30 JOURNAL OF THE 



paratively few trees had been disturbed. In this central space, 

 however, the trees were piled upon one another in seemingly great 

 confusion. Examination showed that in most cases the trees at the 

 bottom (the first to fall) had fallen toward the northwest, and (on 

 the north side of the path) even toward west northwest, while those 

 on top had fallen toward the northeast. Even on the northeast side 

 of this cleared space just alluded to, the larger portion of the trees 

 were left standing, for the distance of some 300 yards, where the 

 storm crossed the C. C. R. R. 



Near the railroad the storm crossed a ravine, and then ascended a 

 gentle slope, and moved on partly through cleared fields, and partly 

 across groves of trees, over somewhat hilly ground, for a distance of 

 about two miles, retaining its width of about 500 yards. Over this 

 distance, there was abundant evidence of an increasing violence of 

 the storm. Every house in the path had been torn down, even to its 

 foundations. Oak and hickory trees, 8 to 12 inches in diameter, had 

 been broken or twisted off at 6 or 8 feet above ground. Beyond, the 

 course of the tornado passed through an extensive forest of Long- 

 leaf pines, thinned out in places, and occasionally interrupted by a 

 cleared field. Through this forest extended a road, and on both 

 sides of this road extending in a general northeast course, were 

 located the negro cabins which made up the town of Philadelphia. 

 As many of these cabins were loc ited on the ground passed over by 

 the storm, all such were torn down and many lives lost. 



It was along through this region, in the position of the fallen pines 

 and the scattered debris from the houses, that the general spiral 

 m^ovement of the winds — in a direction opposite to that of the hands 

 of a watch — was more clearly shown. Near the beginning of this 

 region, the path of the storm rapidly widened out from 500 to 1,500 

 yards. And for a distance of five miles very few trees of any size 

 were left standing in the storm's path. There w^as, too, a good deal 

 regularity in the positions occupied by the fallen trees ; especially 

 on the south side, and across the centre of the path, the trees nearly 

 all lay parallel to one another. The positions are shown by a cross 

 section of the path ; distance in yards indicating the distance from 

 the southeast side. Starting from the southeast side and going di- 

 rectly across loward the northwest, at right angles to the course of 

 the path, for the first 400 yards, trees lay toward the north north- 

 east. 



Between 400 and 800 yards trees lay toward the north. 



At 800 yards trees lay toward the north northwest. 



At 900 " " " " " northwest and others w. n. w. 



