The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-05
LIKE A NIGHTMARE.
Or the Alcoholic Steam OF Crepuscular Phan-
tasms-A Wi-hia Man Who was in the
Wellington Cyclone Describes ii.
To the Editor of the Eagle.

some of your readers to have a description
| of the late Wellington cyclone by one who
| was Sin it. take the liberty of noting
some OF the facts as they impressed me al
the time touching the same.
| l was returning from two months trip
to the Cheyenne and Ararahoe country
and upon the evening of the 9th uItimo
was camped in the western outskirts of
the Inflated town, about one mile from
! the court house knowing that it would
be very late the following day upon my
arrival in Wichita, / concluded, after the
preparation of hurried meal, to go down
| town and get 'barbered. Consequently
about o'clock mounted my horse and
rode into town and, as was unacquainted
in the place, stopped at the first shop my
eyes rested upon, which happened to be
| the one in the Phillips house. Alighting
| and securing my horse. l found the barber
"a stranger to me-unemployed and sit
ting on the sidewalk in front of his shop
door. At this moment there was an omin :
Gus electrical display a little west of noIth
| but no one appeared excited or frightened.
| We entered the office of the Phillips house
! and Immediately upon my occupying the
chair the barber commenced work.
/ must have been in the chair thirty or
| forty minutes aud during this interval
had no means of noting the progress of
the storm except an almost continuous
glare of the most vivid lightning.
| repeatedly heard the neighiug of my
horse but thought nothing of it. Upon the
barber having finished and receiving his
pay | resumed my coat ana hat and leav
lag my oil coat hanging upon hook in
the shop. hurried into the street intend
l. l. 1 f,,,, l.
turn to the Phillips house before the
storm struck 1t was raining little and
springing into the saddle l flew at full
speed up the street two blocks north to-
wards the court house stopping in front of
livery barn. It had suddenly grown so
dark that | could scarcely distinguish the
letters composing the sign. l jumped
from my horse shook the door and shout
ed for admittance but was not heard
and as it was now raining hard
| led my horse under the awning of the
al joining building, the Il. j. Smith i'm
plment house known as the Rink"
The awning under which we had tenn
porariiy taken shelter was heavy wooden
structure supported by iron posts and
fully sixteen feet wide. At this time the
wind was blowing directly from the north
and was of such force as TO drive the rain
well up under the shelter. forcing US to
retreat closer to the front of the building,
which we continued to do until l stood
directly in the ntrance, snug against the
north decreasing.
Quick as flash my horse changed COM
pletely face about. and now stood looking
north. The wind had changed as quickly,
and was now coming from the south with
apparently increasing force and violence.
My horse here exhibited the first symp
toms of fear If the change of base OF the
wind had been sudden, the dead calm
which now Immediately followed was in
Simultaneous. l thought the storm was
over So certain was l. that taking a cigar
from my pocket, l struck match and
began smoking. 1t was short smoke.
My horse was now thoroughly frightened,
with dilated nostrils and eyes almost
bursting in their sockets, she clearly
showed her willingness to measure speed
with the whirlwind, bat she never straigh
ened her bridle-reins The faithful
whittier would l fly with her.
There was no time for che formulating
of thought. The cyclone was upon us.
Out of that dead calmn like maddened
and ferocious tiger upon the helpless fawn
it spraug upon us. 1t was terrible mo-
ment. The forces that were conceived,
born and developed in that minimum of Ii
fraction of a second are yet unnamed; I'M
scheduled are the sound waves resulting |
from that hideouslv, abnormal and dis |
torted vibration. Ten thousand times ten |
thousand demons incarnate shrieking
their favorite GLORIOUS in ''ghoulish glee"
could not initiate one solitary discordant |
strain of that horrible bowling hell.
Sounds of breaking glass, crashing tim
bers and tumbling walls were only fatty |
but simultaneously heard amid this de- |
mouacal din. Awning, building, horse, man
as turf in the grasp of giant an 20 down |
together liz the smallest identical dura-
ton.
Harkl that is not the voice of the
spirit of the storm wind" 1t Is
voice. Clearly 1t rises above the
now dying wall of the wind. 1t is the
certain cry of distress.
Having been carried with the front part
of the building inward and falling between
two large binder" boxes, which had been
that evening and left standing
Just inside the doors, | was miraculously
from injury. Instantly realiz-
ing that | was not imprisoned when L
heard the cry of distress | raised my
head aud by the aid of lightning
fash, could see the awful ruin
wrought in those few seconds. Backward
out of that Giving grave" | crawled and
by the light of another electric discharge
discovered the noble animal that had gone
through the ordeal with me standing
luietly about fifty feet away. L whistled
and answering with a subdued neigh she
started toward me. Hatless and dripping,
as though having just crawled from
river Instead of an implement house, took
hold OF her bride and patting her neck
started toward the point whence the voice
proceeded. All was now as quiet as the
grave. Nothing save the ACCOUNTING cry OF
distress and the splashing of myself aud
horse through the water could
be heard AS far as my
eyes could penetrate the darkness all was
ruin | had been in the very center OF
the demolished area. Slowly we picked
our way up the street, through the noat-
ing debris, until we reached the Phillips
house. 1t was in ruins and not soul ID
sight, and the stiffness was painful
Could be dreaming? Crossing the street
and securing my horse to hydrant,
entered a drug store. the front of which
had been sucked in or out, don't Know
which. The proprietor looked as though
he had just crawled ont from place
similar 10 nv own enforced rendez-
inside the door than in sprang large man,
haUless, coatless aud shoeless from the
Phillips house He said he was just 10
The act OF retiring, in thlrd-story room,
when the crash came. " lille he was re-
ating these facts in came the
carriage man, Sasher He was also coat
ess and hatless. The distress depicted
lpon this mans face and bearing was truly
and pitiable. He begged for
assistance. Springing from the store /
IAN down the street the direction | bad
,ome, crying for help, climbing the ruins
lntil | stood directly over the point from
which the sounds / had first heard came.
Sasner was at my heels said he
That is my wife and she Is being
burned alive TIE fire in the
Alliance store building AZ this time seemed
% be an incipient affair and might have
~. u clver1.llrr,a had there bean sIff fcinrr |