New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-04-16
The Late Tornado,

The Evansville Ind1ana) Courier of March 9th
gives the following particulars of the frightful tor
nado which swept over portions of Illinois and In
diana on the goth ult:
Many remarkable and most strange effects of the
grim storm king in Illinois have from time to time
been recorded. Accounts have been given of the
tearing up Of the very turf on the prairies of tina
state but the facts we are about to record have
no parallel in the history of destruction by the ele
ments that We are aware Of
We were yesterday visited by Mr.. William Brill
an old and respected farmer of johnson county
| ILLINOIS, and one of the most extensive in that
county, who furnished us with a succinct and de
tailed description of tor1Qdo which passed oyt
that nelghbothood on the Goth. which caused te!
rlble loss OF Life, and the total destruction of everY-
thing in the line of its march, entirely uproulIg
whole farms. carrying away houses, trees wagons
and everything above the ground, and bringing
misery and mourning into the happy homes Of
| many.
Nj Erill's farm house rests upon an enipeDce
sufficiently high 10 give him view Of the section
! through which the destruction passed, and on the
day of the Goth he and his family had q perfect
view Of the sublime scenes which the angry ele-
ments were enacting i'll "A valley only half mile
| south of his house.
He describes the appearance of the storm as
the most terrific ever witnessed, that the mind
can conceive. dense baokness enveloped the
valley below, While it was quite light on the hills
around, and this added to tie dstinctness of the
whole. The most terrific roar, rumbling and moan
ing llied the air and the smell Of sulphur was very
strong. The unearthly noise seemed to drown the
voice OF speakers close to each other.
The portion of the valley where this tornado
passed was iii the neighborhood of Tobacco Pest
office, and within few miles, if we understand
him rightly, OF Golconda. The tornado moved
chosen path.
The country is very broken, but those living in
the small valleys seemed to suffer most.
As it advanced, apparently with the moderate
speed of locomotive, Mr. Brill observed high in
the air the most extraordinary spectacle of trees,
crushed houses, wood, rails and objects that
seemed to him to be horses and cattle, borne on
by the storm in dense volumes of dirt and dust,
all in the most ineXtricable confusion. The very
heavens were filled with the contents of farms,
Every object seemed torn from the earth and
folded upward. Splintered timbers were tord IN
and heayed upward. Houses were takenup bodily
spread over the valley.
As the tornado advanced, the indications of its
course were very deceptive, appearing to point in
all directions This effect probably came from the
revolution going on in the volumes of dust and
sulphuric smoke that enveloped everything in the
valley, and which, at times, seemed to roll and
spread in all directions.
The whole country was inundated and the soil
IN many places washed down to the sUbstratum of
clay, as though the clouds had burst and flooded
the earth with oceans Of water at once.
The following is the list of lives lost and total
destruction as far as named:
.oo'eP4 harper was luoftuly injured, three OF
his daughters killed outright and five others,
OF his family OF nine MORALLY wounded His
home and every object of his place was entirely
carried away, and nothing has since been found of
anything. A wagon load of flour and meal in
sacks was taken up by the tornado, and no trace
OF it afterwards found. Thirteen thousand dollars
in money was also blown away with the house
M. b. Baynes house was also taken up and
blown to atoms His stock of boots, shoes and
dry goods were carried for miles and scattered
over the country. Everything was totally lost
Esquire Morley had nine in his family, one of
whom was killed and eight are supposed to be
mortally wounded Houses and every thing on the
place swept away.
John Jones lost child. Everything totally lost
Jonathan Waters farm was literally torn up and
carried off, There is not an object left
Louis McGowan's farm was also totally de-
stroyed. Houses, barns and everything gone
Woodson Vests farm was entirely DESTROYED
and everything on it swept off.
orchards were pulled up by the roots and car
rled five miles.
Everyone who escaped destruction in the line of
the tornado, as well as those who were killed,
were blackened as though by SCOT.
Mr.. Brill was one of the fortunate few who
lVed OIL from the route of the tornado and thus
escaped with slight loss.
He tells US that the scene, after the tornado
passed over was one of the most heartrending it
had ever been his misfortune to Witness Every
farmer who lived in the path of the angry elements
is homeless and totally broken up. Destruction is
to be seen everywhere. He is of opinion that the
hurricane at Natchez many years ago was no worse
In its effects.
The three daughters of Mr. Joseph HARPER af
forwards found dead, were locked in each others