Year: 1877

We have had one here quite recently.
Iowa has had hers as well, and water
spouts after all are not very great Curl
osities; however, we will tell you some
thing about them. A waterspout Is
apparently column Of clouds or wa
ter, appearing in certain cases between
dense cloud above, and the surface of
the sun or land below, and reaching
through part or the whole of the in
| tervening distance. Its general form
approaches more or less nearly to that
of cone, or of double cone, the least
diameter in the latter case being near
the width Of its height land parts or the
whole extent of it can be seen, even at
considerable distance, to have rapid
horizontal rotation. This wheeling
movement of the spout OF column is
universal; and the fact shows that the
phenomenon is in all cases associated
with or dependent upon some form Of
wheeling wind. By many French
writers the name tronabe is given to



latter being distinguished as trortbes de
mer. When the lower portion of a
proper waterspout begins to form,
whether before or after the commence
ment of the upper, the sea at the place
of the lower base, and over an area Of
perhaps two yards in diameter, is OBJ
served to be greatly agitated, the waves
tending rapidly towards the center of
this area with leaping or boiling mo-
tion, and large body of vapor and
spray, with perhaps much water, in
large drops, rising quickly in sort of
trumpet form, and usually, as already
stated, to meet the descending portion
from clouds above.


Usually, the column disappears at
the last, as if its substance were drawn
up or absorbed into the clouds over
head; or else, quite as commonly, it
terminates in heavy fall of rain, and
sometimes in a descent of water, in
an almost continuous or solid mass,
which, on land, deluges the narrow To-
calities receiving it, and is popularity
expressed by saying that 'the clouds
burst or break"


The notion prevails among seamen,
that the whirl may be broken, and the
column dispersed by firing cannon shot
through it, but is not positively known
to be founded on fact. During the
elevation Of the temporary island of
Sabrina from the bed Of the ocean, near
St. Michael's in the Azores, June 0 and
-, 1911, the projected vapor condensed
above into immense clouds, through
which stones and lava were thrown
from the newly formed crater, and be-
meath which, as they moved slowly
away in a horizontal bank at a
given altitude, a number of waterspouts
formed, not fewer than 300, as reported
and full 800 feet in height.


In 1917 waterspout is said to have
burst in Lancashire, England, which,
for the distance of mile or two, tore
up the ground to depth of seven feet
so as to lay bare the undertaking rock.
Major Sherwin describes remark
able exhibition of waterspouts observed
by him at Dumdum, eight miles north
east.of Calcutta, October Z, 1926 on thu
occasion of the setting in Of the north
east monsoon, which came in confiic
with the existing southeast monsoon
and had for some days previously dis
turbed the dense cloud bank lying along
the southern slope Of the Himalaya
and giving varying movement to the
heavy clouds covering nearly the whole
sky. During the afternoon the vino
lulled, and soon after from the horizon
tai base of heavy cumulus, th'
height of which was found by trigono
metrical measurement to be 1900 feet
while the cloud itself was 5000 feet
long and 5000 feet in depth, from base
to summit, a bulging or protruding por'
ton was observed, from which broad
pale column like an attenuated cone
suddenly descended, its lower part be
ing seen to gyrate rapidly from right tt
left. The duration of the spout pre-
vious to the so-called bursting of tn
cloud was about 25 seconds; and the
water covered grassy plain to the ex
tent of half square mile, and to th'
depth of about six inches, requiring
fourteen days afterwards to drain off


The real and primary cause Of all es
sential parts of these phenomena is
without donbt, the whirling movemen
set up by some means in the air; though
in what way this is competent to produce
some Of the results, is not yet know
and the subject evidently requires fur
ther examination.


AT THE FRONT.