The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-31
A wHIRL THRorGH SPACE.
Extraordinary Cyclone Experience
of Texas Doctor.
From the Philadelph!a Record.

From the Philadelphia Record.
On the afternoon Of the Sherman. Tex.
cyclone DR.. w. F. Michael was making
professional calls in the southwestern
suburbs Of the city. He had been to the
Dulin home, had returned to where he
had left his horse hitched and was driv-
Ing southwark through the cemetry. in
tending TO pass out the gate on that side
The storm cloud doomed up before him
just before he reached the south fence
He realized that it was driving toward
him and that, with a spirited horse. 1t
was impossible to get out Of the way
Springing from his buggy, he unfasten-
ed the traces, started the horse out Of
the shafts and turned him loose. Then
he began to run for place of safety
He had gone fifty feet westward when it
seemed to him that the cloud was going
to strike the center of the cemetery. So
he turned and ran eastward toward the
east fence. just as he reached the fence
and flung himself down the cloud came
upon him.
heard a roaring sound" said DR.
Michael, 3'when the storm was two miles
or 50 distant. but it was beyond the
hills, and 1 didn't discover that [ was
A+SAAN III AAAC BdAn VI IL uilLll II reached
the nearest hill, from half to three-duar-
ters of mile south of me. 1t didn't re-
semble a funnel-shaped cloud. It looked
to me like great ball of vapor, roll
ing over and over toward me. When I
first saw it distinctly at that hill it SEEM
ed to be about $50 yards wide and 100
feet high. The motion as it presented it.
self TO me was that of ball rolling over
and over, not spiral Whatever the ball
4ya Vler ev1.r
the ground. l saw the effects as it came
to house after house between the hill
and me. When the ball reached Mrs.
Chisholm's the house went right up in the
air of It's foundations. 1t was whole I'M
til 1t was up ten or fifteen feet. Then it
went all to pieces, just as if it had ex-
ppt43ded; Ihe same thing, happened to the
other houses. Above and around this roll
ing ball of cloud the air was full of
BITS of boards ana tree limbs and other
things which had been gathered up.
hen the ball reached me | had got
10 the east fence of the cemetery, and had
thrown myself down beside it. All at
once the bright daylight disappeared and
l was in total darkness. The picket fence,
posts and all, was lifted up and came
down nat upon me. Then two trees fell
on the fence. In a few seconds the trees
went up in the air; the fence followed.
l felt myself drawn up off the ground by
some invisible force. / didn't lose con-
seriousness. 1t was so dark I couldn't tell
now nigh | Went, but l was high enough
TO escape the monuments in the cemetery,
land also the tree tops, perhaps forty feet
from the ground. AS l went along in the
air | tried to keep an upright position,
but couldn't Something Kept turning me
over and over in one somersault after an
other ! passed almost over the cemetery
before l struck the ground. ] came down
easily at an incline, just as if being low
cred in the tail of the storm. But l was
still moving along. and when l hit the
ground l went over and over for 1t least
thirty feet The lessening force would
raise me a little and then let me back, UNI
til, at last, I dropped into a hole lust in
side the north fence of the cemetery.
Il was conscious all of the time until
l stopped rolling and settled into that hole.
After that / knew nothing more until peo-
pie from town were about me- 1t must
have been ten minutes at least that | Law
in the hole until discovered. NV best
friends didn't recognize me. From head
to foot I was covered with mud Nv hair
was B Blas3{e To1 down EDDR With WIT il s
They could identify me only by nv
voice / was able to walk. At first ii
didn't seem to me that l was much hurt
| but after awhile I discovered that I was
bruised from head to foot. When l was IN
in the air ii seemed as if some things We're
pecking me an of the time. They must
nave been the boards and other flvinp
wreekage. Before the ball reached me
could see on the outer edge of it objects
whirllng with it. But when / was in the
cloud l could see nothing. 1 had passed
from bright light to complete darkness"