dirt and loose material and became a very dark mass of matter, and presented a frightful appearance as it traveled forward with a velocity of a mile in four or five minutes. Such was its character as it approached the village of Ercildoun.

Jos. Brinton, who resides at Newlin's station, on the Penn'a and Delaware Rail Road, states that he observed the storm carefully as it came from the west. He was standing on his barn bridge at the time, and on looking over the high hill at the west of his residence his eyes were directed to a point just above the funnel of the cloud. He saw the clouds rise up at the circumference to a great height, and then pour over into the central cavity from all sides; this continued for some time. The funnel next appeared in full view, after the space of ten minutes. Then the body of a tree appeared above; it appeared motionless, and grew larger and larger as the cloud approached—the tree being carried with the storm; finally it disappeared. The body of the storm-cloud was now full of missiles, having the appearance of millions of birds sailing through the air, the whole moving mass being of a very dark color. As it moved forward these missiles were discharged in every direction. The conical column now became very tall, and was of a white color, in appearance not unlike the under cloud of a great rain storm. As clouds of smoke and dirt rolled up through the mass and were carried around by the rotary motion, the appearance was that of an immense building on fire. He pronounces the sight to have been awfully grand, and terrible beyond description.

APPEARANCE OF THE STORM-CLOUD WHILE MOVING THROUGH JOSEPH BRINTON'S FIELD.

With a view of having correct data of the tornado, and placing the same upon record, in company with my friend and schoolmate Edwin Walton, of Highland township, I passed along the route of the storm-cloud. The first point of observation was near the residence of Jos. D. Pownell, Lancaster Co., Pa. He gave us a short account of the cloud, and of the movement of the currents of air which formed it. As he sat upon the front porch of his residence, he saw a strong current of air blowing from the south-west. To the north a storm had just passed, and a powerful current set in from that direction and blew directly across, coming in conflict with the current from the south-west. The whirl commenced on their coming together, and was set in motion about half-a-mile from his house and one mile south-east of the Gap station. This rotary motion or "whirl" probably resulted from the resistance encountered by these opposing currents of air, in their attempt to ascend vertically, there being less resistance in a lateral than in a vertical direction. The first movements of the cloud thus formed were of a decided character. Some children that were playing in a field near by, saw the danger ahead and fled to a lime-kiln, thus saving their lives. The cloud now reached a stream of water, and Mr. Pownell says the water was taken up and carried into the funnel of the cloud, leaving the bed of the stream dry.

It now approached his house with a continuous roaring sound, and he fled within. It passed along the north side of his house, overthrew his orchard, destroyed part of his corn crop, carried an apple tree fifty yards, and cut a track 150 yards wide and proceeded in the direction of Sadsbury Meeting House. His loss was about $300. The first building struck was a tenement house on the property of Elwood Pownell. It was located on the top of a hill that overlooked the surrounding country; an old colored man named Robert Johnston occupied it. The building was leveled to the ground. He stated that he was coming up the hill as the cloud approached, and sought safety by leaning against the bank and holding firmly to the fence; he was not injured. He is now living in the cellar of the house and crawls out into daylight when it is necessary; no movement is being made towards rebuilding his dwelling. Loss, $200. The storm-cloud next passed over Elwood Pownell's property. His wagon shed and carriage house are gone, and a large number of his apple trees was overthrown. His farming utensils were swept away, and the barn itself was moved fourteen inches from its foundation. The fences on the property were more or less demolished, but his whole loss was not very great. He states that his father-in-law was paying him a visit on that afternoon, but was unable to get home in the evening as his carriage was seized by the storm and carried away. Mr. Pownell further states that he saw the wind coming, and with the greatest difficulty reached the house, being unable to find the door-latch after he got there. He also experienced great difficulty in breathing. His loss was estimated at about $200. The storm now passed in the direction of a property on which Thomas Bonsall, Jr., resides, distant about one mile from Christiana. Two-thirds of the roof of his barn was carried off, and the eastern gable end fell with a crash, as the wind struck it. His orchard was destroyed, and also many of the fences on his property. The loss sustained on this property was about $300.

About a mile distant from Mr. Bonsall's buildings was a barn, said to be owned by a Building Association of West Chester. The roof of this building was carried off, and about $200 damage was sustained. The storm-cloud had now acquired rapid motion and passed with great violence over the property of Frank Paxson, who lives almost directly east from the other properties mentioned. Mr. Paxson is quite an old man, and told his story with considerable frankness. He was lying down on that Sabbath afternoon and had his attention suddenly called to a great roaring sound without. He had scarcely time to go to his front door and examine the situation, when his large stone structure encountered a tremendous blast of wind, and all was over in a moment. He then looked out upon the scene: his barn was entirely demolished, and also all his out-buildings. The trap door of his house was carried off, and all his carriages and farming utensils were gone. The trees near his dwelling, strange to say, were saved, while his orchard was uprooted from one end to the other. I observed one of his large apple trees, not only blown over, but carried about fifty feet from its proper place. Mr. Paxson evidently felt his loss deeply, but was cheerful. We asked him if he had received assistance from any source? He replied—"not any." He was slowly beginning the work of "reconstruction," but his place looked desolate indeed. His grain was stacked, and bore evidence of having been severely handled by the storm. His loss was estimated at about two thousand dollars. The next property in the track of the storm was that of Madison Irvin. Part of the roof of his barn was gone, and his wagon shed was overthrown; a few fences and trees also were swept away. One hundred dollars would probably cover his loss.

We were now beginning to advance up the North Valley Hill, and were about three miles from Parkesburg. This hill, on its north side, is heavily wooded, and a great number of small properties is located along that section. Some of these men are poor, but had succeeded in securing for themselves small homes and residences. Stables here and there dotted the hillside, and a long line of forest trees extended in a northeasterly direction as far as the eye could reach. The great storm-cloud, in its onward movement, traveled over several of these properties. Wayne Woodland owns a farm of about seventy acres as the rise of the hill was reached. He had a full force of