113 TRANS. ST. LOUIS ACAD. SCIENCE. 



in the profile of Diagram i) than on the ridges between them. 

 In the first ravine from the west, a dozen trees were broken 

 ofi', while on the bluffs comparatively little damage was done. 

 The next ravine was part of Mr. Johnson's garden. Some 

 boxes, weighing several pounds each, were lifted from the 

 bottom of this ravine, some being carried about 300 feet in the 

 line of the storm, while one was carried about 200 feet to the 

 west. In the third ravine, several rods of fence were thrown 

 down towards the west. 



Mrs. Willie, of Pleasant Ridge, 4^ miles due north, stated that 

 she " stood on her porch and saw the top line of the tornado as it 

 passed over Collinsville. It passed like a railroad tiain,and was 

 so low — I never saw the clouds so low down before. The top of 

 it seemed to pop up and down." This motion of the tornado she 

 indicated by placing her hands together, dropping them sud- 

 denly, and rapidly raising them to their first position. "'It moved 

 very fast, and was gone right away," was her expression. We 

 were enabled to get a very clear idea from this lady as to its 

 height above a belt of timber half a mile away, and from this 

 data we determined the altitude to be about 500 feet: this has 

 been the nearest approach we have been enabled to secure of the 

 height of the vortex. 



Mr. Geo. Matthews, living some three to four miles northeast, 

 noticed the low clouds over Collinsville. " Two clouds from 

 opposite directions seemed to meet, and passed still lower"; saw 

 black smoke above it in a peculiar shape, and still above this saw 

 objects — he could npt tell what they were — which looked about 

 the size of a board ; but acknowledged that he could hardly see 

 an object so small at that distance. The objects were coining 

 dozoH ; he was sure he did not see them go up. Heard no thun- 

 der and saw no lightning. He spoke of the air presenting a 

 very peculiar appearance ; seemed to be in diflerent shaded 

 strata and quite marked. 



Mrs. Lanham lives two miles northeast ; "saw heavy clouds over 

 Collinsville which seemed to come from the northwest, and were 

 lower than those already over, and moving more rapidly ; one, of 

 a dark green color, seemed to be whirling, shaping itself in a 

 bulbous form. At the bottom of the slim portion, just above the 

 tops of the houses, a hazy appearance rose up, and through this 



