The June 10, 1840, Arkansas State Gazette carried this account of a tornado that devastated Little Rock, including the steamboats at its landing.
A weekly paper, the Gazette appeared on Wednesdays. It seldom used paragraphing to break up the blocks of type — which was teeny by today's standard — but we have added paragraph breaks here to make it easier to read.
"Pie" is a printing term meaning a disorderly mess of split type.
TORNADO
On Saturday morning last, about 2 o'clock, our city was visited by one of the most severe gales of wind ever experienced in the recollection of the oldest inhabitant. The wind first came from the south, then shifted to the west, and blew with increased violence, in an almost incredible short space of time, it was coming like big guns, from the north; considerable damage was done to many buildings and steam-boats.
As far as we have been able to ascertain, the following is the extent of the injury to our city and the boats at the landing: the frame of the new theatre was levelled with the ground; the Star printing office rendered untenable, press broken, and matter all knocked into pie; the gable end of Mr. Lindsley's brick building, occupied by Mr. Amos, as an academy, blown in. A house belonging to, and occupied by Mr. Armstrong, on the north side of the river, was completely demolished, the family making a very narrow escape with their lives. — Several new frame houses in the west end of town were blown down. The steam-boat De Kalb, lying at the landing, had her chimneys blown down, and was otherwise much injured, as was the steam-boat Victoria. The keel-boat Western Trader had one of her wheel-houses blown off, and several cases of dry goods on board damaged by the water.
The only personal injury which has occurred, we believe, is that to Captain McCrea, United States Army, who had one of his legs broken, and was severely bruised in other parts of his person.
We had almost forgotten to mention the escape of the flag of the Tippecanoe Club, which took its flight in the midst of the storm, and was found next morning at considerable distance from the pole on which is was raised — emblematic of the fate of the Harrison cause.
The storm lasted about thirty-five minutes, during which time the rain fell in torrents. We hear that formidable quantities of lumber have been destroyed; the largest cotton wood trees were snapped asunder like pipe stems, and the majestic oaks torn up by the violence and resistless force of the warring elements.
A Section on 05/26/2019