Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1888-05-12
CURIOUS WIND PHENOMENA.
The Formation and Progress of the Funnel
Shaped Cloud.

The Formation and Progress of the Funnel.
Shaped Cloud.
"a curious phenomenon, said Profess
sor F. E. Clarke to reporter, "is some
times observed on wide plains where
the atmosphere is hot and dry. 1t is
the forming of miniature cyclones, or
rotary storms, which, when, occurring
on a grand scale, as they do in the
Western States, are known as tor
nadoes.
when the Union Pacific Railway
! was being constructed the workmen had
i frequent opportunities of witnessing
the formation and progress of such
whirlwinds, which, on account of the
peculiar action they had on dry soil,
were called sand augers.' They We're
especially frequent in Lodge Pole
Creek 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 about mile in width-and
is bounded on either side by range OF
| low, uneven hills.
The first indication of the approach
of one of these sand augers' would be
! the formation, here and there in the
valley, of little whirligigs of dusty
winds, picking up bits of straw, paper
and other uuconsidered trifies, some
times 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 number quite rapidly, and then be
whisked away by strong currents of air,
coming from no one knew where, but
all drawing across the valley toward
! the eastern rage of hills, over which
would then be seen advancing funnel
| shaped cloud, like that seen over water
| spouts forming at sea.
From the under surface of this low,
lying cloud swaying tongue of lead.
colored vapor would prolong itself
| toward the earth, from which to meet
| it, would rise cloud OF dirt and sand.
| This earth column would rise higher
and higher, with whirling motion, be-
| coming more compact all the while,
until the blue-black vapor and the
| brown mass from below would unite
above, and the completed, swiftly
| whirling column commence moving
down from above on it's way across the
valley.
while its forward progress was usu,
| ally slow, it's rotatorv motion about its
vertical axis would be very rapid; and
so dense would be the mass O sand
gathered up by it that when the column
| touched the earth it would SCOOP out
shallow channel like the dry bed of q
| small stream. Hence its name of sand
| auger.
The diameter of these augers sell
dom exceed fifteen or twenty feet at
the ground, but their bulk increased
with their height until they were meged
into the broad surface of the thick,
murky vapor from the cloud above,
from which electric flashes frequently
played. When this occurred large
hailstone would be formed which
would be thrown, by centrifugal force,
apparently out from the re diving
storm. They would be found to be,
amost invariably, in the shape of fla
disks, sometimes three inches in diam
+ eter and an inch thick, and made up of
layers of ice and sand.
Zone such sand auger' passed near
an engineers camp where l was at
work and carried off tent or two. 1t
then grazed the edge of coral near
by, cutting away one angle of an adobe
wall, and sweeping by the house itself,
left every pane of glass in the window
as neatly on the ground as if done by a
sand blast machine.
Passing on, the tents the 'auger'
was carrying off became entangled in
the telegraph. wires running through
the valley, and after dragging down
two poles the cyclone collapsed, leav-
ing beneath, when it broke up,
mound made up of sand, bits of abode,
some old boots, a sprinkling of empty
tins,pa of a bale OF hay and dog cared
poker deck of cards. The latter were
afterwari carefully gathered up by their
owner, a genius called Slim Jim, who
always deplored the fact that the re-
covered pack was imperfect, there
being but four aces left in it by the
sand anger. San Fran isco Err
aniner.