The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1888-07-26
SAND AUCERS."
A peculiar Kind of Cyclone in the Far
West-Hos 1t Ferns and What It Does.

When rie Union Pacific railway was
being constructed. says a writer in the
San Francisco ErGDiiaer, the workmen
had frequent opportunities for wit
Messing tine formation and progress of
whirlwinds which, on account of the
peculiar action they had on dry soil,
were called sand augers" They
were especially frequent in Lodge Pole
Greek valley, through which the rail-
way, leaving the Platte river, runs
northerly to near the base of the Black
Hills. This valley is quite narrow,
averaging mile in width, and is
bounded on either side by range of
tions OF the approach of one of these
sand augers would be the formation,
here and there in the valley, of little
whirligiSs of dusty wind, picking up
bits OF straw. paper, and other lncon-
siderable trifies, sometimes waltzing
into camp and flirting with the canvas
tents or scattering the embers and
ashes of outdoor coOking-places. These
baby cyclones would increase in num-
Der quite rapidly, and then be whisked
away by strong currents of air, COM
ing from no one knew where, but all
dra wing across the valley toward the
eastern range of hills, over which
would then be seen advancing fun
nel-shaped cloud, like that seen over
water spouts forming at sea.
From under the surface of the low
lying cloud swaying tongue of lead
cOiored vapOr would prolong itself to-
ward the earth, from which, to meet
it, would rise a cloud of dirt and sand.
This earth cloud would rise higher and
higher with whirling motion, becom-
ing more and more compact all the
while, until the blue-black vapor and
brown mass from below would unite
above, and the completed swift-whirl-
ing column commence to move slowly
down from the hills on its way across
the valley. While its forward progress
was usually slow, the rotary motion
about its vertical axis would be very
rapid, and SO dense would be the mass
of sand gathered up by it that when
the column touched the earth it would
scoop out shallow channel like the
dry bed of a shallow stream. Hence
its name of sand auger. The diameter
of these augers seldom exceed fifteen
or twenty feet at the ground, but their
bulk increased with their height until
they were merged into the broad sur
face of the thick, murky vapor from
the cloud above, from which electric
flashes frequently played. When this
occurred large hailstones would be
formed. which would be thrown, by
centrifugal force, apparently, out
from the revolving storm. They would
be fOuOd To be almost inVaria biV in
tne same shape of fat disks, sometimes
three inches in diameter and one inch
thick, and made of layers of ice and
sand.
One such sand auger passed near an
engineers camp where | was at work
and carried of a tent or two, 1t then
grazed the edge of a corral near by,
butting away one angle of an adobe
wall, and sweeping by the house itself
left every pane of glass in one window
as neatly ground as If done by sand
blast machine. Passing on, the tents
the au%er was carrying off became en-
tangled i'll the telegraph wires run
ming through the valley, and after
collapsed, leaving beneath where it
broke up a mound of sand. bits of
adobe, some old boots, sprinkling of
empty tins, part of bale OF hay, and
a dog-earad poker deck Of cards. The
laster were sfterward carefully gat'a-
cred up by their owner, a geni,.s called
Slim jim, who alwars deDlored the
fact that the recovered pack was i'm
perfect there being but four aces left
in it by the sand aurer.