368 The Iowa and Illinois Tornado. (July, — 
with wooden handles, was carried 150 yards. The 
strongest iron-bound machinery was utterly destroyed. The 
young trees in the orchard were either barked or torn out. 
The storm was exceedingly violent for a breadth of 
150 yards, but fences were blown down for nearly a mile ~ 
wide. At,the house of Thomas Davidson, a quarter of a 
mile to the north, the wind blew so strongly that the door 
had to be held. The north wind was evidently subsequent 
to the east wind, because the house could not have stood 
such a wind. 
A. Davidson, Highland Township, Section 7, witness :—It 
commenced to rain about ten or twenty minutes before the 
arrival of the tornado. Shingles and other stuff began to 
fall with the rain. Then went out to see where they came 
from. Saw the tornado about 30 rods distant ; it appeared 
to be coming toward me. Saw it bend to the south-east ; it 
was funnel-shaped, and as black as possible; it whirled; 
thought it whirled with the hands of a watch; it passed 
20 rods to the south of the house, and bent again to the 
north-east. When 30 rods distant from the house it sud- 
denly disappeared. Afterwards saw another funnel, not 
reaching to the ground, travelling toward the north-east. 
When first seen it appeared to be only 60 feet above the 
ground at its lower end. ‘The farther it went the higher it 
seemed to get. 
Mr. A. Davidson’s house is situated } a mile east of where 
J. M. Davidson’s house stood, and a little north. The 
shingles and other material he saw falling came from his 
brother’s house. The following sketch shows the direction 
Fic. 30. 
a, Davidson’s House. 6, Major Davidson’s House. c, Disappearance. d, Fence. 
of the storm-path after leaving Major Davidson’s place 
until it ceased to touch the earth as a funnel; 20 rods south 
of A. Davidson’s house it crossed a fence, exhibiting the 
same appearances as those already described. I was parti 
cularly careful upon this point, because of Mr. Davidson’s 
