The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1860-06-19
DESTRUCTION OF A TOWN.

The Western papers bring the particulars of the
destruction of the late town of Camanche, IN ILL
nois, bv the terrific tornado on the Attn inst. A
correspondent of the Chicago Press, who visited
the spot, says:
The tornado struck the town little past 7
o'clock, and in less than ten minutes the whole
was in ruins After it had passed, the town was
all afloat with water, all that could, began to run
from place to place. screaming at the top of their
voices, calling for friends and for children In
every pile of rubbish, and from every demolished
house, the groans of the dying and wounded were
heard, and as the sound came from every part OF
the town. no one knew where to 20 first. The
darkness occasioned by the black clouds, the air
being filed with rubbish of every conceivable char
acter, and the near approach of night, rendered
the scene still more appalling, and such wall OF
amentation sorrow and woe, never went up from
any place in the history of tornadoes as did from
this ruined and destroyed city. Nothing could be
found to bind up the wounds of the suffering, no
medicines were to be got, and the walls of the
mother over her dead children, the anguish of a
wife over the feless remains of husband, the
father over his slaughtered children, hunting in
vain for his wife-all these were scenes that can
not possibly be described.
In one family all that was left were three little
girls the father and mother and two children,
having been instantly killed. We saw where a
fence board had been forced clear through the side
of house, end ways, and hundreds of shingles
had forced their way clear through the clapboard
of house
We visited the grave yard, and saw twenty
eight graves side by side, all dug, waiting to re-
ceive the rough boxes containing the remains OF
the slaughtered people. The loss of property is
immense and can never be known to It's full ex-
tent. Three men on the raft have made their
appearance. In this vicinity, near Sterling, the
wounded are dying almost every day, and every
farm house is hospital for the dying and wounded.
Horses and cattle are lying in every direction,
killed from the effects of the Storm The build
ings look though they had all been torn In small
fragments scattered over the whole country, and
feathers from the bedclothcs line the ground, and
then all had been over-swept with rushing waters.
We went into one building where were fifteen
bodies, some maugled in the most frightful man.
ner, and only wrapped up in sheet and put into
rough box, ready for burial.
From Sunday evening to Monday noon, one
physician had visited ninety lone wounded, and set
twenty-three broken limbs We saw twenty light
dead bodies, and there eighty-two that re-
qure strict medical attendance, and many more
that are more or less hurt, yet are able to be
around. In addition to this number, twenty-eght
were swept from a raft in the river that pass
ing at the time, and ten yet missing from the
town, that are supposed to be buried in the ruins,
or are blown into the river and drowned. With
the exception of half dozen houses on the north
side of the town, every single building is either
torn down, unroofed, otherwise damaged.