Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-10-01
A KANSAS TORNADO.
HOW 1t Licked Up Farms, Changed
County Lines, and Played the Mis-
New York Graphic.


''Tornadoes, did you say?" remarks
ed a tail man, whose bronzed and
freckeJed hands gave evidence of an
intimate acquaintance with the plow-
handle. We'll, if I haven't seen a
tornado, you can sell me for year
ling. Why, stranger, I was raised
where tornadoes grow. used to play
back Of their pasture ground. I've
d0ne everything with q tornado but
milk it, and, as to cyclones, why [
take to them the way a hoy does to
circuses. ] live IN Kansas when I'm
at home. What place? Well, that is
rather hard to say. moved out there
from Johnson county, Indiana, in '65.
We settled in Cedar county, up in
the northern part of the state. L
bought a horse, built q shack, and
squatted OF $50 acres of the prettiest
land that rain ever beat on. That was
in June. [ had just got out of the
array, and had my pay 10 start in
with. Well, we had hard time of
it, stranger, that first year. We lived
mostly on hog and hominy. But
when began cutting the first crop Of
wheat the next summer I felt like a
millionaire.
Zone July night" continued the
tail naan, II had my wheat all stacked
ready for threshing, and went to bed
feeling as rich as if [ owned the
whole country. About midnight, as
near as can recollect, heard clap
Of thunder, and then the house began
to rock like a willow tree. Then
everything was Quit for little while,
and | went to sleep. Early the next
morning my wife got up and looked
out of the window
"'John,' said she, where on earth
is your wheat?
'What?' said [, jumping out of
bed, what's that you say?'
"'Where's the wheat?'
81 looked out of the window, too,
and, stranger, saw the most remark
able sight [ ever saw. There wasn't
a grain Of wheat within a mile of me.
There wasn't remnant of my barn.
My barnyard was gone, the house, the
COWS, and even the pigs were gone.
[ got dressed and walked out doors
The place was changed, stranger
changed III a single night. My house
was sitting in garden by the side Of
a creek. There was q new barn in the
yard, some red cows-mine were
Wholesome black pigs-mine were
spotted, and instead of wheat there
was the allfredest stack Of cornstalks
you ever looked at. I thought at first
! was dreaming, and asked my wife
10 kick me, but I wasn't. About
breakfast time some neighbors came
in and asked where Mr.. Jones was. I
never heard of him.
=" He used to live here they said.
He lived here last night
''Then told them of the crash and
the rocking, and they said I must
have been struck by tornado /
asked where was; they said was in
lizard county, which was fifty miles
south OF where [ went to bed. Sure
enough they were right. The strang~
est part of it was, the house wasn't
hurt bit. The roof, even, didn't
leak. The neighbors said 1t was
visitation of Providence, and the place
belonged to nae. About g year AFTER
ward I heard from some OF my old
neighbors that Jones house had been
moved right up to where ny old house
had stood, by the same blasted wind.
We both concluded to stay where we
were and avoid any trouble on that
account. I've been away three months
and can't exactly say where | do live
now, but [ expect [ am still at the old
stand"