The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-08-31 00:00:00

A FEARFUL TORNADO.

The American papers of the 13th inst. publish
lireounts of the terrible tornado which burst at Wal-
lingford on the evening of the 9th. The names of 32
Persons killed are given, and of very many injured, it
Was estimated that property was destroyed in Walling-
ford to the amount of 150,000 dollars. Right in the path
of the gale stood the Roman Catholic church, hemmed
in on three sides by a cemetery. The church was a plain
one, worth, perhaps, 1€ es than 2,000 dollai s. The storm, to
lodge from the appearance of the ruin, ploughed into the
foundations, preseing them away from the framewok,
Then the walls, side and back, were crushed in. and the
roof fell so as to cover all completely. A more complete
Wreck than this church could not have been made ex-
cept by fire. It is literally a lilat'd of firewood. As if
to make the deva-tation more complete, the wind car-
ried laths in masses a mile over the ridge to the east,
and flung them down in the fields broadcast, like a
Owing of seed. Opposite the church were several
'Atte tenements, all occupied by large families. In
this spot, an eighth of a mile on each side of and oppo-
e!te to the Roman Catholic church, the great less of
life occurred. It is a remarkable fact that every per-
son killed was a member of the Roman Catholic
church. In one of the houses lived Mrs. Downes, a
middle-aged woman. She was whirled away 600 feet,
and was picked up dead and almost naked. A hay-
stack on John Lynch's farm was carried an eighth of
A mile, and then dropped upon the side of the hill.
The correspondent of the New York Times says that
)1 twenty minutes after the storm broke the rain
stopped, the wind abated, the sky cleared, and night
came on. But a dreadful search had begun for dead
and injured persons, The Town Hall bell was rung.
A report of disaster spread through the town. The
falling of the telegraph wires prevented communication
that way to neighbouring towns, but physicians in
Meriden were soon on the way to attend the wounded.
Men, women, and children were picked up in the open.
Twohey, who had been whirled more than a
9uarter of a mile through the air, was taken up dead.
The Roman Catholic priest directed that the old school-
house should be used as a morgue. The bodies were taken
there until 21 had been collected. In a room 20 feet
Nuare,surrounded by black boards and hung with maps,
were laid out the disfigured corpses. All of them were
Packed in ice, and the water that dripped from the
plain pine boxes had collected in a pool nearly an inch
deep. All the bodies were horribly cut. A touching
group was that of the bodies of Mrs. Holdie and her
two children. Mrs. Holdie's wounds were frightful.
She had been struck in such a way that her head was
flayed from a line drawn across the eyebrows clear back
to the ears. Near her was the dead body of her six
Months' old baby, with an expression of astonishment
on its face, a terrible gaping gash an inch wide on the
little temple, and several other deep cuts on the
head. In a corner was the body of Frederick
Littlewood, a grave-looking man of forty-five. His
death was a sad one. He was a carpenter,
and had recently come from Pennsylvania, where
he had been at work, to take employment on a
new house in course of construction for Postmaster
Rubbard. He and his wife were a very affectionate
couple, and she was accustomed to meet him as
.he went
home from his work at night. On Friday night she
Met him as usual, and they walked home along Colony-
Street. The storm came upon them—the first patter
of rain—when they reached Brown's house, the first
dwelling next to the Roman Catholic church. Leaving
his wife for shelter in Brown's he ran on to their house
to get an umbrella. The storm burst in a moment;
ne was struck with a flying timber, the back of his head
Was crushed in, and he was picked up a few minutes
later a corpse.