The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1866-04-21
Ths Great Tornado.

probably aOs ssd the account We give it
below:
For tbe past few days our Southern Hi.
/ nois and Indina exchanges have been giving
Tue the sad degslis OF the visitation of a tor
iBado, terrific violence and destroying
force, y hfch sept over belt of country
in both States - Tuesday. the 2oih alt. The
particulars, w6en received from the several
theatsrs OF ths calamity, will give as " bat
We have nes asa In possessiou-the data
tor topogfa cal description of the whole
route Of the stroyer. II seems to have
risen IN The aatheFn part of this State and
spent is y re heart of Indiana. Han
I PLY, Il struck 10 It's terrible march no con
siderable town. tor had the came friRhtful
phenomenon fallen upon A,densely settled
community. the picture OF destruction reach
ed would have been one OF horror rarely re-
aliSed. We have before given what our
country exchanges have furnished of the
ravsges of the storm feBd in the farming
ueIghbOrhoods, where thousands of acres
have been stripped of trees, fences aud all
traces of human care and skill. In the for
mer instances, narrow and trying as were
the escapes, and severe as were many of the
injuries 10 sufferers, few lives were lost.
|
| Stale, one man was killed aud twenty OF thir-
ty wounded. In Montgomery county, 10.
diana, the second tier OF counties from the
State line and little north OF the last named
county in Illinois, the visitation was very
severe, as shown in the extended account
from local paper published in our last is
sue. d- .
On the same day the sourhsrns suburb of
our own city were swept with 3 hail storm
of terrific violence, with hail stones OF such
mAgnIt ude Gs to be likely TO hive in the mem
Dry of all the inhabitants of the tract ylslted
These were evidently part of the same visi
IatiOn, tue fringe OF the mantle of the storm
demon.
| OF all the accounts we have yet received,
however, none. equals IN it's features OF terror
those which come to Us from johnson coun-
ty, one of the second tier OF counties above
Cairo. Following the route of the tornado
from this point nearly due north to Moultrie
county, thence northeast to Douglas coun-
ty, and through Montgomery county. Iudi-
ana, the route of the visitation Is thus fur
nishsd as nearly as shown by data thus far
supplied. The following particulars from
Johnson county quite recall the f,ightfuI
VIsislIRtions of Camsnche and Allison some
! years ago. We find the details in the Ev
snssviIIs Ind. Courier OF Thursday. a9,h
1t says
Msnv rem arkable aud most strange effects
of the grim stol.m king in Illinois have from
time to time been recorded. Accounts have
been given Of the tesrlLlg up of the very turf
on the pralries OF that SLatN; but the facts We
ale about to record have no parallel in the
history of destruction by the elements that
we are aware OF.
We we're yesterday visited by Mr.. Wm.
Brhl, an old and respected tanner OF John
son county, Illinois, and one of the most
extensive In that county, who furnished US
wlIh q succInct AID detailed description OF
tornado which passed over that neighbor-
hood on the 20th,- which caused q terrible
loss OF lite, aud the total destruction of ev-
cry thing in the lIne of its march, entirely
upTOotiBg whole farms, carrying aWsy
houses, trees, wagons and everything above
the ground, and bringing misery and mourn
Ing into the happy homes of many.
| Mr. Bills farm house rests UPON an EN-
Inence sufficiently high to give him view
OF the section through which the destruction
passed, and on the day of the Goth lao and
bis family bad perfect view of the sublime
scenes which the angry elements were en-
acting in valley only half a mile south of
his house. -
He describes the appearance of the storm
as the most terrific ever witnessed, Or that
the mind can conceive. "A dense b!acknpss
eDveiOped the valley below, while it was
quite hight on the bills around, and this ad
ded TO the distiDctness of the whole. The
most terrific roar, rumbliag and moaning
| filed the AIR, and the smell of sulpbu, was
very silong, The unearthlY noise seemed
to drown the voice of spsakers close to each
other.
The portion of the valley where this tor
Inado passed was in the neigh boFhood of To-
bAcco Post Office. and vi hin few miles. il
We understand hun rightly, Of GoicOnds
1 iFhe tornado moved from west to east, and
i appeared TO keep in 8 chosen path. g
lss The country IL very broken, but those lIv
ling in the, small valleys seemed to SUITES
most.
AS It advanced, apparently with the mod
4 crate speed of locomotive, Mr.. Brill OBJ
issryed nigh in the air the most extraordi
mary spectacle of trees, crushed houses
wood, rails. and objects that seemed to him
to be horses and cattle, boFne on by tbC
storm In dense volumes Of dirt and dust, al
I'm the most inextricsble confusion. Th1
j very heavens 1eIs filed With the contents
of farms. Every object seemed torn from
the earth and folded upward. SplintereC
umbers were torn up aud heaved upward
Houses we're taken up bodily and dashed
overhead, and perfect oesoiation eptead ovel
the valley
AS the tornado sdvancsd. toe Indication
of It's course were very deceptive. appearin.
TO point in all directions. This effect prob
labiy came. ffOm the revolution going on il
the volumes of dust and sulpbuFic smok,
ttbal snysioped every thing in The valley. ans
hieb. Al Tunes. seemed % roll and spEesG
81 en oiESooos. ezoL .as4 rs