The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-18
THE TORNADO JUDICIAL.
How 1t Settled a boundary Dispute.
From Ainslee's.

From Ainslee's.
Back in the early summer of 1893
two men were sitting on one claim in
Western Oklahoma. They had been sit
ing there for some months--in fact,
ever since the opening of that particu-
lar part of the territory. In the rush
that had attended the opening one
man had staked out the section. The
other had been first at the land Office
and filed a claim to occupy it. Thus
arose a controversy such as was match
ed by hundreds of others in different
parts of the territory.
THE two men had entrenched them
selves and watched each other with
shotguns in their hands for the first
few days. Then one hoisted flag of
truce and proposed temporary COM
promise. The terms of this cornpro-
mise were that a line was to be drawn
across the quarter section, and that
each was to keep his respective side
of the line Each was to build him
self a temporary shack and put in
crops with the understanding that
both crops and shacks should revert
to the legal owner of the section when
the case came to be decided by the pro-
cesses of the slow going courts OF law.
The fact that each permitted the other
to do this was not to preJudlce the
case of either when it finally came up
in court, and 1t was understood that II
either one ventured over the dividing
line the other was at liberty 10 nave
recourse to the shotgun.
Thus the matter stood for some
months, and each man kept a sharp
eve on the shack ~of his neighbor and
left his loaded shotgun within easy
reach. Then, one day, when the sun
heat down with a scalding heat that
made ploughing impossible, strong
wind blew up--a wind that seemed TO
blow out of the very mouth OF Inferno.
"Great masses Of clouds, swiftly
shifting and changing hue. now black,
now purple. now greenish-yellow, roll
ed up in the southwest me Iarmers
that had come from Kansas and Mis-
souri, retired TO their cellars, II they
nossessed such Injuries, and the ten
derfeet got out their cameras ana pre-
nared TO photograph the wonderful
cloud ere, Is. The clouds shut out the
sim. and there arose subdued MUIR
nour that DEVELOPED first into trem-
ulo,is buzzing and then into a sullen
roar. 1890.
came a. wonderful pillar. dusty-gray
column that looked IKE tHt toNNt @"~
OF a gigantic balloon. The column
was indistinct at hrst but Il ad-
vanced across the pralries with the
speed OF an express train, and as u
came nearer and nearer the buzzing
sound Increased TO a roar that was IKE
O hundred Niagaras
ggmith, the man who occupied one
side OF the dead line on the DISPUTED
quarter section, was from Northern
Missouri. When he saw the shape OF
the yellow balloon tail he called 20 MS
wife and they made a run for a NJ
lie hole he had dug IN hts front ward
They let themselves IN and closed the
trap door that covered u, ana then
both lay low, waiting for the shock
they knew were coming.
Zones, On the other side o. the line,
saw these maneuvera but being from
Eastern Tennessee. ~ thought only
inst BE neigh Dos might be intending
30 reopen bosflDeH. End 90 he took
down hif shotgun and taf in NE shack.
rIfh bic aiming eye and hiH fHaeer
30 hed feMhrd enc fse1 fns
'Fts resring ina fafNf from tbs 40