The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-07-19
confidence. It ia all right, and we are
taking our medicine. Chicago has
gone up the spout at my house-thank
the good Lord. BILL ARP.
The Secrets Of the Storm.

The remarkable work Of some of our
Georgia tornadoes has caused thought
full persons to suspect that there was
something stronger than the force Of
the wind in these terrible visitations.
The reports of the recent destructive
tornado at Pomeroy, Ia, show that
unusual and powerful agencies we're at
work in the storm. The New Orleans
Picayune calls attention to the follow
ing Incidents:
At Pomeroy, where the deadly work
was worst, the iron cylinder Of a
threshing machine was torn out of the
sockets in which it was held and car
ried away q distance Of twenty rods.
Near Newell, a year-old baby was
found in field completely stripped of
clothing, but entirely unhurt:, Atthe
same place trees were stripped of their
bark. Three-quarters Of mile west
of Pomeroy, the south wall Of a drug
store was torn out, leaving the rest of
the building intact and contents undis-'
turbed. Rocks weighing several hun
dred pounds, imbedded In the ground,
were torn up and hurled long distan-
ces, and, in one instance, the iron pipe
of deep drove WE'LL, which projected
only four feet above the surface, the
balance being inserted in the well, was
completely drawn out.
Now, the moving force Of the wind
would not have accomplished all these
wonders. As the Psieay.ne puts it:
The moving force Of wind is in pro-
portion to its mass and the velocity
With which it moves. A mass Of air
one mile long with a front Of the area
Of the sails Of a ship, or of that Of the
side of house, to which it might be
opposed, the atmospheric wave moving
at the rate of 100 miles an hour, would
exert force enough to sweep the ship
before it, or it would strike the build
ing with such shock as to demolish
it. Such force can be measured and
It's operation understood.
But when it. comes to tearing q
wheel or cylinder out Of a machine, OF
to stripping the bark from atree with
out unrooting the tree from the ground,
or Of tearing rocks from their beds in
the earth, there ire evidences of forces.
which no mere wind can exert, but
there must have been in operation, d
power, sudden, spasmodic and tremen-
dous, like that furnished by gunpow-
der or other explosives, or possibly,
electricity. But how different from
the forces that are required to produce
these violent and explosive effects is
the power that can transport baby
through the air, diyest it Of, all its
clothing, and leave the little innocent
on the grass without bruise. How,
too, will any theory Of wind account
for a force that will remove from a
house one Of it's side walls and leave
the others standing, and all the con-
tents and interior arrangements entire
ly undisturbed?
The storm has it's secrets and our
signal service experts have yet to dis
cover, measure and classify thet:.
How are we to penetrate the upper
regions Of space and watch the pro-
cesses by which tornadoes and cyclones
are organized and equipped with
chemical, mechanical and electric
energies of overwhelming potential
ity In this country it would be
money we'll invested if the offer Of
large sums by the government would
bring to light the secrets Of the storms
which so frequently carry terror and
death in their pathway. We should
make it to the interest Of our scien-:
lists to give the matter their closest
study.-AtlantG Constitution.