Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-02-13
TALES OF THE TORNADO.
QUICK AND TERRIBLE DEVASTATION
CAUSED ex THE WINDS.


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Cursous Freaks Wroaghs by the Lee SUM-
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The premonitory symptom OF tns outn OF
. tornado Is violent agitation aiming css
tain low lying. u,enaring black cs'ust> run
which prutrudes> a. the uIrnot OF the struS
gle. a funnel shaisd aptrnstaSe ~hien De
scends more or less rapidly toward the eartn.
and hegins its rareer Of niis-niei the moment
but no sooner than. II touches IL iAitinS
alternately and dropping and swsying with
9 sight zignggins movement frum side TO
k,sie, the dusty vap'rsai> sheath. conceaIlng
the gyratiors of ~hiriwurd terrifiraily au
dibie from afar. shvanse~ with rapidity
leaving s'ant time for thoasht or night Inc
funnel cloud inck~lng the Lee summit.
tornado made its appearance about
p m On May ~. 1913 "'Sig IKE
large elephants trunk Wild TIE Small
end pointing down"ard announcer observer
compared 1t I" an Immense serpent hung up
by tine head and writhing IN agony us TAIL
curling and iashinS a. aetua1u oy the un.
pulses OF living body II would r's'' ran
and careen from side TO side IKE @aioon-
The roaring was INTENSE ana could DC neard
at distance Of seventeen miles syraeory
motion IN uirstioh contrary 10 'he u'iiius
OF ~a''h was uiSeuietiy N'sioie' anu 'ne
cloud as " apprua1sne.i o'i''ie anu '"is'ilis'
presented iriSh'iui app~arahee ror
swenty TWO hinea' however ua'eioo
harmlessly In the air at a height OF several
hundred teet' theh STRUCK the tertue pam
OF missouri, al several oistihet intervals iea'-
ing at each swoop track Oh devastation
olo feet Wide. Inc gaps where the
cloud had temporarily retired upward were
aiosether un'oueheu' anu 'orhauoes na'e
been known 70 descend Just 10" enough
TO reap away the summit foliage OF trees
without hurting anything beneath.
ASTOUNDING DETAILS
The inmates OF Dr Donningtons house at
Lees summit emerged from the cellar, to
which they had retired on the approach or
the storm, To nnd that their habitation had In
the meantime twirled round as II on an axis,
and broken into kindiins wood Their ears
had told them nothing OF the catastrophe.
The crash OF falling timoers was completely
masked BY the hoarse believing OF the tempest.
A surprisingly minute activity was displayed
by it Clothes and bed linen looked as If
some person out OF pure mischief had care
FULLY torn them INTO small STRIPS. Several
chickens were completely denuded of their
feathers An iron bound trunk in Mr.. Thad-
deus W Warden's house was torn to pieces,
and the lock found sticking III Il rail, half q
mile to the northeast. Photographs from an
album which the trunk had contained were
carried four miles, and a receipt for lumber
from DR.. Donningtons house was recovered
from a distance OF forty miles. Mrs. War
den's long hair was partly cut, partly torn,
from her head, twisted into q rope. and laid
a yard or two from where she stood
Some singular freaks" of the wind are To-
corded carpet was taken up uniform from
the floor to which it was securely tackled,
feather beds were ripped open, a sewing ma
chine was broke into half II hundred pieces,
the six fragments Of massive iron kettle
were dispersed in as many different direc-
tons, a dog was carried 100 yards and found
dead, with his head and shoulders driven into
the ground A heavy lumber wagon was
lifted over a corn field. 100 feet across, and
deposited intact on the other side, while an
ad iacent house was, without injury, moved
six inches from its original position
Mr. Quissenberry's house, on tho other
hand, was struck as if by a cannon shot, and
completely wrecked and the debris of Mr..
Warden's dwelling was strewu over an area
Of five square miles. Human life was not
shared Most of the i'll fated Harris family
persisted. Grievous injuries wcrc widely
distributed. The sufferers we're usually
found thickly coated with viscous black mud,
their eyes and ears closed, hair matted. Some
times their very garments stripped off. And
all this havoc was wrought i'll scarcely more
than a quarter of minute. The previous
calm OF the air was re-cstablished within
twenty seconds of the instant when it was
first disturbed.
QUICKER THAN A MAGICIAN
The "Delphos tornado rivalcd the Day
enport brothers in its capacity for untvipr
knots. In the house Of Mr Mcbride was a
strong trunk. clasped md bound with iron.
In which 81 900 in rreepbarl.s was depositeJ.
THE money was tied up in 500 packages,
containing smaller PACKAGES Of sIUD each
which crossed each other ut right angles upd
the whole was firmly bound together BY