Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-10-28
RACING A TORNADO.

working on one horse railroad in south
ern Kansas The superintendent wired me
To fetch my engine distance of about 20
miles To place called Peterstown.
Well, | got fuel and water aboard as
quickly as possible and started for Peters
town, taking IL rather easily, because the
track wasn't in condition te stand fast run
ming well. ! was an hour out from my
starting place and had gone 10 miles per
haps, when noticed some queer looking
clouds on the western horizon.
The day was extremely sultry, and there
was a curious sort Of glare over the land
scape, which made il look sort OF feverish.
i can't think of better word for describ-
ing IL. There was something unnatural
about the appearance Of everything. My
fireman was a boy who had been brought
mp in that region, and he said that 10 looked
like IA tornado coming. He ought 10 have
been a good judge Of the symptoms be-
cause the whole of his family, together
with all their property and live stock, had
been wiped out by such 'twister," AS
they called 'em, when he was hardly old
enough To toddle.
BY the time we had gone maybe eight or
nine miles farther a dense bank of clouds
had spread around toward the southwest.
IL was black as ink, but beneath IL was a
blank streak of white. l had never seen
anything that looked quite like it before
As looked at it, the bank rose higher, and
presently | saw something like a sharp
point of cloud project itself downward
from the black mass. All this time there
was no thunder nor lightning, but only a
look about the sky that was dreadful to
see, because it was so unnaturaliike. 1t
seemed rs If something awful was going to
happen. IL was the boy who called my at
tention to the pointed cloud, and he said it
was tornado beginning.
Then We'll run away from 1t, l guess"
said /, pulling the throttle wide open. But
the boy said nothing-only watched the
clouds In the distance.
Now and then when / could take my eye
of the cloud looked at the boy, but be
only sat silent in the cab. staring at the
great pegtop with starting eyeballs and
white lips Finally said:
"Doyou think we are going so escape it,"
"Weare right in its track, ;" he said, with
out looking at me.
You see, we were running in an air line
over the prairie directly northeast and pur-
suing the very path In which the tornado
was coming Any other course, with the
steam had on, would have carried US out
of the way.
The boy shoveled more coal on. He had
already done so three or four times since
the strange cloud was sighted. But it was
no use. The engine was doing its best, and
she wasn't capable of more than about 38
miles an hour.
''It's gaining on u.s." said. "How fas.
does such thing as that travelY"
About hundred miles an hour" re
piled the boy, white rs sheet.
II that had been true, would not be here
to tell the story. / have since learned that
so miles an hour is supposed to be the best
tornado can do. My belief is that this
one was going at about 60 miles. Anyway,
1t wasn't more than six or seven miles dis
tant by this time and gaining on us rapidly.
IL my reckoning was correct. II would catch
us in little more than 20 minutes. The
way calculated it was that the great peg
top was moving at the rate of three miles
to our two
1t was the most frightful spectacle to
look at that can possibly be imagined. To
me 1t seemed to be a monstrous giant, pur-
suing us with an evil intention to destroy.
Now and then its blackness would be trans
formed into dark green, and it was con-
stantly lighted up by flashes, as IL it were
an immense balloon illuminated from
within. 1t appeared to whirl round with
inconceivable rapidity, and from it came a
sound across the prairie as of believing,
with a voice so awful that the rumbling of
the locomotive was lost In it. OF the de-
struction it was accomplishing could get
no notion from my point Of view. Fortu-
nately there were few settlements In that
part of the country, but as we passed two
or three small hamlets at full speed could
see the people running about trying to find
some place of safety.
The boy staggered at my side-the rock
ing Of the engine made it difficult to keep
ones feet-and clutched my arm. stopped
my head, and he yelled into my ear the
words, MAKE the bend"
! knew what he meant on the instant.
Less than 10 miles ahead of US was u bridge
over river, after crossing which the road
turned abruptly southwark. 1t was freak
railway, anyhow, and its zigzags were in
tended to pass through as many supposed
| centers of future population as possible.
The only long strength Of 1t in straight
line was just where we got caught by the
tornado. If we could get to the bend ahead
OF the monster, we might run out Of its
track.
AS you may well imagine, i had no op-
portunity to consider the plan calmly and
In detail, but it struck me like fash. 1t
was race for life sure enough. If that en-
gipe never did her 40 miles an hour before,
think she must have done that and more,
too, then. With the great funnel cloud
racing ON behind us, steadily approaching,
we tore over the rails.
Six miles passed as well as could esti-
mate, and the monster was only about four
miles behind. Three miles more, and it
lessened the distance by mile at least.
But we were near the river A minute
later, and we were crossing the bridge. No
time then TO heed the warning that trains
must run slowly over this stream" in ODE
dience to the signpost.
We flew around the curve and dashed
southwark, just in time to see the mighty
balloon pass by with whirl and roar, as
II all the DEMONS in the Internal regions
were let loose. We could not make out
anything very distinctly, the sky being
6arkened and the air filled with dust, but
we knew that we were safe. A few min
utes later the clouds rolled away, and every
thing was as quiet and peaceful ~ before
the storm. We ran back to the bridge, but
1t wasn't there 1t was clean gone The
road was so badly torn up, the track for
considerable distances being twisted and
broken to pieces, that the expense Of re-
pairing II nearly bankrupted the company.
Eleven people lost their lives by that tor
nado, which afforded me an experience
which would not repeat for all the money
n the eworld.-Exchange.