Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1868-06-27
Terrible Tornado in Arkansas /.

AO114UJO III 4Al hShpesbs
The Fort Smith Herald, gives an ac-
count of one of the most appalling
storms of wind, hail and rain ever known
In this country.
1t seems as though all the forces in
the elements were concentrated in this
one whirlwind. Nothing of the kind
has been known in this country since the
destruction of Ellison, in this State, and
Camanche, in Iowa; at seemed to let it
self down to the ground 1t was an i'm
mense whirlwind i'll the shape of an In
yerted cone, about qaarter OF mile III
diameter at the ground.
1t sucked up water from a pond near
the house of a Mr.. Dogget, who lived
two and half miles west of the town,
and travelling due east, increasing in fl-
ry, swept away houses, fences and trees,
leaving the earth bare and desolate in
IT'S track. A remarkable incident at Mr..
Calder's was that tub full of water,
standing in the yard, which was not
moved from its position had every drop
of water sucked out of it and carried in
to the air. Calder's grove, near his
house, had many large trees twisted
round and torn up by the roots, and a
person standing in the village can dis
tinctly see the track Of the whirlwind,
by the opening through the grove.
In one of these, the "Second Advent"
were nearly two hundred people. Rev.
George w. Hurd, the pastor was deliv-
ering a discourse, and was nearly
through, when evidences of the coming
disaster began to be apparent. First it
was perfectly still and then noise was
heard in the distance as of the roaring
OF mighty cataract, the windows be-
gan to shake, and some one called ont
from his seat, "Mr Hurd, bad storm is
coming upn' The minister answered,
"Never mind the storm there is a day
coming when there will be storm COM
pared with which this will be nothing.
| will be through soon" Just then the
hail had commenced breaking in the
window lights, and in almost an instant
the windows of the church, sash and all,
were torn out.
No power of the pen can begin to
give the faintest description of the scene;
some rushed to the door to find that it
could not be opened The only two per-
sons who succeeded in getting out were
George Venn, a brick mason, thirty-two
years old, good man, and Harrison
Wixon, lad twelve years of age, who
were instantly killed. The building reel
ed like drunken man, but none could
get oat /; wives clung to their husbands,
children to their parents, brothers and
sisters to each other, and despair was de-
picted on every countenance. Suddenly
the crash came, and with deafening
sound, mingled with shrieks of the pent
up people, timbers, scan:ling, all came
down with a sudden crash upon the de-
voted heads of the congregation. Men
women and children, even little babes
were mutilated in every conceivable
manner. Some had their skulls broken,
others arms, others legs broken, thighs
mashed and others received injuries
from which they will never recover
There were some who did not receive
scratch, but nearly all were more or less
injured. A gentleman who was on the
ground after the storm, who had been
Ill VI Illo HdIOGbG Oh the
war, and had seen men wounded in al
most every conceivable way, says he
never saw scene 80 truly heart rending
as this-to see women with their cloth
ing nearly all torn of, and their limbs
crushed under beam from which they
could not free themselves to see old
men and little babies, with blood stream
ing from their wounds to see little
boys and girls suffering in the agonies of
death, made him SO sick at heart that he
could not speak.
The terrible avenger continued its de-
vastating deeds until it burst asunder
with a great noise, and fabulous a.
mount of water was precipitated to the
earth. Within half mile of it either
way the people would not have known
of its existence had they not heard the
noise, which was like the roaring of Nj
agara. .a