The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-07-29
How 1t Furnishes and
Spares Its Victims.
FAIR SAMPLE OF ITS FRANKS
Which Show the Marvellous
Maneuvers Of These
DeStrOyers.
MIRACULOUS ESCAPES RESULT

The American Magazine has been
Offering prizes for the best letters
in contest entitled "The Best Sto-
ry | Ever Heard The prize-w win
ming contributions are published in
the August number. Following is
an extract from the letter that won
second prize. 1t is true story of
the freaks of an Iowa cyclone:
"Mr. r.. his wife, and eight child
rem were living in Iowa, near the
city of Grinnell, on as pretty farm
as one would wish to see. After a
very hot day, the three littlest folks
being fast asleep in bed. the older
members of the family sat upon the
porch in the early evening, longing
for cooling breeze. The air had
been hot and lifeless all day and
sunset brought little relief, though
gathering clouds gave promise of a
cooling shower
About eight o'clock strange
rumbling sound startled them; it
was not thunder and at once i'm
pressed them with sense of peril.
for the roar grew louder each min
ute. A hasty glance to the west
ward showed a black, funnel-shaped
cloud coming toward them with an
ominous roar and frightful speed,
and with wild cries of A cyclone,
the cellar!' Mrs. r. caught up the
baby, the father seized the two 9TH
err sleeping children. and all made
frantic rush for the cellar door.
The foremost one had scarcely
reached it when a terrific crash ov-
erwhelmed them. The house was
apparently lifted up bodily and
dropped. driving some of the tim
bers into the earth like tent pegs.
"Mr. r. felt himself lifted in the
air. and the next minute was reused
by terrifying plunge into cold wa
ter. which brought back his scatter
ed senses. He had come down head
first into the we'll! Instantly rising
to the top, gasping for breath, he
felt something floating on the wa
ter. 1t proved to be his live-year-
old son. dazed and frightened, Meth
er of them hurt by their airy flight.
The pump had been torn away by
the cyclone, leaving a two-inch iron
pipe standing straight up in the
middle. Raising the boy to his
shoulders Mr.. r., by the help of the
pipe. managed to work his way to
the top of the well, long hard pull,
with mind full of dark forebod-
ings. Making his way over the dis
NAL wreckage of broken timbers
and PROSTATE trees he found his
wife with two of the younger child
rem, trembling with terror but UNI
hurt. The eldest daughter came
running from the orchard with the
baby in her arms: she had found
him upon the ground umhurt. and
he had not even cried.
THE three boys We're calling
from the cellar, where they were
imprisoned. The stove. organ, and
a heavy desk had coasted in when
the floor had been dropped askew,
and il was hard task to set them
free, but they too. were safe. 1t is
almost unbelievable that a cyclone
that had scattered their coy home
along the prairie for mile or more
and had not spared enough to make
"A respectable henhOuse. had left ev-
cry one of that large family unhurt
except for few minor bruises. The
barn was gone, but there stood the
thirty head of cattle still tied to the
stanchions, only one injured so that
il had to be killed, and the two
horses unframed"