Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-02
ABOUT CYCLONES.
rntsrsstine Freaks Of Frisky wind storms
In Kensas.

2 ---~~ <~~~~- -"
In Kensas.
4 While crossing Kansas somebody intro
duoed the subject of cyclones. Don't you
live in perpetual dread OF those devasta-
ting wind storms-those terrible manifes-
tations Of the angry elements, commonly
called cycloness" asked the Massachusetts
parson.
well, not to any great extent" an.
swered the passenger from Sedgwick coun.
ty. "You see, we all havea cyclone hole
in the back yard, and when the elements
look little too manifesting for comfort
we take to kiver till the shows over. You
don't mind cyclones great deal after
you've lived right among 'cm for while;
and, besides, bnck east you only hear halt
the story. Cyclones, especially Kansas
cyclones, have their good freaks AS we'll us
bad. They amt always bent on devilment,
but often do man big favor when he's
in q tight place. Why, last summer, when
Bill Simkins, whose ranch jines mine, was
short of help at harvest time, a cyclone
came prancing along just as he finished
cutting his Ave hundred acres of wheat
gathered every sheaf up clean and stacked
it round his thrashing machine. Purtiest
stacks that were ever seen In Sedgwick
county, too; people came thirty miles to
soe 'em.p
THAT reminds me of favor cyclone
did me back in the spring Of '7S, " said the
passenger from Summer county. II was
then living up on the Smoky Hill river, on
rented land. The outlook wasn't very
lglittering, and SO made up my mind one
morning to move down to Sumner county
and take up q quarter section. l talked it
over with my wife, and before long we had
our traps together, ready to start. Well,
Sthat night q frolicsome but gentle and
obliging cyclone picked up the house and
entire outfit and set 'em down safe and
sound almost before you could say 'scatp
on,the best unoccupied hundred and sixty
acres in Summer. Swept up the old ranch
clean; didn't leave behind thing that was
worth bringing away, and didn't shake a
brick of the chimney. Found my AK and
wood pile right by the back door, too. as
usual"
Ibid it move the wellY" asked the con-
sumptive passenger.
"Well, no." answered the passenger from
Sumner county; "you see, the well be-
longed to the man who owned the ground. +"
II remember that cyclone" said the ed
itor of the Wakarusa Bird of Freedom.
but l have in mind another cyclone whose
saved many valuable lives, including my
own.
II was returning from Dodge City, where
had been attending as delegate a state
temperance convention. just little bit
west of Florence the engineer spied wild
freight coming round curve toward us,
with the throttle open.
"Some of the passengers, who were look
ing out of the windows, saw it almost at
the same moment with the engineer, and
their cheeks blanched, you may believe.
We braced ourselves for the expected
crash, and though probably it was not
more than five seconds, it seemed to be a
year before could draw another breath
Then somebody looked out Of the rear
door, swung his hat and gave three cheers
The freight train, which moment before
had seemed to be coming down on us like
the wolf on the fold, was now speeding
away behind US toward the setting sun.
"a bob-tailed cyclone, which had been
lowering in our rear for half an hour or so,
had saved u.s.
"At the very moment our destruction
had seemed inevitable the cyclone had
caught up with US, our train had been
lifted from the track, while the wild
freight had passed under us, and we had
been set down again on the rails so softly
that not even my pocket flask was broken.
Then the cyclone had gone on its way re-
5odcing.
"Of course the engineer stuck to his
post, and we pulled into Florence on time.
Conductor Brady growled u little. because,
- he said. the 'thunderbolt' was entitled
to the right of way; and, according to rail
road regulations, the cyclone should have
lifted the freight and allowed our train to
pass under; but, you may believe, we were
all mighty glad the thing turned out as
well as it did, and none of us carried home
any hard feelings against the bobtailed
cyclone. ."-Scott Way in Puck.