Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-07-24
DESERT SAND SHOUTS.
Graphic Description of 8 Striking Scons
 in Africa.

Graphic Description of Striking Scona
 in Africa.
 Under the fairest skies the desert is an Gwesome solitude, but when a storm comes 1t Is terrible and appalling. I shall never forget scene witnessed some forty miles fin the New York Mail and Express. had gained an isolated hillock, some two hun dred feet above the level of the surround ing desert. Away to the west, about two miles distant, deserted six or seven lofty pillars of sand moving swiftly over the un- dulating plain. The center one of these was vertical, and those surrounding it, at 8 distance of two or three hundred yards, leaned slightly toward it. The sand at the base of the columns was lashed by the furious whirlwind into a surging sea. Des- ert trees of the hardest wood were torn up with their roots and hurled hundreds of yards away and high up into the air; even the grass that grew in the path of that ter rible storm was shorn clean away from its roots. The summts of those columns of sand at length joined, and then burst forth from their united tops yellow, gigantic cloud of sand of such magnitude and density as to darken, as in total eclipse, the face of the bright afternoon sun. The sand spout, called by the natives 'zobahah," shortly after subsided, but the cloud of sand and grass, which had been raised high in the heavens, continued to darken the setting sun for more than an hour. The smaller column behind travelled swiftly, in- creasing in size, until it reached the site of the breakup of the other, and then added its mite to the universal destruction.
 With my sextant, as stood in security, l measured the height of the center column of sand; 1t was nearly one thousand feet. The other columns were rising so rapidly l,I fnpa hni inht than that of the center column. When the junction of them oil took place the sudden eruption of sand, leaves and grass reached to total height of over four thousand feet. These ''zobahahs" are not very frequent, but when they occur they carry widespread devastation along with them and woe betide the traveller and the tent that happens to stand in their way. Not more than ten yards from the column the air is perfectly calm, but within the small circumscribing circle there rages such 8 tempest as will carry away any thing, however firmly fixed in the ground, into the regions of the upper air as easily as an ordinary gust of wind will blow piece of paper. The camel, this wonderful ship of the desert, always knows 0 few hours before whether one of those approaching ''zobahahs" is likely to come upon him, and his natural instinct will guide him to g place of safety, where he lies down and only breathes the cool, re- active current which closely follows the burning, almost suffocating hot air which accompanies the 'zobahahs." The usual movement of these sand spouts Is in the arc of wide circle, and the direction of the center of the circle Is almost invaribly from north to south.
 When these awful turmoils are over and the disturbing elements have resumed their natural state, the burning sand be- comes saturated with . heavy dew, the a1n is iess angry, and the African desert moro amenable to life in both man and beasts. Natures wisdom and wonders are indeed beyond maA's limited under