The Baptist headlight., 1893-11-17

crolling them remain to great ex-
tent unknown. They have come to
he RECOGNIZED as among the most
destructive of natural phenomena,
so that many insurance companies are
making it a part of their business to
nnderWrite property against them. Ii
has been estimated that, taking an av-
erage. each tornado costs one life.
No subject in the science OF meteor
ol0rv is of such absorbing interest as
| shat of tornadoes. Their performances
are so amazing. and the manifestations
| by which they are accompanied are SO
terrifying, that the mind has dlIncuiIy
in grasping the matter runderstandlngly:
AS rule, they give fair warning OF OF
their approach. The air is usually
very still and sultry. People tee1 oe-
pressed without knowing why. DARK
and threatening clouds appear on Uhe
western horizon, and the sky from West
to south takes on peculiar lurld or
greenish tinge. This tornado SKY Is
q characteristic feature.
The Funnel-Shaped Cloud.
From the suspended masses OF vapor
a sort of tail is seen to project itself
downward. It gradually assumes, while
approaching, the aspect OF g1gantlc
funnel. with the small end toward the
ground. This funnel moves with enor-
nous rapidity, its speed being rarely
under forty miles, an hour. AS 1t comes
nearer. an indescribable roar Is heard,
which has been ikened to the DeLow-
inc of million mad bulls or the rum
bling of 10000 trains of cars over as
many bridges. ,,.
Still the great cloud advances, black
as night, somewhat resembling an IN,
mense balloon, sweeping its neck rouno
and round with terrible fury and de,
ltroying everything in its path.
whirls with almost Incredible veloclty
sometimes leaving the earth for mo
ment. then bounding back to continue
its dire havoc. The whole period OF de-
strnction NAV occupy only three ol
fonr minutes. but in that time towns
are wiped out and fields are laid waste
A few minutes later the blue sky ap
> pears. the wind turns to the south, ant
: all ouiets down No one would suppos'
y that q terrible catastrophe had Oc
s Cured, save for the devastation tha
y is all about and the cries of the untor
;, tunates.
- It often happens that the funnel
h shaped monster is preceded 0y grea
r. cloud of dust, produced by an outrusl
IN of air before the storm, so that the az
le preaching danger is not seen until 1T
Immediately at hand. The might
balloon of vapor travels twice as fast a
the tempest out of which it is enger
dered. It is frequently accompanii,e
bv vivid display of lightning. In
:, width of the destructive path
y rarely over 800 feet. In the centri
- line all trees are strewn in the sam
" direction, as though a mighty rive
had passed and left them behind. Ju'
n after the tornado usually come to
~ rents of rain, which has caused thes
70 phenomena to be called "cloudbursts
le On one occasion hail was reported
l having fallen to depth of four feet.
y Causes Which Produce Tornadoes.
&c. The causes which produce tornado
he are pretty well understood. They a
Ill, found very often in the Mississippi va
1er lev. which, as is we'll known, is regiC
of particularly liable to such atmo7pher
av- disturbances. Suppose that the day
re warm and sultry and the stratum
YER heated air near the earth is full OF
All nor. A current of cold air flows
80 above. There you have situatl
Its, which is calculated to make troub
ch, The cold air being much heavier tn
,ar- the warm, the natural place for it
and