340 The Iowa and Illinois Tornado. (July, 
of the sky was clear. Saw a mass of clouds whirling 
contrary to the hands of a watch. The whirling mass 
appeared to be about 60 degrees high when dire¢tly opposite. 
A smart shower fell some time after the tornado. 
On Malcum’s farm the roof of a stable was blown to the 
south-east. This was the first damage done by a north-west 
wind. ‘Two hundred yards south of the stable a fence was 
blown toward the north-west and north. The storm, after 
becoming destructive, had travelled 14 miles before it 
developed force sufficient to commit destruction by a north- 
west and south-east wind. 
The breadth of fences thrown down on the farm of 
T. Dawson, Section 31, Lancaster Township, was about 
60 rods. The outhouses, &c., were damaged. A cultivator 
weighing about 200 lbs. was carried or dragged 30 feet ; it 
presented to the wind a surface of not more than 3 square 
feet. If it was carried, the lifting force of the wind must 
have been between 60 and 70 lbs. per square foot. The 
ground showed no signs of its having been dragged. 
M. Williams, lawyer, Section 32, Lancaster Township. 
watched the storm as it approached for about one hour; it 
was afew minutes after 2 P.M. A cloud rose in the west, 
which, stretching to the north-west, presented the appear- 
ance of heavy rain. Previous to the approach of this cloud 
the sky was nearly clear. The wind during the day was 
southerly. About twenty-five minutes after the tornado the 
wind was again from the south-west. The storm-cloud did 
not extend far past the zenith to the south. Saw the funnel 
distin@tly. It alternately lengthened and contracted, rose 
and fell. When it contracted, it appeared as if the narrow 
point next the earth was cut off, leaving the lower end 
broader. At times the upper end appeared to reach the 
overhanging clouds, and at times to be not so high. It 
was of a dark blue colour when 250 yards distant; when 
300 yards distant it subtended an angle of about 75°; the 
angle subtended by the top of it at that distance was about 
55- It had a zigzag motion. Half an hour previous to the 
tornado there was incessant lightning in the north-west. 
Heard no thunder. There was no lightning in the tornado. 
A little rain and hail fell just before the tornado, and a 
smart rain-shower about twenty minutes after it. Heard 
that to the northward there was a terrific storm of rain and 
hail, accompanied with thunder and lightning. The wind 
was south generally during the day. As the tornado ap- 
proached the wind changed to a little east of south. Saw 
the dark funnel strike the ground on my farm. Saw it 
whirling contrary to the hands of a watch. This witness 
