Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-05-25
WINDY WEATHER.
Cyclone Cuts q Path Through q Kan
sas Town and Does Considerable
Damage.
A Vivid Descriptio of o Remarkable
o. clone at Wichita Falls-Atmosphertc
Phe nomena-Weather and Crops.
A Remarkable Scene.
Special 10 the Gazette.

SpoClnl 70 Inc 0dStttcs
WICHITA FALLS, TEX, May 24.-Las.
evening about $3.50 O'Clock the peculiar
actions Of the clouds attracted consider
able attention here. One heavy stratum
We 8 moving from the southwest, another
from the east, southeast, and the two
seemed to come to focus ut q point
some three or four miles northwest Of
this town. In the east were massed great
banks Of clouds, almost to the zenith, OF
many gorgeous colors, from the fleecy
white, the old gold, blue, violet and pur-
pie, to the almost black, Illuminated by
vivid flashes of forked lightning, and
spanned by the arc of. most brilliant
rainbow. At the junction of two con-
lion was seen. Chunks Ct clouds seemed
to drop nearly to the earth and rise again,
sn ominous whirling motion was beirg
developed, and at just about z
O'Clock the terrible, funnel
shaped cyclone cloud was suddenly
and perfectly formed. 1t quickly dashed
to the earth, formed nearly into columns
shape, and raised S whirlwind which
seemed to be about 100 yards in diam
eter. The contact with the earth raised
8 great, rebounding, spraying cloud to
nearly half the height Of the funnel, which
then commenced moving Off slowly in q
northessterly direction. The forward
motion seemed slow because OF its bear
ing away from US all the time, and
the cloud occupied fully half an hour in
moving from the starting point about 400
west of north to point about 160 east Of
north. Several times during its Journey
the point of the funnel could be seen to
rise some distance from the earth and
then plunge down again, raising that
great rebounding cloud all around it..
Several times also it seemed to stand per
fectly still for two or three minutes
and then move on again. When
the furthest point east was reached
the cloud seemed to stand perfectly still
for fully five minutes, then move off
again, but in 8 northwestern direction,
very slowly, for ten minutes, when 1t
again came to halt. due north from here.
There it stood, gradually growing dim
mer In the distance and twilight for some
minutes, when suddenly that great, re-
bounding cloud from the earth seemed to
rise larger and higher than before, al
most to the top of the funnel,
which then commenced elopeAting
into long slender column, at tAe same
time bending over until it assud ia neafis'
the form of q crescent. Then. quick "a
fash, it WAS dissipated and disappeared
entirely. 1t WAS then just about O'Clock
and the cyclone had been in plainHview
for an hour. Its course seemed to be cut
through Waggoner's big pasture, and as
but few people live in thst locality, 1t lie
hoped that but little damage has been
done.
THE DAMAGE DONE.
Special to tins Gazette.
WICHITA FALLS, TEX May 24.-Psrties
who have come in from the country this
morning give the following accounts OF
damages resulting from the cyclone of
last evening: -, ...
The cyclone formed near the farm OF
Colonel John G. James, some four or five
miles mp the Wichita river. 1t missed
his house and stables few ysrds, but
picked up an Osborne self binder that was
set up ready for work, and after causing
it to perform several acrobstic
tests in the air, dropped it
to the ground smashed to smithereens.
After this bit Of "monkeyipg" 1t started
across the hill in the direction already de-
scribed, leaving a track behind it 200
yards in width, and wherever it passed
through wire fence 1t clipped the wires
and pulled the posts out of the ground,
them no one knows where.
Coming next to the farm Of r. D. Hart
It played havoc with his cow sheds and
the fences surrounding them, but did not
modest either his wheat field or his dwell
Ing.
Proceeding along Bear creek 1t moved
the mesquite trees to the ground some OF
them being as large as mans leg. II
passed next across one corner Of Judge
Pratt's farm tearing 3 portion of his
wheat up by the roots, throwing down
his fences and killing one Of his horses.
Several Of his horses were in the pasture
together and the others have not been
lound. It is feared that more of them
have been killed.
So far no loss Of life has been reported.
NvoIopa niond