Connecticut western news., 1888-02-29
AN ILLINOIS TORNADO.
Monnt Vernon Wrecked.-More than
 Thirty People Killed.

MOUNT VERNON, H., Feb 2O.-The black re- volving cloud which fell from copperish sky in the southwest at 4:15 o'clock yesterday after noon, and swept diagonally through the city with . roar like the beating of heavy sea against 8 rocky shore, left nothing but bleed ing bodies and heaps of ruins in its track. For half an hour before the cloud dropped to the earth the atmospheric conditions were such as fell for fifteen minutes, and then the stiffness became oppressive. The atmosphere seemed surcharged with electricity. A peculiar, soft yellow light fell upon everything, and spar rows that had been fitting about the streets during the afternoon suddenly arose to great heights, and after circling around in the op- pressive air dropped into trees, where they ut tered the most discordant noises.
 Meanwhile the clouds were passing through an ominous transformation From a bleak grsyish color the great pillows became yellow ish, then green, and finally turned deep cop DOT hue. During these rapid changes of color the clouds became peculiarly agitated. From the earth, toward which they were speeding with terrible swiftness, they looked as though they were looked in titanic struggle. Per sons who were out of doors watched the ele- mental battle with mingled awe and fear.
 Such . grand spectacle in the heavens had mover been seen before in the doomed city. Twisting and rolling like corks in . whirlpool; tho clouds came nearer the earth until their ragged, copper bordered edges seemed to be within an arms reach of the cross-tipped spires of the churches.
 Ribbons of fire darted spitefully from the tumbling, grinding mass, and then one of the clouds, more terrible in it's aspect than all the rest, suddenly left the others, and fell to the earth with roar that startled every living thing. Now black as night and filled with in- numerable darts of electricity, the storm cloud, with it's broad smoke-colored summit buried in gold, and it's narrow base dipping and grinding over the earth, swept through the city with a deafening noise.
 Before the roaring cloud the air was choked with dust and flying bricks and timbers. A cushion of air was sweeping in advance of the cloud, and as it demolished the windows of houses and stores the sides and roofs of the buildings burst open as though they had been shivered by explosions from within. The storm cloud did the rest. It caught the tim bers in it's resistless fury, ground them to pieces, and then left the wreckage upon the dead and dying.
 The search for the victims was prosecuted all night, and when morning came thifty-two bodies had been recovered. Nearly all the fatalities were in the east end where houses were moved down in swaths. Scarcely stick of timber remains standing in the path of the tornado, and in some places the foundation stones of buildings are broken and scattered for POO yards around. Sturdy shade trees were uprooted and ground to fragments, picket fencee were broken as though they had been sticks of maccaroni, and small outhouses were swept out of sight, leaving scarcely splinter to mark the place where they stood.