The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-12-05
BILL ARP GETS IN CYCLONE.
STORM GAME WITH DREADFUL
FURY.
just AS He was About to Speak a
Cyclone struck the Town and the
Audience WAS Terror Stricken.

''Ah'' olNlShtn. /
Some good people called me over
here To Blue Mountain, Miss, and |
came. My wife suid | had better 20,
Tor the winter WAS at hand and the
family needed cloth 5 and she was
obliged to play old Santa Claus, rs
usual, and provide some Christmas
gifts Tor the children and grand.child.
rem. That is u good part Of her life
ana happincss-plcasing the children.
She never asks for anything for her
self. She don't have to. The girls
tell me what she needs and surprise
her with it II | have the money, and II
haven't strain my credit and get it
anyhoE. Professor Lnwrey called me |
here TO talk to his college girls, for he
Is u noted educator and has 26O girls out
mere In the woods and is building up
an institution that Is the pride OF North
Mississippi. He got four other towns
TO ION him In the call, and so | lectur-
ed In Tupelo last Monday night to a
large audience in u large house and
found u warm welcome. 1t il Wonder
lul now these old towns are looming up
and taking on new life. Twelve wears
ago was in Tupelo and thought it
was pretty dead. | had only about one
undre people out to hear me then,
and this time thcre were neal four hun.
dred. Prosperity has done 1t. Ten
49, "ilN " SoOIoh HILL IsS uODS
1t; Mckinley had nothing to do with it.
Last night was billed for Ripley
u nice Old court house town not far
away. The evening betokened a storm
and by night the lightning WAS lash
ing necessarily all around the horizon
and the thunder pealed heavily. Couu-
try people became alarmed and hurried
home, for everything seemed ominous
OF coming trouble. There seemed to
be something In the elements that was
preceding over us, and sure enough
thore was. The courtroom was about
nail lull OF people who had dared to
venture out to boar me. Suddenly tho
storm came with fearful fury. There
was an awful roaring sound from the
Southeast that was like the sound Of
many waters. 1t hushed the audience
into a solemn silence. | did not take
the platform, but waited. In 8 few
minutes some wild, excited messengers
came rushing up the stairs and called
Tor the doctors and other help, for the
cyclone had come and torn up every
thing in tho suburbs aud killed men
anu women and children. The night
was intensely dark, but the mon rush
ed To the rescue in haste, and thu lee
ture programme vas broken up in u
twinkltng. Everybody hurried to their
BONES or to the scene Of the disaster.
" ''N 81 ""Aui Vilis Il ~ w SlOIc .
What u mcrCiless thing it Is How
quickly 1t comes ana rs quickly goes,
leaving swift destruction in its track.
Happily IT gives no warning, for the
terror and apprehension would be
worse than death. This morning we
reJoiced TO learn that nobody was
killed, though many were badly wound
ed. some houses were wrecked and
blown away and many were unroOfed
/ ana soma wnrp SGT m trn ipp \, m
was lifted up and carried away and
thrown to the ground in the woods,
with only a lew bruises. How strange
that so few people are killed by u
cyclone. 1t seems providential, and
this morning the question discussed at
the breakfast table was whether God
or the devil was the author OF these
} terrible ~visitations. One said that the
spirit OF evil was still on the earth and
was ever contending against the spirit
of good, and this spirit brought fam.
Inc, pcstilcnce, fires, storms and all
disasters.
Another said that all these things
came from naturaI causes, and thai
neither Cod nor the devil had any
agency in them. Another quoted from
| job where the Lord delivered him over
TO Satan, who WAS going to and fro
upon the earth and walking M and
NV" ~ y hS dhItCbcu JOD a"IullV,
but was not allowed to take his life,
Another quoted from the Snvior's
words when He said "Think YOU
that those upon whom the tower OF
, Sloan fell were wicked above all PEG.
pie? | tell you nay but unless we re.
pent yc shall perish"
, Professor John Fiske, q very grea,
and learned man, has written q little
book called The Mystery of Evil" |
have read it twice and found but little
comfort or philosophy in it. His argu
ment Is hat evil is OF divine creation
and designed to illustrate and cxal,
the good. That but for sickness we
would not appreciate or chi ~ good
health. But for an occasional famine
we would not enjoy the blessing Of abun,
: dant fooC and but for sin we would not
enjoy Heaven. His book leaves you
Just where it found you, and the
, mystery Is still unexplained. We know
that God loves His creatures, and that
ls enough. Not a sparrow falls to the
ground without His notice, and He did
) net wish to destroy Nineveh, where
there were 600, 600 people and much
cattle. And much cattle" That was
always q very significant expression tC
me.
Well, | had to come here from Rip
ley by private conveyance. We had 8
Boou Ieah Dut Inc rOaQ was fearful, Tor
1T had rained pearly all night. Mr.
Pitner, an old Georgian, had the lines
and aid not an icipate trouble, but
when We got to the river we found the
lowlands flooded on both sides for a
quarter or q mile, and after we crossed
the bridge the horses plunged sudden.
ly into u washout and submerged us
into deep water. 1t flowed into the
buggy and over 1T and up to the cush.
Ions, and for q time we were both
alarmed for G u OF a collapse. But we
got out OF 1t safely, and here | am with
u valise full OF wet clothes and no
change for tonight. Here | am at the
college and will have to stand up be-
lore Two or three hundred pretty girls
tonight. Fortunately MIR. Lowrey Is
about my size and says he will lend mo
some garments while mino are being
renewed at the laundry. Hard, hard,
indeed, l. the contest for freedom and
the struggle for Christmas money.
cyclones and floods are pursuing me
anu disturbing my tranquility. But
one thing more may come which |
cannot tight, and that is a Methodist
revival, for like a cyclone, they are
terribly In earnest and always break
me up. Old Simon Peter Richardson
says In his book That tho Methodists
are all ire and the Baptists all water,
anu some others are all wind. hope
they won't all come upon me at once.
IRrN An A I