The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-06-26
JONES U
"A Surprising Tale of the Kansas Prairie.

Cu6AE buu SLOWLY D10W d CIOuu Ol SuOk0
toward the ceiling. "Jones," he said,
II want to ask your opinion in regard
to the probability of a story which was
told me the other day"
"Well Jackson7" was the guarded
reply of the cautious Jones.
ut struck me-" continued Peters,
that a man who had told as many
that is to say, a man who has told as
much of what I may call awe inspiring
truth as you have, ought to be a good
judge of the probability of a story. 1t
was a cyclone story which 1 was going
to ask you about"
Most cyclone stories are palpable
lies, Jackson"
mo doubt. The point is this: He
said he had seen straws driven through
inch boards by the force of the wind"
ut never happened, Jackson. That
is a stock lie told of every cyclone that
blows. Your friend imposed upon your
youth, my boy. He would never have
dared to tell such a manifest and self
heralding lie to Robinson or Smith. I
must admit, though, that the force of
the wind in a genuine cyclone is con
siderable. When I lived in Kansas, in
the 7O's, I had a quantity of poultry,
but it all was blown away in the first
cyclone of the season except one black
Spanish rooster. He chung to a grass
root with his bill, aud allowed his
tail to crack and whip in the wind
like a yacht pennant. He rode out the
gale, though most of his feathers were
blown off. Subsequently found some
of them imbedded over half an inch
in my grindstone."
YES" returned Peters, II presume
my friend was trying to impose upon
my adolescence"
81 think so, Jackson. I had con-
siderable experience with cyclones that
summer in Kansas. But l learned to
handle myself, so that 1 did not mind
them much. I soon saw the fallacy of
depending on cyclone cellars and that
sort Of thing. The fundamental diff
Guilty with all such things as that you
try to hold yourself firmly in one place
It is as if a ship in a gale should tie up
to a post (supposing mid, ocean posts
for the time being instead of driving
before the tempest. The first cyclone
that summer 1, of course, went down
cellar, like other folks. My house was
soon blown away, but 1 crouched in
the cellar and felt safe. The next thing
l knew the cellar went too, rolling over
and over like a silk hat. I was soon
spilled out. With infinite labor 1
crawled back in the teeth of the wind,
intending to take refuge in the hole
the cellar came out of. To my con-
sternation 1 found that had blown
away also. I then followed the ex-
ample of the rooster, chung to a root,
and allowed my legs to futter and snap
in the gale like a weather signal flag.
When the wind subsidized, toward
night, and objects began to come down
"a hay-stack here, u man there, a
wagon somewhere else-I sat myself
at work on a plan to prevent any such
awkward occurrence in the future.
Applying the principle of o resist.
ance, I constructed a spherical house
about twelve feet in diameter. 1t was
an exa"t ball, covered with light boiler
plates, and with iron shutters for the
doors and windows. It VS. not the
most convenient house inside, but by
fitting it up like a ship-that is, utiliz
ing every inch of space, no matter
where it was, for some purpose-it did
very we'll. 1 had a bunk on one side
for sleeping purposes, with straps tC
hold myself in.
The first cyclone came up one after
noon while I was hoeing my water
melons. Tucking my faithful rooster
under my arm, I retired to my house
and closed the shutters, I got into the
bunk, taking the rooster with me, anC
strapped myself in. We got eff il
about ten minutes, rolling easily al
first, but bounding along with greater
rapidity after we had gone a short dis
lance, The motion was peculiar. but
but not so violent as that of a Fifth
avenue stage. It was ~pleasanter wher
we were moving at right angles to the
plane of my bunk than when parable
to it, as in the latter case we were
standing on our heads a good part o.
the time. The rooster did not mind il
so much as I feared he would, and oc
casionalIy 1 could hear him Growing
Justify under the clothes.
81 fell into a light sleep after 6
while. When l awoke the motion