Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-06-03

pany for the Chicago Press Of Wednesday, CIV
ing the appalling particulars Of the destruction
OF the village of Ellison, in Waren county, Ill,
on Sunday evening b. a tornado, killing four
teen persons almost instantly ,wounding ten more
it is supposed mOrtally, and injuring some fifty
Jthers Up to Monday evening five Of the
wounded had died, making nineteen victims in
all The account says
The village was farming community and one
Of the older settlements Of that section The
larger share Of the structures, some sixty or
seventy in number, that constituted the village,
were ranged on q single straight street, running
in direction almost east and west, being the
main cOgn.y road running to the Mississippi and
Burlington The road crossed the creek about
half 4 m le from the village, the stream turning
more to the westward north of the road cross
ing.
Between the village and the stream was a belt
of timber of oak and walnut, consisting of large
trees This timber occupied the intermediate
space Of half mile between the village and the
stream, extending close to the vicinity OF the
village.
The surface Is level prairie thence extending
to Monmouth, dead level, and in clear day
the Ellison timber can be seen skirting the hori-
zon from Monmouth.
In this belt of timber the first traces Of the
desolating tornado appear Saturday and Sun
day seem to have preserved very nearly the
same characteristics in the vicinity of the ILL.,
fated village as in this region. Sunday was
showery throughout the day. AS the afternoon
wanad, the sky to the southwest had a most
threatening appearances. 4 heavy bank of clouds
of inky blaekness seemed to rest upon the
sery surface Of the prairie. In the language
Of John McWilliams s'they seemed TO sweep
the very prairie" Mr. MeWilians noted the
approach of the storm from his farmhouse.
about mile north Of the street
He saw two threateningly black clouds meet
apparently about mile west Of the village, with
the widest eomBOtion, and move on towards
the village. The utmost alarm filled the minds
of his own family, and of those in adjacent
farm-houses, but how much less than the ab-
je0t terror Of the villagers, who saw, but rot in
season TO avoid, the destroyer bearing down upon
them. The tornado struck the village about
half-past five O'Clock, and during its continuance
no rain fell. The houses were frame structures
There was large tavern stand and three stores
those of Samuel johnson, Joseph Knowles and
another The appearance of the dwellings
and structuTes after the passage of the whiTl-
wind is described by one eyewitness ''as If one
should tear TO pieces and scatter lumber
ward" OF roofs aud walls, and the various
structures there was seen in many instances
scarcely a trace, as if giants hand had re-
duced and torn them to shreds and spiinters -
They lay scattered over the fields, Here piece
of broken furniture aud there a shattered door,
and beyond an undistinguishable mass of tim
beFs and boards, fOoT beams, ceiling and ralters
Even the bodies Of some of the sufferers were
torn 10 pieces.
An iron safe weighing nine hundred pounds
was taken from JohnsOn's store and carried
tAHty feet.
Horses, cattle, and hogs, were taken up by
the wind, carried in the air and dashed TO the
earth, killed by the fall.
The first trace Of this violence is noticeable
in the Ellison timber, about a mile west of the
village the place described by John McWil-
iams as ''the meeting of the Clouds" thence
on through the timber the evidences Of its force
were astounding.
The trees do not seem to have been pros
frated. They were only so in fact when re-
leased from the grasp Of the angry Storm King
They were pulled up by the roots, twisted, !
turned about, simply, and IN places noticed by |
our informant, it seemed as if they had been !
torn up in groups. as a child would wantonly 1
twist the tops of adjacent weeds and tear them /
from the ground, Trees a foot in diameter /
were thus made the sport of the tornado, and /
we've dashed, crushed and broken to the ground |
The track OF the whirlwind seems not TO have /
been very wide, nor was its course a long one |
Scattered fam-houses about the village in va
rious directions still stand, and though the wind
was high. were uninjured, but of the village /
proper only three small cabins or shanties which 4
were to the southward Of the line of desola.ing /
destruction, were spared, and they alone remain /
of the iIl-fated village of Ellison.
Among the dead are a Mr.. John Hand, his
son, about ten years of age, and babe, the lat
ter OF whom is supposed to have been drowned.
The whole family appear to have been whirled
with the fragments Of their dwelling quite up
into the air, and deposited a considerable dis
tanee from where'the house stood near slough
Mr. Hand was carried about fifteen rods, and IN
his terrible fight received frightful wound in
his side from timber. He survived till the
next morning. Mrs. Hand had her infant in
her arms when she struck the ground, but the
compelled her to let 90 her hold up
on IL, and it was tossed some distance into the /
slough, where she heard Its cry, but owing to
her severe injuries, was unable to attempt its
rescue There she remained all night, her per-
son partly in the water, and in the course Ofits
dreary watches the dead body Of her infant
drilled 10 the shore, and she had It in her arms
when discovered in the morning.
Another family named McWilliams suffered
terribly. Miss Mary Ann McWilliams, about
%; her sister Harriet aged about Is, and her
brother Thomas about IA, are among the dead
and the poor old mOih1r, so years of age-the
only remaining member of the family, except
some older children who were living at a dis
very badly injured The boy
Thomas was not at first conscious ofhaving re-
.afvaI srsur,- md ra-auoI fI.a - -
older sister from he ruins soon after the eatas-
trophe, but he was so badly injured internally,
that he died next morning
W. E Thompson, his wife and child Mrs
Brzzleton and her two children, a son and
daughter. Martin Wentworth, Levina Lancey,
Hiram johnson and child, and two other per
sons whose names were unknown TO the in
formant make up the list of the fourteen in
Staetly killed.
As near as can be ascertained in the confu-
sion which prevailed, about fifty persons were
very seriously and many more slightly injured
Among the injured was Mr.. Samuel johnson,
who has one leg and three ribs bro
zen.
Mrs. Ormand, both arms broken, Mrs Sher-
Eood cut and bruised badly splinter driven
through her thigh. Mrs. Finlay, Mrs. Thomp-
ION, and Patrick Shaw, a stranger, who was
picked up in the road after the storm was over,
we're all badly injured
The only physicians Of the place were Drs.
Hawley and Yoke. The former was, with his
wife, among the more seriously injured, and the
atter DR.. Y, was badly hurt. Both were thus
ncapaeitat@d from rendering any assistance TO
heir unfortunate fellow citizens.
As soon as the first shock Of the calamity had e
'assed, and lis extent began to be realized,
Pecial messenger-Mr. MeWilliams, a brother
fthe young lady and the boy who were killed .
was dispatched to Monmouth for assistance, !
vhera he arrfvad .hous fo4r ofclocE ~, Mond-r