160 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



house or barn was perched upon some high "divide" or on the brow of a steep 

 dedine, in fact upon any marked rise above the surrounding level, the tornado 

 cloud by reason of some mysterious effort of clemency would rise from the 

 earth and pass over them. This is a careless and unreasonable supposition when 

 the facts are known. It does not seem to occur to the mind of an observer that 

 there is no reason why the tornado cloud should not follow the rolling surface as 

 well as the plain. 



The tornado cloud pursues a general course to the northeast without regard 

 to the character of the earth's surface and if your buildings are in the line of its 

 destructive path, whether upon a hill, in a valley or within a ravine they are sub- 

 ject to its violence. Western towns as a rule are not built upon high "divides" 

 but more frequently sheltered between neighboring hills. The same may be said 

 of farm buildings, it being the prevailing custom to select building spots along the 

 low bottoms of a stream for convenience to water and timber, and for protection 

 from the continued heavy winds that break over the open prairies. 



From the above facts it will be seen, that there is very little opportunity of- 

 fered the tornado cloud to display its violence on the hill-toijs, even though it 

 were so diposed. Repeated investigations have shown that buildmgs were de- 

 stroyed with as great violence and completeness upon high lands as upon low 

 lands, but the largest number in valleys because of the facts above cited In 

 many instances the funnel-cloud has passed from one ridge to another, doing 

 damage on both, but skipping the intervening depression. Again it has followed 

 high "divides" for several miles when they coincided with its general course of 

 movement. Ridges and valleys are almost invariably crossed at right angles 

 when their courses are from northwest to southeast. 



Electricity — The rain and hail which sometimes precedes and at other times 

 follows the tornado cloud, but always accompanies the heavy clouds which form 

 in the north and west is not always but generally attended by lightning; some- 

 times most violent manifestations and then again but occasional flashes. The 

 most terrific displays are reported during the heavy precipitation which often 

 occurs after the tornado cloud has passed, some ten to twenty minutes. Very 

 often its darting flash is observed in the dark clouds which begin to rise above the 

 western horizon an hour or more before the storm. 



What relation ?ias electricity to the formation and power of the tornado 

 cloud ? Most persons are utterly at a loss to account for the terrible manifesta- 

 tions of the prodigious power presented to them by the destructive effects of the 

 wonderful cloud formation. If they make the least attempt to philosophize upon 

 the subject, they are determined to assign the cause to some mysterious interfer- 

 ence of electrical force. Whenever a piece of iron is bent, broken, twisted or 

 carried a considerable distance, a tree torn up by the roots, or clothing snatched 

 from the body, it is attributed to electricity. The fact that it does not appear in 

 the funnel-cloud is explained away by supposing that its subtle presence produces 

 powerful effects through some incomprehensible modification of its usual charac- 

 ter. There is a dogmatic predisposition to attribute everything, the result of un- 



