Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1913-04-10
Cycione IN South
Dakota q Years Ago

BY Col. +. I. cressey IN Sioux Falls
The Omaha calamity is a reminder
that South Dakota had a cyclone on
Aug Is, 1884. I did not see it for my
duties as regent Of the state univer-
sity required me to be in Vermillion.
| was publishing the Daily Leader in
Huron and took special care to have
a full account of the storm. AS my
family, my Office force and every citi.
zen of Huron saw it, the account in
the paper was fairly correct.
It was a delightful day In early au.
tumn. Only leecy clouds swan lazily
over the sky. The temperature was
normal. About 4 o'clock a couple OF
ladies living in Wolsey, twelve miles
west of Huron, noticed a white cloud
about the size OF 3 telegraph pole
rapidly drifting on end to The east. "A
little later residents of the west part
of Huron saw it coming rapidly to.
ward the city. It's form had changed
to thatfof a monster funnel, the 30
foot spout swaying back and forth in
the air. It looked like a great demon
of the sky-its long arm searching
the earth for victims.
Its appearance was alarming; it's
size was immense. A church bell
was rung and in a few minutes hun.
dreds of people we're in the streets
Notwithstanding the weird stran
ger.
As it rushed along it swayed over
the fair grounds and did some dam
age, then changed from an easterly
direction to a southerly course and
followed the main street to within a
block of the railroad. Here the cloud
came down and struck the ground,
throwing up a of earth which
entered the upper part, then bounded
into the air and moved rapidly toward
the northeast for a mile, then down
it came and struck the James river,
as though it were seeking for a cool
ing drinR to quench its fiery heart.
1t scooped up a wide swath of the
stream and sprinkled it over the grass
for a quarter of a mile. The next
victim was Ridson's barn, which was
demolished. His son, George, was
about to drive the stock into the
barn but the destroyer got there first.
No damage to the stock or to George.
Now it passed a short distance to
the southeast. My comrade, Cooks
house and barn lay in its path and
forty of his chickens were hiking
around searching for their evening re
past. Down came the demon, burst
the buildings as by an internal ex-
plosion and killed all the Chickens
stripped them of their feathers. Cook
fowl. The Cooks were away from
home. And then a half mile to the
southeast; there it hung in the air for
several minutes and threw off four
smaller demons, suggesting the thot
that 1t was proud of its strength and
had descendants who could descend
and initiate the parental example
when ordered to. One of the young
ones struck the earth like mad.
Now the demon swept away south
easterly, .espied a barn, dropped into
and destroyed it, carried its two hor.
ses into the air and dropped them half
a mile from Where they belonged. One
of the animals was unhurt and cam
back to its former lodgings for sup
per. He slept out of doors in a barn
less bed.
Just once more the demon came
down like a wolf in the fold,n this
time on a farmers cabin where his
wife and daughter were at work. They
saw it in time to reach the cellar arxi
its northeast corner. The house was
blown away but the women were un-
hurt. Several crooks of butter, stored
in the northeast corner of the cellar
were carried away.
All these freaks and contartions In
the air were seen by hundreds of HUI
r%onites, who a testify to the correct
ness of this account. / add one of
their testimonies-that of Mr.. s.. w.
Glenn, then and now the government
weather observer. Being quick with
pen and crayon, he made five draw
ings of the scene and had photos of
them made. They are found in his
annual report of 1855 to the depart
ment. | had slides made Of them and
used them in my s~tereopticon lectures
This cyclone was of value to scien-
lists. They had never positively
known what was the inner d~astrov;np