The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-06-03
TRIBUNE-wEbNEsDAY ,doRN1Nd JULIE s. 1885,

ceeding $1,000, 900. A town in Texas
county,, Arkansas. 100 buildings We're
destroyed and several killed. Indiana
polls caught, tornado March I, 1850.
and lost 100000. On June 10 Of the
same year twenty-five people were
killed by a funnel-shaped cloud In Pot
tawattamie county.
THE GRINNELL HORROR.
One Of the most destructive ;torna-
does on record struck the pretty little
town Of Grinnell, Ia. on the afternoon
Of June II, 1882, and wiped it OF the
face Of the earth. This tornado formed
In Green county, ninety miles west of
Grinnell, and was plainly traced 10
Mount Pleasant. distance of 200 miles.
which is believed to be the greatest
distance ever traversed by a tornado.
1t moved forward at the rate of sixty
miles an hour and left in its wake 100
dead and $50 wounded. The loss of
property exceeded 100000. and gener-
Gus contributions ior the sufferers
were made all over the United States.
This was storm of exceptional ener-
gy and probably was much more vio-
lent than the recent st. Louis tornado.
The tornado which devastated Ro-
chester, Minn.. Aug. 81, 1883, was at
tended by some refnarKable phenome-
ma. At 8 o'clock a dark cloud formed
in the west and remained almost mo-
tionless. Two hours later a low bank
of cloud was observed in the southwest.
This cloud Joined with the black one.
At first the city was tinged with q
strange green light and then it be-
came intensely dark. The tornado
struck the heart of the city with afwul
force. A passenger train was in It's
course, and the strong cars were torn
to pieces and many passengers killed.
Thirty-one lives We're lost. This tor
nado had course of but eighteen miles
in length, after which it was absorbed
by the upper clouds.
The Rochester tornado performed
one Of the strangest freaks yet record
ed. In its path was large Touring
mill six stories in height. The tornado
bit piece thirty feet square out of the
southeast corner of the mill between
the second and fifth floors The fifth
and sixth floors remained intact. and
the building was otherwise uninjured.
photographs of this remarkable feat
are yet sold in Rochester, Winona and
neighborlng towns.
A disastrous series of tornadoes
swept through Alabama, Georgia,
North and South Carolina on the after
noon and night Of March 20, 1875 At
Hamilton, Ga, a cotton bale weighing
900 miles was carried mile. The tor
nado is described as being an inexpres-
sibly beautiful sight, having all the
colors of rainbow. Up in the air it
resembled the black. angry smoke that
arises from boiling caldron, while be-
meath 1t came rolling like the reflec-
tions Of terrific fire. Mr.. Barrett and
his family were in an open field. They
saw the cloud coming, but thought it
was contlagration. A child was
killed in the fathers arms and all were
nearly drowned with the water and
mud which had been sucked up from a
pond. AT Baughville horse was
blown half mile and lodged between
tow trees, one of which had to be cut
down before the animal was released.
Many people were carried high in the
air and dropped gently without being
injured. Professor Calhoun was car
rled bodily 300 yards and felt no worse
for his aerial voyage.
STORMS ODD WORK.
above and the. fiery glow below gave
the impression of serious conflagara-
ton, and the fire bells were rung
trees; q gin mill executed a complete
sumersault q woman's bonnrt was
carried thirty miles; the door Of d
church was found ten miles away; pine
tops loaded with ice were dropped ten
miles on the other side of the storm; a
boys composition was carried from
Calhoun to Harris county. a distance
OF forty miles, and letter was found
on the premises Of II. T. Wright which
came from Thomson. Ga, distance of
fifty-five miles in straight line.
Eleven were killed by the Water
borough. s. c., tornado of April 1G,
1879. According to the statement of
Captain Allen c. lizard. q United States
naval officer, a black cloud and "a mud
dy cloud came together. The black
cloud sucked the other in and the two
rolled over In a boiling mass. A low
moaning sound was heard, and the
earth trembled as the cloud moved on.
Dead sheep were found with the wool
completely stripped from their bodies.
Captain lizard saw a rooster without a
feather on his body walk around and
crow gleefully after the storm had
passed. Mr.. Terry's house. which had
been pure white before the tornado, had
turned to chrome yellow.
1t was popular at one time to deride
the featherless rooster story, but there
Is not the slightest doubt about it's au-
thenticity In hundreds of cases. In
some strange way chickens are com
pletely denuded Of feathers by the tor
nado. There are some who ascribe this
to an electrical action, but most OBJ
servers claim that the wind is the
agent
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