﻿382 
  ON 
  THE 
  CAUSES 
  OF 
  

  

  to 
  much 
  greater 
  distances. 
  There 
  was 
  no 
  general 
  rain, 
  but 
  hail 
  and 
  

   rain 
  accompanied 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  bodies. 
  The 
  tornado 
  lasted, 
  in 
  

   any 
  one 
  place, 
  for 
  but 
  a 
  few 
  seconds 
  : 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  damage 
  done 
  

   at 
  a 
  farm 
  having 
  been 
  accomplished, 
  as 
  the 
  farmer 
  stated, 
  while 
  

   he 
  was 
  passing 
  from 
  the 
  front 
  to 
  the 
  rear 
  of 
  his 
  mansion, 
  so 
  that, 
  by 
  

   the 
  time 
  that 
  he 
  reached 
  the 
  back 
  door, 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  perfect 
  calm. 
  

   Meanwhile, 
  his 
  house 
  and 
  barn 
  were 
  unroofed, 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  neighbouring 
  

   trees 
  thrown 
  down. 
  The 
  noise 
  which 
  accompanied 
  the 
  phenomenon 
  

   was 
  by 
  every 
  witness 
  described 
  as 
  terrific, 
  being 
  best 
  exemplified 
  by 
  

   the 
  rumbling 
  of 
  an 
  immense 
  number 
  of 
  heavy 
  carriages. 
  Every 
  object 
  

   in 
  its 
  path 
  was 
  bespattered 
  with 
  mud 
  on 
  the 
  side 
  towards 
  that 
  from 
  

   which 
  it 
  advanced. 
  Houses 
  looked 
  as 
  if 
  roughcast, 
  and 
  individuals 
  

   were 
  so 
  covered 
  with 
  dirt 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  disguised. 
  

  

  Some 
  thunder 
  and 
  lightning 
  attended 
  the 
  tornado. 
  Some 
  trees, 
  

   which 
  resisted 
  the 
  onset, 
  yielded 
  subsequently; 
  and 
  hence 
  were 
  

   piled 
  upon 
  those 
  which 
  had 
  fallen 
  earlier. 
  The 
  weaker 
  trees 
  were 
  

   undermost, 
  and 
  pointed 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  tornado 
  ap- 
  

   proached 
  ; 
  while 
  the 
  stronger 
  were 
  on 
  the 
  top, 
  pointing 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  

   in 
  which 
  it 
  moved 
  away. 
  

  

  Four 
  different 
  places 
  were 
  noticed, 
  where 
  all 
  the 
  trees 
  lay, 
  with 
  

   their 
  summits 
  directed 
  to 
  a 
  common 
  centre. 
  In 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  

   these 
  localities, 
  the 
  house 
  was 
  unroofed, 
  and 
  the 
  handkerchief 
  and 
  sheet 
  

   were 
  lodged 
  within 
  the 
  fissures 
  in 
  the 
  walls, 
  as 
  already 
  stated. 
  The 
  

   windows 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  house 
  were 
  all 
  broken, 
  and 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  glass 
  

   thrown 
  outside. 
  From 
  the 
  evidence, 
  Mr 
  Espy 
  infers 
  that 
  the 
  apparent 
  

   height 
  of 
  the 
  tornado 
  was 
  about 
  a 
  mile. 
  He 
  states 
  that 
  there 
  were, 
  

   on 
  the 
  same 
  day, 
  two 
  other 
  tornadoes 
  about 
  seventeen 
  miles 
  apart 
  ; 
  and 
  

   of 
  which 
  the 
  nearest 
  was 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  distance 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  New 
  

   Brunswick. 
  He 
  conceives 
  that 
  the 
  phenomena 
  all 
  concurred 
  to 
  demon- 
  

   strate 
  an 
  "inward 
  motion 
  from 
  all 
  directions 
  towards 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  

   tornado, 
  and 
  an 
  upward 
  motion 
  in 
  the 
  middle." 
  These 
  statements 
  of 
  

   Mr 
  Espy 
  are 
  confirmed 
  by 
  professor 
  Bache. 
  

  

  One 
  fact 
  of 
  some 
  importance 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  mentioned 
  by 
  Mr 
  Espy, 
  

   which 
  was 
  observed 
  by 
  persons 
  who 
  were 
  upon 
  the 
  ground 
  during, 
  or 
  

   soon 
  after 
  the 
  catastrophe. 
  I 
  allude 
  to 
  the 
  partial 
  withering 
  of 
  the 
  

   foliage 
  of 
  those 
  small 
  trees 
  or 
  shrubs, 
  which, 
  from 
  their 
  suppleness. 
  

  

  