The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-01-02
CHASED BY TORNADO
A LOCOMOTIVES TERRIBLE RACE
WITH A BLACK TERROR.

Henry Wetherell, mn engineer on the
Jersey Central railroad, told reporter his
experience with tornado in Kansas and
said that II fear always turned n mans
hair white his locks ought TO be like snow.
II happened this way: II was some time
I'm July. The weather had been pretty hot,
and it was Just the sort of a day for breed
ing tornado. | was working on n one
horse railroad in southern Kansas. The
superintendent wired me to fetch my en-
CINE distance of about 20 miles to n place
called peterstown.
Well, / got fuel and water aboard as
quickly as possible and started for Peters
town, taking it rather easily, because the
truck wasn't in condition to stand fast run
ming well. 1t was an hour out from my
starting place, and had gone l6 miles per-
haps, when | noticed some queer looking
clouds on the western horizon.
The day was extremely sultry, and there
was n curious sort of glare over the land
scape which made it look sort Of feverish.
! can't think of better word for dcscrib-
| ing it. There was something unnatural
about the appearance Of everything. My
fireman was II boy who had been brought
up in that region, and he said that it looked
like a tornado coming. lie 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 out by such "twister."
| BY the time we had gone maybe eight OF
nine miles farther dense bank of clouds
had spread around toward the southwest.
1t was black us ink, but beneath it was a
blank streak Of white. had never seen
anything that looked quite like it before.
| II ns In, ftt1,
ing to happen. 1t was the boy who called
my attention to the pointed cloud, and he
said it was n tornado beginning.
"Then we'll run away from it, / guess
said |, pulling the throttle wide open. But
the boy, he said nothing-only watched the
clouds in the distance.
BY this time the pointed cloud had got
very much bigger, the lower end of it near
ly touching the ground, 1t grew rapidly
larger and larger and seemed to be ap
preaching at n great rate of speed while
the rest of the view toward the west and
southwest became blurred to the eve sc
that nothing could be made out very clear
ly / saw that it was n 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
now ana theh, Wheh could take my eye
OH une clouu, lookeu III tne BOY, DuC III
only sa1 slieho III uhe CAP staring at tht
great peg top with starting eyeballs ant
white lips. Finally said:
"Do you think we are going to escape itS'
1--WE are right in its track" he said
without looking at me.
You see, we were running IN an air lint
over the PRAIRIE directly northeast, ant
pursuing the very pain IN which the lorna
do was coming ANY other course, with thu
steam had on would have carried us ou
OF the way.
Inc BOY shoVeled more coal on. lie hat
ALREADY done so three or iour times since
the strange cloud was sighted. But 1t wa!
no use Inc engine was dong It's best, ant
she WASH capaple Oh more IMAM ABOUT u
hn NE, an nour.
JUS gaming on us SAID How ias
docs suci 'nihg as Ihat tra'eiF
:, AoouC huiiureu mics an hour'" re
pled the ooy' white as a sheet.
III tnat had Deen true' would not be herr
10 tel 1he STORY nave since learned thai
on miles an hour Is supposed TO DE the bes
torhauo can 90 MY Deilei Is mat this
one was going at ABOUT oomiles' anyway
~ WASH ulore on'i SIN OF seven miles dls
taEu ny Uhls 'lihe, ana gaming on us rapid
~. - my ieIholiinS was corfecC, IL Woui'
eaten US III NIUE more thah ~ minutes.
twas 'he iiiosv LIZ h'iul spec'acie 10 looi
AT .haI can possibly pe imagined 10 me
seemed TO DE monstrous giant pursuing
us WIN an eVli intention TO destroy Nov
ana theli us oiackhess would DE transform
ca in'o uark green ana IL was CONSTANT.
Neh.eu up ny nashes' as II IL We're an I'm
ilehse paiioon illuiiili'a'eu rom withih.
apPeareu 10 "hlrl arouilu WIN lhcoiceiVa
PIE rapiuiCy'auu from IL came SOUND acros
One p,a,rle as oi peiioWlhE, WIN voice 81
aNIul Vnav !ne 6eiii oiii's vi .he LOCOMOTIVE
was loat III IL, vi tne obstruction IL was nc
CON coulu eeC no hotioh irom m.
PoliU vi view IorCunuueiy 'here were lev
se''ienien's ~ 'h"O paro vi uhe country, Du
40 We i'"'eei WV VI 'uree haihle1s III lul
speeu oouI'i see 'he peoPie running apou
VrSahs W liiu solle pace Oh SAFETY.
ING poy suassereu aO my slue-the rock
ing Oh Che engine maze IL diillcuit TO Keel
one lee.-"hu clutcneu IN arm stoope'
my ne"u' anu ne Seileu INTO my ear Tn
"Grus' MAKE t1e oehuE
MY" Wn"V ne meant on 1he instant
Less IMAM ~ Iiilles aheau Oh US was Drldg
over rlTer' aiuer crossing wnlch the roa!
ourheu abruptly SOUTHWARK. III was freal
railway anyhow anu lts ZigZass were In
Cehueu W pass through as many suppose
Gehuers Oh future population as possible
me me ohiy long stretch OF IL IN straigh
me was JUST where we got caught by tn
CorIauo' IL we coulu seo TO the bend ahea'
OF the monster, we might be saved
AS you may well imagine, had no op
portunity to consider the plan calmly an,
in detail, but il struck me like cash T
was race for life sire anonnb r. tbat On
Gina ravar did hon a. III" ~ - 'aas en-
S,nI ie' q uIu hei AZ hl,les an hour before
too, then. With the great funnel clout