when, from my proximity to the earth, I heard a distant murmuring sound
of an extraordinary nature; I drank, however, and as I rose on my feet,
looked toward the southwest, where I observed a yellowish, oval spot,
the appearance of which was quite new to me. Little time was left me for
consideration, as the next moment a smart breeze began to agitate the
taller trees. It increased to an unexpected height, and already the
smaller branches and twigs were seen falling in a slanting direction
toward the ground. Two minutes had scarcely elapsed, when the whole
forest before me was in fearful motion. Here and there, where one tree
pressed against another, a creaking noise was produced, similar to that
occasioned by the violent gusts which sometimes sweep over the country.
Turning instinctively toward the direction from which the wind blew, I
saw, to my great astonishment, that the noblest trees of the forest bent
their lofty heads for a while, and, unable to stand against the blast,
were falling into pieces. First, the branches were broken off with a
crackling noise; then went the upper part of the massy trunks, and in
many places whole trees of gigantic size were falling entire to the
ground. So rapid was the progress of the storm, that before I could
think of taking measures to insure my safety, the hurricane was passing
opposite to the place where I stood. Never can I forget the scene which
at that moment presented itself. The tops of the trees were seen moving
in the strangest manner, in the central current of the tempest, which
carried along with it a mingled mass of twigs and foliage, that
completely obscured the view. Some of the largest trees were seen
bending and writhing under the gale; others suddenly snapped across, and
many, after a momentary resistance, fell uprooted to the earth. The mass
of branches, twigs, foliage, and dust that moved through the air, was
whirled onward like a cloud of feathers, and, on passing, disclosed a
wide space filled with fallen trees, naked stumps, and heaps of
shapeless ruins, which marked the path of the tempest. This space was
about a fourth of a mile in breadth, and to my imagination resembled the
dried-up bed of the Mississippi, with its thousands of _planters_ and
_sawyers_ strewed in the sand, and inclined in various degrees. The
horrible noise resembled that of the great cataracts of Niagara; and as
it howled along in the track of the desolating tempest, produced a
feeling in my mind which it is impossible to describe.
The principal force of the hurricane was now over, although millions of
twigs and small branches, that had been brought from a great distance,
were seen following the blast, as if drawn onward by some mysterious
power. They even floated in the air for some hours after, as if
supported by the thick mass of dust that rose high above the ground. The
sky had now a greenish, lurid hue, and an extremely disagreeable
sulphureous odor was diffused in the atmosphere. I waited in amazement,
having sustained no material injury, until nature at length resumed her
wonted aspect. For some moments I felt undetermined whether I should
return to Morgantown, or attempt to force my way through the wrecks of
the tempest. My business, however, being of an urgent nature, I ventured
into the path of the storm, and after encountering innumerable
difficulties, succeeded in crossing it. I was obliged to lead my horse
by the bridle to enable him to leap over the fallen trees, while I
scrambled over or under them in the best way I could—at times so hemmed
in by the broken tops and tangled branches, as almost to become
desperate. On arriving at my house, I gave an account of what I had
seen, when, to my surprise, I was told there had been very little wind
in the neighborhood, although in the streets and gardens many branches
and twigs had fallen in a manner which excited great surprise.
[Illustration: [Pastoral Scene]]
* * * The valley is yet a desolate place, overgrown with briers and
bushes, thickly entangled amid the tops and trunks of the fallen trees,
and is the resort of ravenous animals, to which they betake themselves,
when pursued by man, or after they have committed their depredations on
the farms of the surrounding district. I have crossed the path of the
storm at a distance of a hundred miles from the spot where I witnessed
its fury, and again four hundred miles farther off, in the State of
Ohio. Lastly, I observed traces of its ravages on the summits of the
mountains connected with the Great Pine Forest of Pennsylvania, three
hundred miles beyond the place last mentioned. In all these different
parts it appeared to me not to have exceeded a quarter of a mile in
breadth.