snaps treet trunk

Another quarter mile of walking and they came upon something that caused the two Savages to draw to a halt and become very quiet.
It was a coconut palm. It lay across the way, toppled and twisted in a most extraordinary fashion.Doc Savage was the first to speak.
“If I am not mistaken,” he ventured, “this palm has been subject to the identical destructive forces that toppled the masts of the Courser.”

Doc Savage: Skull Island, Chapter 27


“CAPTAIN CLARK SAVAGE, SENIOR, walked around the fallen palm, frowning darkly. It was a very thick specimen, fully three feet around. He gave his full attention to the splintered mass that was the stump. It remained attached to the fallen bole by long twisted strands of tough wood. It was evident that something powerful had brought it down.
“Kong?” wondered Doc.
“Nonsense!” retorted his father. “A hurricane could have done this. I have seen tropical cyclones that have uprooted entire groves of stout trees and twisted railroad tracks into fantastic shapes, by the relentless action of their concentrated wrath.”
Doc looked around. “There are other trees,” he pointed out. “They stand untouched.”
“A freak of nature,” Savage hurled back. “Tornados have been known to pluck children from their mother’s arms and deposit them safely in treetops or upon barn roofs.”
“I do not question this. But this break is fresh and there are no signs of tropical disturbance in the vicinity.”

Doc Savage: Skull Island, Chapter 28