Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-07-02


In Nebraska tho second story Of an
the first was left, 80 little shock being
given to tile building by the violent
removal of the upper half that the
disturbed and continued to tick as
usual.
A still more curious freak was played
by the wind in a Kansas dwelling, A
double house, with a hall in the
from which the cyclone was approach
ing. When the storm was seen the
residents took refuge in their cave and
listened to hear the fal, Of their home.
A terrible crash was heard, and they,
Of course, supposed that the house had
gone. On emerging, they were surprised
to sea the house standing as before,
but were almost paralyzed with
astonishment to find that the north
east wall Of the dining-room, which
was on the opposite side of the house
from the direction the storm came, had
been blown out, the furniture, tables,
dishes and all other contents bad been
carried off and crushed to atoms, and
no other damage had resulted to any
part of tho building. So curiously in
explicable phenomenon is enough to
encourage the belief that is said to
prevail in some rural districts in
Kansas and Nebraska, that the cyclone
Is the direct work of the Prince of Air
and its tracks are caused by his whim-
steal love of mischief
1t is noted as one Of the strange re-
suits of the Sherman cyclone the other
day that, although when the storm
burst all it's victims we're fully clad,
the tempest coming at about O'Clock
in the afternoon, the bodies OF the
dead were often nearly naked, and from
nearly every corpse the shoes had been
removed. A similar phenomenon has
| frequently been observed in connection
with these fearful storms. Generally
the shoes disappear, being either torn
to fragments 80 as not to be recog-
/ nizable as footwear or carried off to
considerable distances and dropped in
places where, if found at oil, they ex-
cited little comment. In several in
stances, however, the shoes have been
found close to the bodies of the dead,
and in condition that indicated very
powerful electrical action.
When the early cyclone story tellers
told how the feathers were stripped
from domestic fowls, people laughed al
the vivacity of their imaginations, but
these narratives have been confirmed
in go many instances that incredulity
now is dispelled. Picking chickens
may seem to be small business for an
able-bodied full-grown Kansas cyclone,
but the cyclone does it, and does il
we'll, for, as rule, the bodies OF the
fowls caught in its grasp are com.
pletely stripped. Chickens are not thu
only sufferers, however, for rabbits and
cats caught in the whirling wind are
denuded of their fur as completely al
the fowls of their feathers. They ART
not skinned, but stripped, the agency
being probably the same and thu
action identical with that which rendt
the clothing from the bodies of men,
In almost every case the animals arr
killed, though here and there, after {
cyclone, half naked chicken or badly
singed and worse scared cat may bt
seen in a state of bewilderment as Il
what has happened. Whenever
cyclone passes over spot the water il
. the wells and cisterns is sucked ou
and disappears. The same phenomenon
occurs in the case of springs, which
are drained to such an extent that the,
, sometimes fail to run for many minute
after the storm has passed. The waite
of ponds is carried away and the bed
of creeks and small streams bocom
visible. Instances have been known o
the water being drawn from buckets
= pitchers and other receptacles Will
these are left undisturbed, and in on
, case a boy was churning in the yart
and fled at the approach of the cloud
On returning it was found that th
, cover of the churn, the dashor and th
buttermilk had all vanished, while th
churn, to the boys great disappoint
9 ment, was loft standing exactly a
U before.
One Of the most disagreeahle feature
. . of the Cyclone is the amount of muc
u sand and small stones it CARRIES, an
'. with such force are these Borne aon
that they are driven into the hest
= whore they form fostering sores yer
y stubborn and difficult to treat or cure
:. In many instances fragments of plank
y or boards have been driven point first
. into or through the trunks of lare
= Il trees, and remain there as secure {
. though mortised into the wood, sue
=. is the terrible strength of tho wint
70 Able to demolish the strongest stru,
= lures, the cyclone leaves the ruins of
70 rstone -four mill in a condition wbic
. suggests that the four walls wei
blown outward by an explosion, an
yet passes over a baby sleeping in i
y cradle, amid the remains of its parent
- home. 1t has been known to carr
y away a stove and leave the flowers {
80 the manteIpiece above 1t: pass over
- frame shanty and demolish brio
u factory building; to carry away ii
~ ~ bedding and leave the bedstead;
u dismember human being and drc
=, the body in one place and carry Il
- head milo further. Science b
u made wonderful strides in our tim
! but 1t is not yet able to tell us he
=, these things are done or what is Il
~ mysterious agency by which thoy a
W " performed.
o. In the Track of the Storm.