The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-10-22
CAPERs OF A GEORGIA STORM.
Sort of Kindly Carefulness Char
aeterized All Its Franks.

Col Richard Malcolm Johnston, the wri-
ter of Southern plantation sketches, tells
some wonderful stories about Georgia
weather. He admits that he would not be-
Heve them himself were ii not for his un-
bounded faith in everything Georgian in
general and his personal knowledge and I'M
limited confidence in the veracity of the
men who told him the stories, in particular
II heard Them" he said, while on visit
to my old home in Hancock county, Geor-
gia- some years ago, and know that they
are true We had a big storm down there
about ten years ago; the folks called it
tornado. But, hurricane or tornado, Ii cut
some queer old capers. Colonel Humber,
over in Putnam county saw the storm COM
ing no and knew 1t was going to be a big
one. There were number of ladies at
his house, and, of course, his first thought
was for them, SO he got them all safely In
their rooms and went down into the large
hall which ran through his house and shut
the door Now, Colonel Humber is a big
man-weighs about two hundred pounds.
storm was blowing through his hallway,
and before he knew what had happened 1t
had picked him up, carried him over on
his lawn and laid him down-not roughly
but gently. At the same time it took
heavy stone and brick chimney off the
house and held 1t on top of him to keep
him fl place 1t didn't throw the chimney
on him, but laid IL down with so little force
that only his leg was broken. In mo-
ment or two another gust came along,
picked up the chimney and carried il off,
and Colonel Humber crawled back into the
house.
''That same storm went a little further
on till il came to a barn in which were two
horses, two mules and two cows. These
were in separate compartments With a
whirl the roof OF the barn was taken off
as clean as a whistle and carried away,
and while the stock was wondering what
had happened a section of the storm went
In the top of the barn, lifted those horses
and mules and COWS high up in the air
and set them down again without hurting
one of them. But the queer part of the
proceeding was that when ii had these
animals in the air the tornado changed
their positions so that when IL set them
on their feet the mules were where the
cows had been. the cows were in the horses
apartments and the horses were occupying
the mules stalls.
but that storm hadn't finished cutting
up its capers. Ii struck house In the
same county and made its way into lady S
chamber. A bureau was standing against
the wall, having on 1t lot OF such traps
and trinketS as ladies' usually have-cos-
metics, bottles and so on. bandbox with
few laces inside was standing by it's side
The wind took that bureau, moved 1T TO
turb the handbook. Ii went into another
lady's room. picked up a trunk filled with
clothing, carried 1t out of window and
waited IL over into Hancock county-rny
own courtyard deposited IL in "A field
forty miles away from the house from
which IL had been taken. 1t was found
there unbroken the next day and returned
10 the owner, whose initials we're stenciled
on its end. l am glad however" re-
HlTkeU the Seindl 1OlOiel, as he wiped MS
forehead, that the storm didn't carry that
trunk more than forty miles / couldn't
have believed another mile.
Georgia is great State" he continued
but even such storms as that do not oc-
cur often. To prove that such queer things
do happen, there is a section OF a tele-
graph pole In the museum or the State Uni
versitg. This pole has q light cypress shin
gle sticking through It, about half of It
projecting from each side. That shingle
was picked up I'm a storm and blown clear
through the telegraph pole and left stick
Ing there"