The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1906-06-19
CYCLONE FREAKS.
Straws and Feathers Have Been
Driven Into Hard Boards.
Splinters OF Wood Buried i'm
Steel-What Happened to a
Horse In Kansas.

w AdO happened 10
! Horse In Kansas.
Officials of the United States Weather
bureau have Photographic proof for
the accuracy of statements that it is
possible for straws and feathers to be
driven deep into board fences. trees
and other tough materials. if the
camera is to be relied on, there appears
to be warrant for the story that is fire.
quently told as a joke that in some sec
lions of the country the winds are so
fierce that they blow the feathers off
chickens and other luckless birds.
+. b. Calvert, private secretary to
Pro. S. Moore. has long been interest
ed IN cyclone phenomena. In following
up stories of remarkable occurrences
IN the storm centers of the West, he
has run across facts stranger than fic-
ton. When the incredulous scoffers
laugh at his yarns Mr.. Calvert pro-
duces authenticated photographs to
back up his statements. From these
records it appears that under the iniu-
ence of storm fury, straws and feath-
ers have buried themselves for con-
siderable distance in the banks of trees
and sides of frame buildings; that
splinters of wood have penetrated sec
lions of steel, and that at least one
chicken was stripped 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: 1.-The air pressure at sea
! level is about Is pounds to each square
inch. The pressure on the inside of
objects, even the human body,
is equal to that on the outside, thus
preserving a proper equilibrium. Dis
aster Immediately follows the removal
of this pressure. Contrary to popular
belief, the danger attending tornadoes
is created within and not from the out
side. During a tornado the wind
rushes along at terrific rate of speed
so that vacuum is created in the CEN
ter of the storm. The sudden exhaus-
ton of air in this fashion relieves the
outside pressure from ali objects in the
path of the disturbance. In the case
of building, the result is shown in the
hl1rcfiOO ont Of tho xuo1c H., fouao -
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 chickens. The
air is exhausted so quickly from the
outside that the inner pressure blows
off 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 difficulty in
penetrating the toughest steel that can
be manufactured. The secret of
their success lies in the terrific force
with which they are propelled. In the
same way.. straws, feathers and other
frail substances are made to penetrate
much harder materials. l have pho
tograh of splinter of wood that burr
ed itself in the steel section of the
Eads bridge, over the Mississippi river,
during the st. Louis cyclone.
"The freaks of windstorms were
we'll illustrated during a severe tor
nado several years ago up in Wiscon-
sin. Two horses were tied side by side
in stable, situated only a short dis
lance from the house of the owner.
The tornado swept the earth clear of
everything in it's path. The farmer and
his family took to the cyclone cellar at
the first sign of danger. The house
was ripped from its foundations and
seattle ed to the winds, and the stable
! followed suit. One of the horses was
lifted up bodily into the air and depos-
tied on all tours in the midst of the
farmer and his family in the cellar.
The other horse, which was within
two feet of its companion, was not
touched, not hair of its body being
ruffied."
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