Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/156

145 GOD DEMONSTRATES HIS POWER. 145 water as described by Edgar AUen Poe, was electric- ity, as near as it can be described. Of course wo cannot comprehend its being the last named, so we shall have to call it common wind. The clcfud which does the mischief and works destruction is not fun- nel-shaped, as described by those who have never seen a first-class cyclone; the force which brings the power when seen coming over the horizon is black and of no particular form. There are kinds of prongs reaching down toward the earth, but which change their position because of the rotary motion of the vast electrical motor, which generates the power by the rotary motion it has while going through space. Like a generator or dynamo in' an electric light plant it will knock you down if you come in contact with the force. It is a curious sight to witness the havoc done by a "twister." Whether they are ever right-handed is un- known, but it is known that this one whirled toward the left, (i. e., although the general direction was from the southwest toward the northeast), yet as it moved on its course, it continually was trying to screw itself into the earth upon a left-handed thread, as it were. To make this comprehensive it is only necessary to state that buildings are blown not towards the north- east but will be taken in all directions of the compass; for example, if a house was struck on the west edge of the whirl it would carry the debris south, but if a building got into its way on the south, it would carry the material east. Of course, frequently horses, cat- tle, and buildings liave been taken up boJdJ.y and deposited a long distance away in the track of the destroyer.