm several cyclones
tore through the country.
A cyclone is entirely different from an
ordinary storm 1t may come in clear
weather although ii is generally followed
by heavy rain-and is produced hy wholly
| different causes. There is vulgar belief
that cyclone is only very severe hurri-
cane, but, as the Signal Service showed a
short time ago in pamphlet published by
it on this subject, there is not the sIightest
foundation for this theory. A vclone is
caused by the meeting of cold and warm
winds which produce a rotary motion. or
an 9rlal whirlpool. They are bred mainly
on the eastern slope of the Rockies. where
( they tear eastward. They move onward at
the rate of from 30 to 300 miles an hour.
bnt in the vortex OF the cyclone the wind
moves, So the signal officers have found, at
the rate Of 500 miles an hour. With such
a velocity it is not to be wondered at that
houses trees and rocks should be ground
up into powder.
The favorlte time for these atmospheric
phenomena are April and August. those
months when the weather is changing and
"hen cold aud warm winds are likely to
prevail together. They are always fore.
told SOME minutes in advance by rumb.
ling, rafting noise like the movements of A
freight or heavily loaded train, and the
earth shakes as IL in The throes of an ear. h.
quake \ copper-colored cloud. in tho
form of funnel or cone, is then seen ad
va1cing. A slack cloud, thick like smoke
and flied with blazing electricity falls tc
the earth and obscures everything. Thi.
Immediately precedes the cyclone, which
follows few minutes after, generally from
100 to 300 yards wide and seldom takins
more than a few seconds to pass any point
Such are the symptoms Of an approach O
these whirlwinds, which can always b,
forctold There were a number of persons
at Beauregard who saw it coming anC
sought places of safety, for in d tornado
like this house is always dangerous nom
can resist its force and strength.
The cyclone that swept through Wcssol
and Beawegard was like all its brethren
but unfortunately it struck a number o
towns instead OF wasting its force, as i
often the case, upon open country, an,
this is why the loss of life and property
so large.
There is some difficulty in following it
course, and there seems to be many reason
tor believing that there were several O
these atmospheric disturbances. The fir.
trace we have Of the cyclone is in DeSot
parish, which it invaded from Texas.
passed over the New Orleans and Pacifi
Railroad at ST. PatricioStaton, moving du
west to Concordia parish and crossing tn
Mississippi River south of Natchez at abo,
/, 1920 A. NJ. 1t travelled from the southwe,
- to the northwest, passing few miles cas-
5 Of Natchez which town escaped it altc
= gether 1t ran northeasterly nearly pari
, lei with the Natchez, jackson and Coun
+ bus Railroad, and only mile distant frol
$ it, Red Lick narrowly escaped. the planti
tons in its neighborhood suffering scverel,
AT "illman's the cyclone crossed the trae
{ of the railroad about II O'clock ravagir
|. the surrounding country, and dashii
d through anumber of cotton plantations
e Claiborne county. Thence it moved near
V due west, through Claiborne, Kinds, Ran
q in, and Smith counties There is no +
e cord where this storm crossed the Hlnc
:. Central Railroad but it must have been
II somo unsettled point, for we have no 7
J. port Of any damage from It; for this W
% not the storm which destroyed Beaurega
u and crippled We7son. We know, howev,
. that il crossed the Vicksburg and Merdi
Railroad at Lawrence, in Newton count