The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-24

THE GREAT MIDDLEVILLE CYCLONE.
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BY w. L. ALDEN.

Yes, sir, remarked the landlord, as
he sat tanning himself on the veranda
OF the Vaudeville hotel; las you say,
this town has sprung up like a musk
rat in the night. Why, only five years
ago there were only two houses here,
and now we have the biggest popula-
tion of any town in northern Mime
sofa. The two houses were pretty
small ones, too. Mine stood just where
this hotel is standing. and it was moth
1 ing more than one-story, two-roomed
shanty Captain Martins house, which
generally stoou on a knoll about a
quarter of mile from here. wasn't
much bigger
What DO you mean when you say
that your neighbours house generally
stood on knoll?" l asked. Wash t
II IN the habit of staying in the same
placer"
Why, what with cyclones, and
cloudbursts, and one thing and an
other, that thSre house did do con-
siderable travelling while it was in
this section What became of it after
II left here, l can't precisely say, but
l rather think ii made its last journey
when it went down to West Antioch.
IL was a curious sort of house, being
put together with ropes instead of
nails, which was probably one reason
why 1t lasted as long as it did.
You See," continued the landlord,
L was the first settler here. 1 took
up quarter section of land, and with
the help of two mules and a Norwe-
glan, L put up my house and went to
farming. About six months later. along
comes Captain Martin, and allows that
ne VIII farm the quarter section next
TO me. lie was man about go years
old, who had been a seafaring man all
his days. and like most seafaring men
he wanted 10 be a farmer. though he
didn't know beans from a bulls foot.
First along | thought he was a sociable
sort of old chap, and he and me used
spend our evenings together But L
found out that he wouldn't take advice,
and when l told him that he was a
blamed fool for building a house on
knoll in country where cyclones were
almost as common as snakes, he got
mad and dropped my acquaintance.
He was as touchy as he was opinion
ated. which is saying a good deal.
Well, he built his house with the
help of couple OF men from LuculluS,
which at that time was the nearest
settlement to US, and was considered to
be seven miles from here, though now
that Vaudeville has grown clear up to
the southern boundary of Lucullus, it
don't seem to be so far away. l told
you that Martins house was put to-
gether with rope lashings. The captain
said that no land carpenter knew how
to build a house, and that he didn't
them ship-shape. His house !
was much the same thing as mine, eX-
Cept that it had a veranda on one side, !
where the captain used to walk up and |
down and look at things through a |
telescope.
Between my land and Martins there /
was the high road. though at that time /
1t wasn't often that anybody passed |
over it: and by the side of the road |
and just at the foot of the Captains /
knoll, ran the PomDonoosuc river. 1t |
don't look much like a river at this
time of year. and you could jump
across it most anywhere, but just you
wait till the spring freshets set in and !
you'll admit that it is right smart of a
stream. I've known half a dozen men
sober men, toto be drowned in the
POmponoosuc, which is more than the
L,ucullus people can say for their mis-
erable little river. One of the last
things that l said to the captain be-
ore he and me had a GOODNESS was that |
he had better dig a cyclone pit. You
know what that is. 1 suppose No?
Well then, III tell you. It's just a hole
n the ground, about six feet deep,
covered with a trap door When you
zee a cyclone coming you get into your
.yclOne pit and shut the door until
he trouble is over. It's the only safe
way, for if you stay in your house
-Oure liable TO be crushed to death,
md if you stay outdoors, the cyclone
will pick you up, and carry you to
-ingdom come. But old Martin wouldn't
lear of digging a pit. He allowed that