The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1905-03-18
CURIOUS CYCLONE FACTS.
improbable Sounding Happenings
May Be True, Says Weather
Bureau Expert.

Officials OF the United States "eolnei
bureau have Photographic proof OF the
accuracy OF statements that 1t is pos
sible for straws and feathers to be
driven deep into board fences, trees and
other tough materials. IL the camera
is to be relied on, there appears TO pc
warrant for the story that is frequently
told as a joke that in some sections OF
our country the winds are so fierce that
they blow the feathers on chickens and
other luckless birds.
e. B. Calvert, private secretary to
Prof. Willis L. Moore, has long been In
terested in cyclone phenomena. In fol-
lowing up stories of remarkable occur
rences In the storm centers OF the west,
he has run across facts stranger than
fiction. When the incredulous SCORERS
laugh at his yarns, Mr.. Calvert produces
authenticated photographs to back up
his statements.
From these records it appears that,
under the influence Of storm fury. straws
and feathers have buried themselves for
a considerable distance in the barks OF
splinters of wood have penetrated sec
lions of steel and that at least one chick
en- was stripped of the greater part of its
feathery covering.
Mr.. Calvert gives the following ex-
PLANTATION of the laws of air pressure,
which accounts for many of the freaks
of cyclones: The air pressure at sea
level is about Is pounds to each square
inch. The pressure on the inside Of OBJ
jects, even the human body, Is equal to
that on the outside, thus preserving q
proper equilibrium. Disaster imme-
diately follows the removal of this pres
sure. Contrary to the popular belief, the
danger attending tornadoes is created
from within and not from the outside.
During tornado the wind rushes along
at terrific rate of speed, so that a
vacuum Is created in the center Of the
storm.
The sudden exhaustion Of air In this
fashion relieves the outside pressure
from all objects In the path of the dis
turbance. In the case of building the
result is shown in the bursting out OF
the walls by the force of the unresisted
inside pressure. This is the explanation
for the presence of so many buildings
without walls that are found In the path
of every tornado. 1t is the same way
with the chickens. The air is exhausted
SO quickly from the outside that the in
ner pressure blows OF the feathers.
1T is a mystery to some people why
armor- piercing shells have points OF
soft steel. But shells equipped with
these soft noses have no difiiculty in
penetrating the toughest steel that can
be manufactured. The secret of theil
success lies in the terrific force with
which they are propelled. In the same
way straws, feathers and other frai
substances are made to penetrate much
harder materials. have photograph
of a splinter of wood that buried itself in
a steel section of the Eads bridge, ovel
the Mississippi river, during the st
Louis cyclone.
The freaks of windstorms were wei
illustrated during a severe tornado sew
eral years ago up In Wisconsin. Twt
horses we're tied side by side in stable
situated only a short distance from thu
house Of the owner. The tornado swep
the earth clear Of everything in its path
The farmer and his family took to tn
cyclone cellar at the first sign OF dan
ger. The house was ripped from IT
foundations and scattered to the wind
and the stable followed suit One of tn,
horses was lifted up bodily into the al
and deposited on all fours in the mids
Of the farmer and his family in the eel
lar. The other horse, which was within
two feet of its companion, was no
touched, not hair Of its body beinl
rufied. The facts in this incident ar
we'll authenticated"