Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-06-08
Awful TORNADO.
From 1so to 400 Lives Lost
TERRIBLE EFFECTS OF THE STOhM
NEAR DEWITT

On Sunday last, terrible tornado, mol
destructive IN its consequences than any thu
ever visited this country, swept over portion
of johnson, Linn, Cedar and Clinton counties
in an easterly direction, extending int
Whiteside county, ILL.,, and perhaps furthel
The details below, which We have gathere
partly from our exchanges and partly fror
persons who have been on the ground Of tn
disaster, are horrible in the extreme. Til
force and fury of the storm appears to hav
been more terrific than any We eve
heard of. Nothing could withstandit. Tree
were torn up bodily and carried through tn
air-houses raised from their foundations ant
scattered in fragments over the country
fences completely demolished, and . genera
work Of destruction wrought May tn
country be spared the repetition Of this awful
calamity!
Iron the Davenport Gazette. 5th.
A terrible tornado visited the Northern
part of johnson county, on Sunday after
noon, the Sd inst. An eyewitness of the
D8oS0Ko Oh tuo oSVkW 6OAVoS VIZ SVNos
Rspids road, represents that the lirlwind
was about two hundred yards in width, and
swept everything before it-houses, barns
trees and fences - and scoOpinI of the
plowed ground Of whole fields carrying il
high in air.
The Postmaster at Scion ststes that the
storm passed about four miles north Of that
place, uuroofsd q church and injured a
number Of other buildings. Three lives are
reported lost, and several persons missing
about Z O'Clock. sI ..yj
The city of Camanche was completely
destroyed, ha dly building being uninjured,
and most of them completely demolished
The Willard Hotel is q mass Of ruins, and
the wife and two children Of Mr.. Sessions,
,ns proprietor, are among the killed. The
Mudgett House was also destI Dyed. The
store and dwelling house of Mr.. Westphal
wa. demolished, and he and his whole fam
ily were buried. When our informant left,
Mr.. W.'s four children had been dug ont.
and they were searching fog his body. At
one house. . woman had gone out to milk
her COW, leaving her two children, when
the tornado struck the house, and carried
it with its inmates bodily into the river.
When the news reached Clinton, the
ferry boat at once got up steam, and con-
veved several hundred people to the scene
of ruin. and the Martin Walt brought q
number more, who all went to work to ex-
tricate the victims, and relieve the wounded.
The hurricane also destroyed the town OF
Albany, ILL.,, and extended its ravages into
Illinois some six or seven miles. Only two
houses we're left standing in Albany, and
th.u ware hadly shattered.
The ferry boat ut Camanche was blown
to pieces. as we're also some RATS that were
living there. From one of the RATS fourteen
persons are missing, and about halt dozen
from the others.
The storm appears to have made clean
swath through Clinton county, carrying
with it churches, hotels. mills, farm houses,
&c. Whole families are missing through
the county. The house of MIR. Hatfield,
some seven miles FROM Camanche, contain.
ing himself and family, was carried away,
and not vestige can be found OF the house
or its inmates. ..-- 49,.
Whom the Martin Walt left Camanche,
forty-two bodies had been recovered.
Countless mangled and halfdying people
were lying around the ruins.
Mr.. Warren Lawton of Princeton has ar
rived in town, and says fifty farmers were
killed. fs
from the Davenport Democrat, 5th.]
INCIDENTS.
From Mr.. D. 9. Aldrich, of Wyoming,
Iowa, whe was upon the ground yesterday
morning, and who called upon US last
evening, We learn some Ut the incidents OF
the terrible catastrophe.
MIR. Brooks, one of the few survivors, Gays
he can liken the sound of the tornado a. 1t
approached, only TO that Of an earthquake,
the whole earth trembling terribly.
In Csmanche, q mother was discovered
living dead with her little infant in her arms,
upon whom no visible injury could be found
the breath of life having departed from
both. Another woman was found lying dead
with her tao little ones by her side.-all
three cold and stiff. A woman, the top OF
whose head was completely severed, was
found lying by the side of shattered
building her death must have been sudden
and terrible.
Our informant says that the shrieks of the
wounded and dying were awful, and ne
hopes that God may spare him another such
scene. Mothers and fathers rushing around
wildly for taeir dear ones, children seeking
parents, tears and lamentations, all added
to the horror of the scene.
The wind appeared to have had pretty
much the same effect as would plow,
dig ring deep burrows and trenches in the
earth, and tearing to pieces everything that
came in its way.
Is PERSONS KILLED NEAR DEWITT.
We have from Mr.. G. @. Johnson, of tho
firm Of Bowman & Co., Of this city, full
particulars of the storm at Dewitt. He left
that place at o'clock yesterday, arriving
IN this city about II o'clock, this forenoon,
having returned by private conveyance. Tho
storm did no material injury in the town Of
Dewitt, but passed about half mile south
of it. Mr.. johnson informs US that at about
6 O'Clock Sunday evening he was sitting in
an upper story window of . house in Dewitt
when he observed the tornado coming from
the West. 1t looked something like q
water.spout, dark in appearance and very
small. 1t gradually drew nearer. but was
over half an hour arriving at point directly
south of the town, when its work OF destruc'
ton could be plainly seen. There was some
wind at Dewitt, bat it did no damage there
A very heavy rain succeeded the wind. M
johnson says the appearance of the sky and
atmosphere during the storm was indescrib.
able. A lurid light appeared to shine from
the heavy overhsnging clouds, giving every
thing yellowish hue and producing a
oppressive sensation.
After the storm passed over, it was dis
covered that tho traSk:: of the whirlwind wa
about quarter Of a mile wide. The follow
ing is taken from the memoranda OF MI
johnson - he passed over about eight mile
of the track Of the storm, extending some
four miles east Of Dewitt:
Mr.. Purcell, wife and daughter, injured b.