The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-12-02
A Torpedoed
Tornado q q
ny YRANK L. POLLOCK

~ himself within q few miles Of his
home. at Fayette, In southeastern
Ohio. and he decided to drive over and
spend Sunday there. But Paul Mat
thews and his wagon were not . well
would not allow him to drive within
its limits. and he had to leave bis
wagon q mile outside.
This was due to no personal pre1u-
dice. II was because he was BY pro-
"well-shooter," and that red
painted spring wagon, with the red
flag, carried 80 or 40 pints Of nitro
glycerin, in small tins packed snugly
in padded frames.
The business of the well-sho0ter II
well understood in the oil regions, and
his wagon becomes a familiar, though
always an alarming. sight. When an
oil well ceases to flow. q charge OF
high explosive fired at the bottom Of
the tube will often stimulate 1t into
activity again. Il is the business OF
the well-shooter to supply this slim
ulus, and he drives about from place
to place with q cartload of nitro
glycerin, and everybody allows him to
take the whole road when he passes
Matthews had taken up the business
from the natural propensity Of youth
to run big risks for the chance Of large
profits. He was growing accustomed
to the risks, but the profits were not
what he had expected, and 1t had BE-
come distinctly unpleasant to be ter
rifying object wherever he appeared
Moreover, he found that the continual
presence and odor Of the nitroglycerin
tended to produce ~iolent headaches
and nausea
He had left his wagon In . little
patch Of woods to the west Of the VII
lage. The horses were staked out by
long ropes. and every day he walked
out to feed and water them. There
was no danger OF anyone's meddling
with that outfit Its red flag was pro-
lection enough.
A little after noon on Saturday he
went out to attend to his team.
through oppressive heat and dust II
had been very hot for q week. A
.
up. but with no GOODNESS in II, and the
sky had clouded slightly with cop
perry tint The wind drove vast clouds
OF dust in Matthews face as he walked
up the road, and before he reached his
outfit he was convinced that Q heavy
thunderstorm was coming up.
This made him hasten to gel
through his duties, for he had no de-
sire to remain near his wagon during
such a disturbance. A thunderstorm
is one Of the terrors of the OIL dyna-
miter. for, apart from the danger oi
his wagon being struck. there is al.
ways the possibility that . heavy
shock of thunder may explode the
cargo by mere concussion.
When Matthews came out from
among the trees to take another lool
at the weather, however. he wa,
startled by the appearance Of tn,
western sky. A dense bank Of darl
blue cloud was rolling up rapidly
blowing out in ragged streamers. q
If torn by a powerful gale. Alread.
1t was reaching halfway to the zen
ith, and the sun shone dimly through
reddish haze. In a few minutes
more this was blotted out, and
strange and chilly dusk fell upon tn
earth. The horses were snorting an,
stamping with fright. The storm de
veloped SO rapidly that Matthews q
| first had hardly recognized its nature
But now the indications were onl,
too clear. Twice in his life he hai
seen tornadoes. They are not 80 com
mon in the middle west as upon tn
the plains, but veritable "twisters" d
occasionally sweep across that region
and 1t appeared afterward, in fac
that this was q sort of offshoot Of tn
cyclone that almost wiped out tn
town of Pike Springs on the same day
1t was coming apparently straight to
ward Fayette. and Paul's first an
natural inclination was to run 10
some shelter.
He was not much alarmed for hi
own safety until the thought Of hi
wagonload of explosives occurred Z
him. The shock of the cyclone woul
certainly explode it. Should II 60 o.
where 1t stood. the resulting damag
would be comparatively slight: but
would almost certainly be lifted froI
the ground by the suction. and th
tins Of nitroglycerin dropped and e,
ploded all over the neighborhoo,
} They would certainly be carried te
ward Fayette, and the tornado itse
would be a comparatively minor peri
Matthews stopped and tried to thin
of something to do. A hole In til
ground, a cellar, would be the onl
safe depository for the dangerous ou
ft; but It struck him that the ravir
of Jackson's Creek might furnish
substitute.
The creek was a small one, but
flowed at the bottom Of a deep, ma
, row ravine which 1t had cut throus
: hard clay. II the wagon could |
placed in that gorge. he thought,
would be pretty certain to stay ther
, and do nothing worse than blow u
the creek-bed. But the creek was
mile away. in the direction Of the OF
coming tornado.
Matthews did not stop, however.
think of his fate IL he were caugl
halfway. or Of the impossibility
getting the wagon safely down Il
, precipitous sides Of the ravine shou
he reach II. He was used to takir
big chances. and this seemed the on
one, big or little. He began to hit,
I'D the horses with haste.
q The animals were growing more ~
more uneasy. and II seemed to take
a--.----