Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-10-01
A KANSAS TORNADO.
How 1t Licked Up Farms, Changed
County Lines, ana Played the Mis-
New York Graphic.

New York Graphic.
"Tornadoes, did you say?' remarks
ed q tall man, whose bronZed and
freckeled hands gave evidence Of an
intimate acquaintance with the plow-
handle. We'll, if | haven't seen a
tornado, YOU can sell me for c year
ling. Why, stranger, was raised
where tornadoes grow. | used to play
back Of their pasture ground. I've
doHe everything with tornado but
milk 1t, and, as to cyclones, why |
take to them the way a boy does to
circuses. | live in Kansas when I'm
at home. What place. Well, that is
rather hard to say. l moved out there
from Johnson county, Indiana, ia IS.
We settled in Cedar county, up in
the northern part of the state. 1
bought a horse, built shack, and
squatted on 100 acres of the prettest
land that rain ever beat on. That was
in June. | had just got out of the
army, and had my pay to 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 l fels like a
millionaire.
"One July night" continued the
tail man, II had my wheat all stacked
ready for threshing, and went to bed
feeling as rich as if | owned the
whole country. About midnight, rs
near as l can recollect, heard a clap
of thunder, and then the house began
to rock like a willow tree. Then
everything was quit for a 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 wheat2
'Whatl' said |, jumping out of
bed, what's that you sayg
"'Where's the wheatY
Il 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 a 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 ia a single night Ny house
was sitting in a garden by the side Of
a creek. There was a new barn in the
yard, some red cows-mine were
Wholesome black pigs-mine were
spotted, and instead of wheat there
was the allfiredest stack of cornstalks
you ever looked at. l thought at first
was dreaming, and asked my wife
10 kick me, but / wasn't. About
breakfast time some neighGors came
in and asked where Mr.. Jones was.
never heard Of him.
He used TO live here, they said
lie lived here last nj ht
"Then l told them of the crash and
the rocking, and they SAID ! must
have been struck by q tornado /
asked where | was they said I was in
lizard county, which was fifty miles
south OF where I went 70 bed. Sure
enough they were right. The strang-
est part Of it was, the house wasn't
hurt q bit. The roof, even, dian't
leak The neighbors said it was a
visitation of Providence, and the place
belonged to me. About a year after,
ward heard from some OF my old
neighbors that Jones house had been
moved right up to where ny old house
aad stood 10y the same blasted wind
We both concluded to stay where we
were and avoid any trouble ON thai
account. I've been away three month.
and can't exactly say where / DO live
now, bat eXpecD l am still at the old
stand.