The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1891-10-03
CURIOUS WIND PHENOMENA.
The "sand Augers" of the Plains-Tricks
of Baby CycIones-A Collapse.

The sand Augers'' of the Plains-TriclSs
of Baby CycIones-A Collapse.
ga curious phenomenon, said Pro-
fessor +. Z. Clarke to a 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 grand
scale, as they do in the western states, are
known as tornadoes.
''When the Union Pacific railway was
being constructed the wOrkmen had fire.
qnent opportunities of witnessing the
formation and progress of such whirl-
winds, which. on account of the peculiar
action they had on dry soil, were called
sand augers. They were especially fire.
quent in Lodge Pole Creek valley, through
which the railway, leGvng the Platte
river. runs northcrly to near the base of
the Black hills This valley is quite mar
row-Hverayng about mile in width
and is bounded on either side by a 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 uncon-
sidered trifes, sometimes waltzing into
camp and flirting with the canvas tents or
scattering the embers and ashes of out
door 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
range of hills over which would then be
seen advancing funnel shaped cloud,
like that seen over waterspouts forming
at sea.
"From the under surface of this low
lying cloud a swaying tongue of lead
colored vapor would prolong itself toward
the earth, from which, to meet it, would
rise a cloud of dirt and sand. This earth
column would rise higher and higher,
with whirling motion, becoming more
compact all the while, until the blue
black vapor and the brown mass from
below would unite above, and the COM
pleted, swiftly whirling column commence
moving slowly down from above on its
way across the valley.
"While its forward progress was usually
slow, its rotary motion about its vertical
axis would be very rapid; and so dense
would be the mass of sand gathered up by
it that when the column touched the earth
it would scoop ont shallow channel like
the dry bed of a small stream Hence it's
name of sand auger.
1.-The diameter Of these augers seldom
exceeded fifteen or twenty feet at the
ground, but their bulk increased with
their height until they were merged into
the broad surface of the thick, murky
vapor from the cloud above, from which
electric flashes frequently played. When
this occurred large halstones would be
formed, which would be thrown, by CEN
trifugal force apparently out from the re-
volving storm. They would be found to
be, almost invariably, in the shape of fiat
disks, sometimes three inches in diameter
and an inch thick, and made up of layers
of ice and sand.
Zone such sand auger' passed near an
engineers camp where was at work and
carried off tent or two. 1t then grazed
the edge of a corral near by, cutting away
one angle of an adobe wall, and, sweeping
by the house itself, left every pane of
glass in the one window as neatly ground
as if done by sand blast machine.
"Passing on, the tents the 'auger' was
carrying off became entangled in the tele-
graph wires running through the valley,
and after dragging down two poles the
cyclone collapsed, leaving beneath, when
it broke up, a mound made up of sand,
bits of adobe, some old boots, a sprinkling
of empty tins, part of bale of hay and a
dog cared poker deck of cards. The lat
ter were afterward carefully gathered III
by their owner, 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 auger. ,
San Francisco Examiner.