He went early this morning to get the wheat
ground at the mill."
"Och, the crathur! He's surely drowned. What boat could stan' such a
scrimmage as this?"
I had my fears for poor John; but as the chance that he had to wait
at the mill till others were served was more than probable, I tried
to still my apprehensions for his safety.
The storm soon passed over, after having levelled several acres of
wood near the house and smitten down in its progress two gigantic
pines in the clearing, which must have withstood the force of a
thousand winters. Talking over the effects of this whirlwind with my
brother, he kindly sent me the following very graphic description of
a whirlwind which passed the town of Guelph in the summer of 1829.
[Written by Mr. Strickland, of Douro.] "In my hunting excursions
and rambles through the Upper Canadian forests, I had frequently
met with extensive wind-falls; and observed with some surprise
that the fallen trees lay strewn in a succession of circles, and
evidently appeared to have been twisted off the stumps. I also
remarked that these wind-falls were generally narrow, and had the
appearance of a road, slashed through the forest. From observations
made at the time, and since confirmed, I have no doubt that
Colonel Reid's theory of storms is the correct one, viz., that
all wind-storms move in a circular direction, and the nearer the
centre the more violent the force of the wind. Having seen the
effects of several similar hurricanes since my residence in Canada
West, I shall proceed to describe one which happened in the
township of Guelph during the early part of the summer of 1829.
"The weather, for the season of the year (May), had been hot and
sultry, with scarcely a breath of wind stirring. I had heard distant
thunder from an early hour in the morning, which, from the eastward,
is rather an unusual occurrence. About 10 A.M., the sky had a most
singular, and I must add a most awful appearance, presenting to the
view a vast arch of rolling blackness, which seemed to gather
strength and density as it approached the zenith. All at once the
clouds began to work round in circles, as if chasing one another
through the air. Suddenly the dark arch of clouds appeared to break
up into detached masses, whirling and mixing through each other in
dreadful commotion. The forked lightning was incessant, accompanied
by heavy thunder. In a short time, the clouds seemed to converge to
a point, which approached very near the earth, still whirling with
great rapidity directly under this point; and apparently from the
midst of the woods arose a black column, in the shape of a cone,
which instantly joined itself to the depending cloud. The sight was
now grand, and awful in the extreme. Picture to your imagination a
vast column of smoke, of inky blackness, reaching from the earth to
heaven, gyrating with fearful velocity - bright lightnings issuing
from the vortex - the roar of the thunder - the rushing of the
blast - the crash of timber - the limbs of trees, leaves and rubbish,
mingled with clouds of dust, whirling through the air; - you then
have a faint idea of the scene.
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