Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-06-01
A Remarkable Scene.

A Remarkable Scene.
Special 70 the Gazette.
| WICHITA FALLS, TEX, May 2t.-Lsst
evening about $3.50 O'Clock the peculiar
actions of the clouds attracted consider
able attention here. One heavy stratum
was moving from the southwest, another
from the east, southeast, and the two
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 Gsecy
white, the old gold, blue, violet and ,yur-
vivid flashes OF forked lightning, and
spsnned by the arc of most brilliant
rainbow. at the function Of two con-
verging strata of Clouds great commo-
ton was seen. Chunks Of clouds seemed
to drop nearly to the earth and Use again,
sn ominOus whirlipg motion was being
developed, and ct just about Z
O'Clock the terrible, funnel
shaped cyclone cloud was suddenly
and perfectly formed. Il quickly Dashed
to the earth, formed nearly INTO columnsr
s5spe, and raised whirlwind which
seemed TO be about 100 ysrds in dism-
eter. The contact with the earth raised
great, rebounding, spraying cloud to
nearly half the height Of the funnel, which
then commenced moving of slowly in q
northeasterly direction. The forward
motion seemed Glow because OF its besr-
ing away from Us all the time, and
the cloud occupied fully half an hour in
moving from the starting point about 40'
west Of north to point about 1e' 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 reoouuding cloud al around 1t.
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 Of
again, but in 8 northwestern direction,
very slowly, for ten minutes, when IL
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 scanned to |
rise larger sDd higher than before, al
most to the top Of the funnel,
which then commeEced elongatiDg |
into long slender column, st the same |
time bending over until it assumed nearly |
the form Of crescent. Then, quick IS
fash, it was dlssipsted and disappeared |
entirely 1t was then just about 6 O'Clock |
and the cyclone had teen in plain view
for an hour. It's course seemed to be out |
through Wsggoner's big pasture, and as
but few people live in that locality, it il
hoped that but little damage has been
done.
THE DAMAGE DONE.
Special 70 tins Gazette.
WICHITA FALLS, TEX May 24.-Parties
who have come in from the country this
morning give the following accounts OF
damages resulting from the cyclone Of
LIST evening:
The cyclone formed resr the farm OF
Colonel John G James, some four or five
miles mp the Wichita river. 1t missed
his house and stables few yards, but
picked up sn Osborne self binder that was
set up ready for work, and after causing
1t to perform several scrobatic
leafs In the air, dropped 1t
to the ground smashed to smilhereeng.
After this bit of "monkeying" it started
ACROSS the hill In the direction already de-
scribed, Leaving track behind it 200
yards in width, aud wherever 1t 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 surro uuding them, but did not
molest either his wheat field or his dwell
ing.
Proceeding along Bear creek 1t moved
The mesquite trees to the ground some of
hem being as large as q mans leg. It
passed next across one corner Of Judge
Pfatt's farm tearing portion Of his
wheat up by the roots, throwing down
lis fences and killing one Of his horses.
Several Of his horses were in the pasture
together ard the others have not been
ound 1t is feared that more Of them
lave been killed.
So far no loss OF Lille has been reported.