Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-01-04
The Si,nOOm.


The most remarkable of the hot
winds is the simOom, the violent Whirl-
wind. with or without sand, which af-
fects the deserts Of Africa and South
western Asia. The great heat of the
soil passing into the atmosphere causes
an appreciate expansion and tighten
ing of the latter, resulting in the fOrma-
ton Of small cyclOnic disturbances,
The surrounding atmosphere, in the
never-ceasing natural struggle to main
tain an equilibrium, rushes in to fill
the space vacated by the expanded
air, and in its turn undergOes the same
process until at last there is a powerful
current drawn into the vortex, frequent
ly bringing with it quantities of loose
sand, and the cyclone then becomes
visible-huge columns of sand whirling
round and moving forward at the same
/ time. The air.. already very dry before
| the simeon originated, now becomes
/ still more so from the presence of the
/ dense cloud Of dust. Away goes the
/ storm across the desert; at first it IS
/ seen as a low haze on the horizon, but
| quickly spreading, the cloud advances,
/ sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly,
| the tall pillars being visible a long way
| off. darkening the atmosphere and
VI I'LL L-LC--4 eau NLCSUA l-C U4~-4
In the Thirl the wind blows with the
/ force of a hurricane, hills of sand are
! taken up, and are either scattered or
! are again gathered into new hills wher-
/ ever the storm chooses to deposit them,
/ so that the desert is. dotted with fire.
/ quently shifting. sand ranges. Under
| these are buried whole caravans OF
! traders, travellers, and even armies.
! The simeon is supposed to have ami
! hilated the armies OF Sennacherib and
! Cambyses.
A party of officers sleeping on the
roof of Gen. Jacobs house at Jac0ba-
bad thus recount their experience OF
the simeon: "They were awakened by
a sensation of suffocation and an ex-
| ceedingly hot, oppressive feeling in the
air, while at the same time a powerful
smell Of sulphur pervaded the atmOs
| phere. On the following morning s
number Of trees in the garden were
found to be withered in a remarkable
i manner. 1t was as If a current of fire
! about twelve yards in breadth ha0
passed through the garden in a straight
line, smuggling and destroying every greek
thing in its course. Entering on one
| side and passing out on the other, its
path was as defined as the course of d
! river"
Palgrave was Overtaken by one Oh
| these scOurges in Northern Arabia
After some preliminary remarks on the
! advance of the Simeon, he proceeds
So dark was the atmosphere and so
! burning the heat that it seemed that
hell had risen from the earth or de-
scended from above. But at the mo-
ment when the worst of the cOncen-
| trated pOisOn-blast was coming round
we were already PROSTATE, one and al,
| within the tent, with our heads we'll
| wrapped up, almost suffOcated, indeed
! but safe; while our camels lay without
like dead, their long necks stretched
out on the sand, awaiting the passing
of the gale.
I'VE remained thus for ten minutes.
during which a still heat, like that Of
Il red-hot iron slowly passing over US,
was alone to be felt Then the tent
walls again began to flap in the re-
| turning gusts, and announced that tbs
| worst of the simeon had gone by
My comrades appeared more like
| cOrpses than living men, and so, I sup
pose, did I. However, L could not for
bear, in spite of warnings, to step out
and look at the camels; they were still
! lying fiat, as though they had been
dead and the air was yet darkish, but
before long it frightened up to its
usual dazzling clearness. During the
! whole time that the simeon lasted the
atmosphere was entirely free from
sand or dust, so that 1 hardly know
how to account for its singular oh.
| security. Alto California.