THE NATCHEZ TORNADO. 341 



western side of the Mississippi, seven miles below Natchez, 

 devastating every thing in its passage; thence tip the river, 

 the centre of the annulus being on the western side, and in 

 its passage spread destruction on the plantations and forests 

 for half a mile in width westwardly, and left the western 

 bank at the bend above Natchez, crossing above and con- 

 tinuing its devastating course to the north east. Oppo- 

 site Natchez the centre of the annulus was in the river on 

 the western side, the river being about six-tenths of a mile 

 wide. The wind that desolated Natchez was from the south 

 east blowing inward to the annulus, and onward, forming a 

 curve as it touched the annulus. 



In the course of the tornado over the city in hundreds of 

 instances proof irresistible was shown, that in the rush of the 

 storm over a house, the external atmospheric pressure was so 

 taken off that the atmosphere within the house suddenly ex- 

 panded so as to force an outlet either by blowing off the roof, 

 bursting open doors and windows, driving outward gable 

 ends, or the whole or parts of walls ; on the contrary, where 

 leeward doors or windows or trap doors of the roofs were 

 open, no such destructive effects were produced. For proof 

 of this one meteorological fact, the following cases out of 

 many, will suffice. 



L The garret of a brick house occupied by Thomas Ar- 

 mat, Esq., as an office, was closely shut up, both ends burst- 

 ed outward, and such was the force of the explosive power, 

 that some of the bricks of the windward end were thrown 

 upon a terrace nearly on a level with the end, and at a dis- 

 tance of not less than twenty feet in the face of the storm. 



2. A brick house on the north side of Main street, belong- 

 ing to John Fletcher, had the leeward gable end thrown out, 

 the windward end remaining uninjured. 



3. The windward gable end of a large house adjoining 

 the Commercial Bank, bursted outward against the face of 

 the storm, the leeward end was uninjured. 



