Smyrna times., 1885-07-08
A Delaware Cyclone.

Our town and vicinity was visited
yesterday by Il novelty not in the recOl-
lection Of our people, young cyclone
that had in its inflntlle grasp the same
quality If not the same degree Of
strength that characteriZcs the full
grown ones of the western country.
The time when it occurred, ut the noon
hour between half past twelve and one
o'clock, the air was exceedingly sultry
with the wind from a SOuthernly direc-
ton. 1t seems to have organized about
Parsons Hill, half way on the road
between Smyrna and KentOn. Its di-
rectiOn was from southwest to north
east. Its course was thus within Il
mile of the southern limits Of the town.
The peculiar noise like that when
standing near a burning building or
the rushing of many waters attracted
the people on the south side Of the
town, when the. huge and terrific
monster passed slowly forward in their
vision until lost to sight. 1t was pro-
nOunced by those who had a near view
to be awfully grand. 1t reached from
the ground to the clouds, the top like
a black VOlumn of smoke and the low
er part, at distance, of lighter color
which many mistOOk for flames of fire :;
| the whole body of the moving col
umn being filled with limbs of trees,
/ fence rails, sticks, leaves &c. Geo. A.
Hall who was riding up from Dover
saw it he says, when it first formed,
| some two or three miles in the distance,
and watched its course until it passed
in front of him, u period of about fifteen
minutes. First little black cloud
formed out of which an arm protruded
that reached to the ground. This
is the one that probably passed through
the peach orchard of Mr. Lapham at
Parsons Hill twisting and tearing W
trees in its course
| This did not last but few minutes
when it in measure dissolved, but re.
formed again in about five minutes
with larger proportions. 1t was proba
bly, during this time that it passed OVel
the farms occupied by Jas. f.. Stewart
Eugene Crow and JOS. G. .GOldsbOrOugh
rising aud falling and only touching
the ground i'll places, one Of thest
places being at Sunnyside wher,
about 100 peach trees were destroyed
| When it got in front of John J. Jones i
l
post and rail fence on one side will
/ the same ease it did the worm fence oil
the other. Emerging from the road, i
passed over the fields taking in it
course the young peach orchard of Mrs
e. +. Peterson tearing and twisting
aud swapping width about thre
rows, involving destruction of from
2j0 to 300 trees This brought ii square
ly to the oVerseer's residence of Co
Geo. w. Cummins' farm, occupied b
Theodore CarroW. Mr.. CarrOW ha
seen Whirlwinds that would fill the nj
with dust and leaves, but he saw frOl
the fence rails and limbs Of trees tina
were flying and whirling hundreds {
feet in the air, together with the terr
BILE roaring noise, that this was gOtte
up on very different scale, and h
: hastily hustled his children into tn
I house. He had hardly gotten them il
: and thrown himself against the doc
i when it broke on the premises wit
} fearful violence. The lirst thing eI
cOuntered was an apple tree i'll the ga
. den some ten inches in diameter,w ,whlc
. was snapped off at the ground, lifte
above the top of the house, and lande
in the peach orchard on the OppOsit
side of the road. The back part of I'll
r house, a shed under which the men
/. few minutes before had been eatir
v dinner, was torn TO pieces and scattere
/. in different places u hundred yards di
IF tant: the wash tubs were lifted up
l. the air over the tree tops and carrie
e. two or three hundred yards away, an
a some of the milk pans were still mi
,e sing at the close of day. The chi
y. dren's shoes and stockings in front
n an open fire place i'll the second stOl
lt were sucked up through the chimnC
r and carried through the air more tina
as n quarter of mile.
m 1t continued across the road lengtl
oil wise through Col. Geo. w. Cummin
It. peach orchard for IL space in width
1t from four to six peach tree row
ly destroying several hundred tree
K | Thence il crossed to the farm of w.
ne Cummins passing over one corner
h, his peach orchard, lifting out bodily
w the roots large peach trees that
he would require six or eight horses
lis remove. In its course it crossed OV
i'll his wheat field utterly scattering b
a shocks i'm a width of about 100 var
III through the field. Crossing the cree
- it passed through the peach orchard al
he and wheat Geld Mrs. Rebecca William
ae and suddenly terminated its cOqr
pc when in the vicinity Of the pbQspha
w factory. Birds that were caught we
pc rendered perfectly helpless and sever
i'll were found dead in its course.
lis Such an unusual occurrence was
ed course the topic of the day, and h
,st place was visited by number of o
in citizens. Mr.. Hall, above referred
as who passed directly in the rear of Il
ly cyclones track, says the air surroun
ing it was hot, like that from iulnaC
he thinks u temperature of ll0'.
lr-
! Go TO Cape May next "Wednesday.