Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1854-09-09

A dis patch Trom CINCINNATI. dated the 19tt
ult, says: The Louisville papers of this morn
ing contain further details OF the effects oftLl
tornado of Sunday. The city yesterday pre-
scented a solemn spectacle. Business was in
n great degree suspended, and the bells were
toIied for several hours in the middle of the
day.
The First Presbyterian Church, where the
funeral services of most of the deceased were
held, was densely crowded. The bodies of the
dead were placed upon a platform under the
tower, and the exercises were commenced by
several clergymen. The spacious yard was
crowded.
At the opening Of the exercises, Rev. DR..
Morrison, who otiiciated ut the i'll fated church,
remarked that on the Sabbath so disastrous to
life, he was requested to preach; but it was not
| generally known that there would be divine
service; hence the small number tibet were as
senbled. Upon the next Sunday it was ex-
pected tina. the pastor recently invited would
be installed. There was not more than eighty
five persons in the house at any time ON Sun
day. During The sermon, which had been com.
menced at later period than usual, a storm came
up, aud the main door of the basement room,
where the meeting was being held, was blown
cIS'. AAh "a Va II ShuISI lululCuIilctE
rose and closed it. Again the door was blown
open, and again closed. a third time the vio-
lence of the wind blew the door open, not.
withstandiug the elder was pressing it at the
time. Instantly the whole house was filled
with particles of sand. and the speaker had his
eyes filled with the fine dust. This caused
some disturbance in the assembly, and most of
the persons present Jumping to their feet, some
,-.,--. ~-t Il H. 49, -
were sitting.
Mr.. Morrison said he had not time to recover
from the effects of the gusts of wind that
struck him with particular fury, before he heard
4 cracking sound overhead. and in a moment
of time after, the tempest blew open the door
with violence, filling the room with sand. The
whole walls had fallen in. Immediately about
the pulpit, in which he was standing, the plas.
tering was not broken, and to his right several
old aides and others escaped unhurt. He ex-
pressed himself as being greatly shocked at the
suddenness Of the calamity, aud when he fairly
recovered from the blindness caused by the
ascending dust, &C., a most terrible sight pre-.
scented itself before him. He saw two men
already dead, the head Of another man greatly
mangled, just appearing among the rubbish, a
lady clasping her child in the agonies of death,
and a young lady with her body across one of
the seats, and her face most horribly distorted.
From different parts of the building he could
hear the groans of the dying, and the stifed
screams of the crushed.
Of the injured, only one, Mrs Marsei, has
yet expired, Miss Duff is in a very precarious
condition. Mrs. Marshall, wife of William
Marshall, is not expected to recover. The other
injured parties are in a fair way for recovery.
Captain Greenlow, of the steamer Memphis,
which boat was badly damaged, thus describes
the tornado:-He was on the forecastle of his
boat when the first blast ofthe hurricane struck
her. He saw the block of houses of Mr.. Beat
ly crumble to the ground, and before he could
utter a warning cry to those around, the storm
was upon him. He clasped his arms around a
stanchion to sustain himself. In an instant he
heard a rushing sound over his head, and a noise
that was like the crack of an immense wagon
whip, and saw the greater portion of his cabin
roof sailing over his head, and alighted in the
river fifty to seventy.fve yards ahead of him.
A moment after, the ponderous hull of the
boat received a tremendous blow, as it were.
and was whisked from its moorings over a reef
of rocks, in about the space of time required to
draw breath.