The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-05
A TORNADO AT FIRST HAND.
Personal Experiences and Observa-
lions of n Missouri Author.

in the Whirl of the Tornado" is the
title under which Io5n r Nusicx de-
,
SCI i"' . III me aus uS' ''''Ul "
experience at ms nome III missouri last
spring
To stand ouia,1v for even ten seconds
anu ""l'H 'ie IdI'id "IPIO'N" VI HiSF"-
able doom, TO look utterly helpless into the
face of a devolIrine monster and sDecuIate
on the chances of being swept into etorn-
itv is enough 10 tiiru whine th7 hair of
youth. Old soldiers-veterans of two wars
ana the heroes of scores of batties-assert
that they U.oujd rathe. storm a weli-de-
Tended fort or lead = forlorn hope. than
meet one of these monsters of The air in
accurately srol,en of i'm the Tinted States
as "cvclonesu
II was NV GOOD or IN fortune to he an
eyewitness. n one Of the davastatiner tor
nadoes that often sveen American soil.
About $40 on The afternoon of Aprn n
1899 T left NV housa i'm Kirkesville Mo
ia most some letters The dav had been
rather reroarkaIJe alternating between
suffocating heat and the chiTiness of ear
" spring. Dense black clouds occasional
" rolled across the saffron sky. and show
ers Of rain alteruated with bursts of sun
shine while the wind had been capricious
at times blovinpr i'm eilsts and gales 10 be
followed by a dead calm. II needed no
haronter to indicate an impending atmos-
nberi,, disturbance. for every one could
feel il
Al tho TIM. I starred from INV b0usa a
peptle shower was falling ana took NV
,3rnhrspa vim me A. stenned from Inc
v-esf door i1nor tba veranda "a continuOus
roaring off 10 the southwest burst on my
cars and INV house being on high ground
l had am excellent view i'm thai direction
In me soutbvest NJ the extreme limit
from, which occasional meals of thunder
,ssued ms below The cloud. seeming 10
rest mon tha earth was a whirlins mon
eta, Of vapor dust and smoke. coming
annareutIv toward me with an incessant
and steadily incrsasine, roar The FIRST
annaaranc9 was mar of a huge locomotive
r1nittinp black smoke and steam. and COM
,,,sr a. !, itren1endons eneed The tornado
seeroad s,iddrnlv to tear itself loose from
~ Mol, sto,.-n-,i,1td and 10 advance al
increased snaed rotating from right 10
laft
A. tho sap,e moment 7 discovered that
the course of the tornado was changed,
- tbat il ,,,as e,yeaDino, in a northeast
~ - iir(,ti,, ,b,o'.b ,,bat l. known as
Tibla,s AddIt;on 10 he civ SIS ran
cas- in me direction Of the tornado. 1t
1,al NV crown T., ei1cb gigantic nrOD0r-
ton, maj If seemed to extend from The
,,,i+b 10 tho f,rtbast limit of the east
.,r,, bori9Dp When IL struck the dpuSplV
ua,,,,1sto1 ,,a,+ Of fha civ the continual
asbi,1er and earring Of houses was added
- 49, innnssant runbling and roaring
noaltins an awful sound which sweIled in
,,oi,,r,e ,Dtu Tho Garth trenhIed beneath
o,,r foot rha air was filled with living
Seb,is doors sb,tters roofs and even
u,boie bonses were sent soaring and
u,btYl:re, 10 a., bfgbt Of three or four hun
Trad faet ea9, the wheel Of a wagon
~ carriaea ana the bodies of two per-
Sa,s iviner M, into the storm cloud one
house was lifted inward to a hight of
49, ,oo foet whom II seemed 10 exnlode
INTO a tbouS,nd fragments. which went
soaring wbirline and mingliug with the
o,bar debris -
On If event in its ,lnswervine nortbeas st
course a craat black monster obscuring
~ oastern 81. a 70 ring baleful THING.
befsfnI deyouring devil tearing nm
bo,,see to tbeir fonn7ation stones roar
ine r,robliY,, crasbfng laundering in its
ou,f,,l raee and vel the most terrifvine
snecIacle man over eazed upon untn il
svyent out of siobt leaving a path of
smokine ruins in its wake.
An ola man was found dead on the
,.,a.l- ,eI,,trtt,, bis ,1ool,etbool, in phicb
rvsre sqoo Ms Wiz who Law dead n his