The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-09-05

a.As, would not be as
~ black as you
see them now,
for. will venture to say that, no man
ever went through more fear-inspiring
experience than did once Tell you
the story? Why, certainly. But am
not very good at Syarn, and can only
give You the bare facts without descrip-
tive ornamentation.
''It happened This way: The year was
1878 or 1879, forget which. Anyway
it was some time in July. The weather
had been pretty hot. and it was just the
sort of day for breeding a tornado.
But am getting ahead Of my story
already, not being very expert in the
way of anecdote. 1 was working on a
one-horse railroad in southern Kansas.
The superintendent wired me to fetch
my engine distance of about seventy
miles TO a place called Peterstown. 1t
vas wanted to haul q lot of perlshable
freight, mostly market produce, which
had got shunted Off by some accident
onto side track and was in danger of
spelling. A suit against the company
might have followed, and the business
had to be attended to in hurry. There
were only seven locomotives on the
road, barring two or three that were
disabled.
''Well, not to be too long-winded, I
got fuel and water aboard as ouicl as
possible and started for Peterstown,
taking it rather easily, because the
track wasn't in condition to stand fast
running well. l was about an hour
! out from my starting place, and had
gone sixteen miles perhaps. when no.
! ticed some queer-looking clouds on the
western horizon.
''The day was exceedingly sultry,
and there was a curious sort of glare
over the landscape which made it look
sort of feverish. l can't think Of bet
ter word for describing it. There was
something unnatural about the appear
ance of everything. My fireman was
boy who had been brought up in that
region, and he said that it looked like
tornado coming. He ought to have
been a good judge of the symptoms,
because the whole of his family, to-
gether with all their property and live
stock, had been wiped out by such a
'twister,' as they call 'em, when he
was hardly old enough to toddle.
by the time we'd gone, maybe eight
or ten miles further, dense bank of
clouds had spread around toward the
southwest 1t was black as ink. but be-
meath it was a blank streak of white.
l had never seen anything that looked
quite like it before. As l 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 look
about the sky that was dreadful to see.
because it was so unnatural-lille. It
seemed as if something awful was go
ing to happen. 1t was the boy who
called my attention to the pointed
cloud and he said it was tornado be-
ginning.
y pretended not to be afraid, and
said that if it was 'twistcr' it would
not be likely to hit US. But he was as
pale as ghost. Says he:
Don't you see that it is directly
southwest of us?'
why, certainly replied. What
of that?'
They always travel. northeast he
said, and we are right in the track of
il"
Then we'll run away from it,
guess, says I, pulling the throttle wide
open. But the boy, he said nothing
only watched the clouds in hedistance.
BY this time the pointed cloud had
got very much bigger, the lower end OF
Il nearly touching the ground. 1t grew
rapidly larger and larger and seemed to
be approaching at great rate of
speed. while the rest Of the view 20
ward the west and southwest became
blurred to the eye. so that nothing
could be made ont clearly. / saw that
it was d tornado that was coming. and
10 mistake. fC- the strange cloud,
which had the shape of gigantic peg
top, was distinctly outlined in its inlly
blackness against the general blur /
began to feel pretty ABLY frightened
myself. Now and then, when | could
take my eye of the cloud, looked at
the boy: but he only sat silent in the
cab. staring st the great peg-top WI n
starting cveballs and white lips.
Finally said:
"Do rou think we are going TO es-
capa it?''
1--WE are right n ITS track, ae SAID.
without looking at me.
You see, we were running in an air
line over the prairie. directly north
east, and, pursuing the very path n
which the tornado was coming. Any
other course, with the steam had CT,
would have carried US out OF the way.
The boy shoveled more coal or lie /
had already done SO three or four times
since the strange cloud was sighted .
But il was no use TIE engine was /
doing It's best. and she wasn't capable /
of more than about thirty-eiGht miles !
a. hove