Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1894-03-24
CHASED BYATORNADO
A LOCOMOTIVES TERRIBLE RACE
WITH A BLACK TERROR.

experience with tornado in Kansas and
said thar IL fear always turned a mans
hair white his locks ought TO be like snow.
IL happened this way: II was some time
IN July. The weather had been pretty hot.
and IL was just the sort OF day for breed
ing tornado | was working on a one
horse railroad In southern Kansas. The
superintendent wired me 20 fetch my en-
gine distance of about 10 miles 10 n place
called peterstown.
Well. ! got fuel aud water aboard as
quickly AZ possible aud started for Peters
town, taking IL rather easily. because the
truck wasn't in condition to stand fast rum
ming well. IL 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 curious sort Of glare over the land
scape which made II look sort Of feverish.
! can't think OF better word for describ-
ing Il. There was something unnatural
about the appearance OF everything. My
fireman was hoy who had been brought
| up In that region. and he said that It looked
like n tornado coming. He ought to have
been good judge OF the symptoms because
the whole of his family, together with all
their property and live stock. had been
wiped ont by such "twister.n
by the time we had gone maybe eight or
nine miles farther dense hank Of clouds
had spread around toward the southwest
| IL was black rs ink, hut beneath IL was q
blank streak Of white. had never seen
anything that looked quite like Il before.
IL seemed as IL something awful was go-
ing to happen IL was the boy who called
my attention TO the pointed cloud. and he
said II was a tornado beginning.
.Then we'll run away from IL, guess"
said I. pulling the throttle wide open. But
the boy, he said nothing--oniy watched the
clouds In the distance.
BY this time the pointed cloud had got
very much bigger, the lower end OF IL near
ly touching the ground II grew rapidly
larger and larger and seemed to be APP
preaching Mt a great rate Of speed, while
the rest Of the view toward the west and
southwest became blurred to the eye, 80
that nothing could be made out very clear
ly. saw that IL was a tornado that was
coming, and no mistake, for the strange
cloud. which had the shape of gigantic
peg top, was distinctly outlined In its inky
blackness against the general blur. be
gan to feel pretty badly frightened myself
Nov and then, when / could take my eye
of the cloud, I looked at the boy, but he
. only sat silent in the cab, staring at the
, great peg top with starting eyeballs and
white lips. Finally said:
do you think we are going 10 escape itf'
I'VE are right In It's track" he said,
without looking at me.
, You see, we were running In an air line
5 over the prairie, directly northeast, and
! pursuing the very path in which the lorna
D do was coming. Any other course. with the
steam had on, would have carried as cut
of the way.
The boy shoveled more coal on. He had
\ already done SO three or four times sincs
J, the strange cloud was sighted. But IL wa,
no use. The engine was doing its best, ans
4 she wasn't capable Of more than about q
/, miles an hour.
It's gaining on u.s. said. "fiow fas
!, does snch ~ thing ~ that trayelfn
!. About hundred miles an hour" RI
Il piled the boy white rs a sheet.
IL that had bcen true. would not be her
10 tell the story. have since learned tina
10 miles an hour In supposed To be the bees
Z a tornado can do My belief Is that thi
4 one was going at about 90 miles. Anyway
a 1t wasn't more than six or seven miles dis
" tant by this time, and gaining on US rapid
. Iy. II my reckoning was correct, it woul
= catch MS In u little more than 90 minutes
!. Ii was the most frightful spectacle to loo
n at that can possibly be imagined. To me
re seemed TO be n monstrous giant, pnrsuin
IN with an evil intention to destroy No'
and then its blackness would be transform
ed into dark green, and it was constantl
n lighted mp by flashes. as IL IL were an In
4. mense balloon illuminated from within.
!. appeared to whirl around with inconceivi
!. BILE rapidity and from IL came sound acro'
- the prairie OF believing. with voica
n, awful that the rumbling OF the locomoti,
a
" eomplishing could get no notion from m
point Of view. Fortunately there were fe
settlements In that part Of the country, b.
n. as we passed two or three hainlets at III
y. speed could zee the people running abo'
of trying TO find some place Of safety.
he The boy staggered at my side-the roc
n. ing OF the engine made It difiicult TO Ike,
ir ones feet-apd ciutched my arm stoop,
my head. and he yelled into my ear h
words. Make the bends''
m knew what be meant on the instaf
be. less than 10 miles ahead OF us was "A brid
ale over river. after crossing which the ro
or, turned abruptly southwark II was a fire.
es, railway anyhow. and it's zigxags were
sp tended to pass through as many suppos
be- centers of future population rs possib
The only long stretch of 1t in a straiR
rch line was just where we got caught by I
cn. tuIuhuu IL WE tuutl ktt 10 the DtUu but
~ of the monster, we might be saved.
vn. An you may well imagine, | had no
the portunity To consider the plan calmly a
cr, In detail. but 1t struck me like fash.
was a race for life sure enough. II that
gine never did her 20 miles an hour befc
tbs ] think she must have done that aud me
ken too. then. With the great funnel clc
nan racing ON behind us. steadily approach
yes we tore over the rails.
tile Six miles passed as well as could e
mate, and the monster was only four m
behind. Three miles more and il lessel
'ees the distance By mile at least. But
rsH were near the river A minute later
oy we ware crossing the bridge. No time d
WV to heed the warning that strains must
slowly over this stream"
sxs We few around the curve and das
Sdls southward, just in time to see the mig
a. balloon pass by with whirl and roaI
II ali the demons In the internal reg
were let loose. We could not make
nr.. anything very distinctly. the sky b
"a darkened and the sir allied with dust,
"a va knew that We were safe. A few !
utes later the clouds rolled away,
everything was ss quiet and peaceful ~
.,.,. fore the storm We ran back 10 the bri
a. but ID wasn't there. Il was clean <
h..