The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-06-03
HISTORIC CYCLONES
AND +TORNADOES
Some Memorable Instances Of Storms
That Worked Great Havoc.
SUGGESTED BY THE ST. LOUIS BLOW
Phenomenal OccurrenccsWhich Have
Marked the Progress of the storm
King in This COuntry..E Elements Of
Comedy Interspersed Throughout
the Long Sweep Of Tragedy.


the earthis a wonderful and mysterious
fluid. With all the boasted achieve
ments of science We know, says the
Chicago Times Herald, but little re-
garding it. Why do the great bodies
of air start unbidden and move across
continent? Whence come these
waves Of hot and cold air; these breed
ers of atmospheric disturbances, of
cyclones. tornadoes and whirlwinds?
Why an area of low barometer here and
space of high pressure q thousand
miles away? Science has no answer to
these questions. The highest skill in
the country is incapable of accurately
forecasting the movements of these air
waves and pressures.
Science does not even know the pres
sure of the atmosphere at different
velocities. There are various alleged
authorities on the subject, but their
estimates and theories are so conflict
ing, divergent and unfounded on ac-
curate data as to render their opinions
worthless. We do know that the at
mosphere has wonderful powers Of re-
sistance 1t Is fluid as much as it
water. The resistance increases with
the square of the velocity. At sixty
miles an hour the danger point is
reached; at 100 miles an hour it is
called hurricane and human lives
are sacrificed; beyond that point moth
ing within the scope Of the tempest can
withstand its fury. Little is known as
to the velocity of the gyrating current
of a tornado. 1t may be 200 miles an
hour; 1t may be 500-it certainly Is suf-
ficient to destroy the proudest works
of man and leave an impress upon the
face of nature.
A meteor wandering through space
and coming In contact with the atmos-
phere surrounding the earth is fused to
white heat and melts or eXplodes, so
great Is the resistance of the atmos-
phere. With high velocity the air has
all the powers of a solid and nothing
can stand against 1t. With these re-
sisting qualities of the air kept in mind
1t becomes possible to understand to
some extent the secret of the power
eXerted by tornado.
While the tornado is not a manifes-
tation peculiar to the United States,
this country certainly has witnessed
more and severer storms of this char
acter than any other portion Of the
civilized globe.
THE FIRST TORNADO.
The first tornado of which we have
any clear record in the United States
occurred at Northford, Conn.,, at 4
O'Clock In the afternoon of June 10, 1894.
1t Is described as making very rapid
progress; on each side of the cloud al
most dead calm, and the cloud, which
was shaped like an hOur-glass, alter
nately contracted and expanded. The
next one recorded struck Hancock
county. Georgia, on the afternoon of
April 4, 1904, and on it's front "glim-
mered with a strange light" The storm
roared deafeningly and the darkness
was intense. Charleston, s. c.. had a
tornado Sept. II, 1911, and jackson
county, Missouri, records one in the
spring Of 1914. On the night Of May 81,
1880, a cone-shaDed cloud struck Shell
byville, Tenn. The cloud appeared
double, having apparently two wings,
like q large bird: they suddenly coal
esced and came to the ground with
great fury. A book was carried seven
miles to the northeast" Louisville,
KY. was the scene Of a destructive tor
sons were killed and seventy-seven bad
ly wounded. On March Is, 1874, Cairo,
ILL.,, had a very destructive tornado,
and on Aug. 5, 1875, series of torna-
does swept Somanauk, Palmyra and
Galesburg, I'll.
One hundred and thirty-four lives
were lost and half million dollars
worth of property destroyed near Erie,
Pa, on the afternoon of July 26. 1876.
Pensaukee. Wis, was the victim on
July Z, 1877, and eight We're killed.
Louisville had another cyclone Nov. 2S,
1879, In which the cloud had a wrench
ing spiral motion, causing terrible de-
struction.
On the afternoon of April IS, 1850, q
series of tornadoes swept through Kan
sas, Missouri and Illinois. At Marsh
field, Mo-, siXty-five persons were killed
and 200 wounded, the property loss eX-