The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1868-05-16
Fearful Tornado

| IdISS tract Ol country ten miles SOuCn OF
that place on the Wednesday previous. Five
persons were killed and many injured. and
fifteen or twenty houses were blown down.
We quote:
The storm originated somewhere in the
neighborhood of the Little Harper River.
/ perhaps, thirteen or fourteen miles from
/ Nashville The course was then north east
until the neighborhood Of Brentwood was
reached, when the direction changed to
/ south east The route Of the tornado could
! therefore be marked by wide curve with
/ the convex side towards Nashville, and the
whole course measuring nearly ten miles by
/ half a mile wide. The terminus of the
/ cyclone, as we have before remarked, being
not far from Antioch, a station on the Nash
! vile and Chattanooga Railroad nine miles
| from the city. Let US commence with the
/ origin of the storm and follow it up to its
! termination so far as learned. On the Car
! ter's creek pike, we are infoIned no damage
was done and we first come upon decided
! havoc at Owens station on the Nashville
and Decatur Railroad, about eleven miles
/ from the city. Here a magnificent grove,
/ through which the road passed, was com
! pletely ruined, many of the trees being blown
/ down, tops of others carried off, and others
! twisted and interlaced together in the wild
! est and most fantastic confusion Between
| the railroad and the Franklin pike the ruin
] was complete, the storm being fully half
mile in width The third toll-gate from
/ Nashville on the Frankliu pike was kept by
! man named Chumbley, brother Of our
present City Marshal The storm IN all its
/ ferceness struck the toll house, a small
/ wooden structure, and IN the space of few
! seconds nothing was left Of the building but
] a few scattered and disiointe5 fragments
! Chumbley and a child were killed outright
! the wife was so severely injured as to be iu-
| sensible, and is not expected to survive her
! injuries, while the remaining three children
were painfully bruised Mr.. Chumbley was
/ thrown about one hundred yards and struck
against a stone wall he was instantly killed
The child was thrown some distance further,
and was found stone dead. Mrs Cbumbley
was blown several bundled feet and one of
the sills of the house falling upon her.
crushed her breast severely. She suffered,
besides, severe bruises, and when discovered
was insensible The last heard from the
other three children, they were thought to be
! doing welL Such was the force OF the wind,
that all the furniture, clothes and light ar
ticles We're blown entirely away.
Mr.. X. il. Groomes sent out hearse and
iscoffins, and Mr.. Chumbley and child were
! buried last evening.
Between the Franklin pike and the VII
son pike the tornado ragged with terrible fury
The house of Mr.. w A, or Buck Davis one
of the largest aud finestin the whole country
was seriously damaged. The roof was.
whslled off in q trice, the ehimneYs blown
down, and everything in the neighborhood
wrecked and ruined. His barn. worth at
/ least two thousand dollars, was left com
plete mass Of debris, and all the out houses
were blown down.
The cabin Of a nan named Scruggs was
blown down, close by, and the mans wife
/ severely hurt, suffering a broken leg.
The house of Adam Ovens, not far from
the Davis place, was unrOofed, but, foFtun-
ately, no one was hurt.
The Sneed place, near Brentwood and
south Of that place, was laid in ruins.
! The house Of James Edmondson, cast Of
the Davis place, was blown down, and Mrs
! EdmOndson suffered q broken leg
/ The house Of Mrs. Hinton Phillips, who.
lives on the Wilson pike, was blown down,
and Mrs. Phillips and her grand child were
! considerably injured The latter was blown
/ some distance into an adjacent field, and in
] the terror and confusion of the moment it
was some time before the little thing could
] be found Several of the colored people on
the place were severely bruised, and one or
! two seriously hurt.
The house of r. n. Hubbard, in the. same
neighborhoOd, was blown down and left a
| complete wreck.
!
! Brentwood was badly wrecked The Doctor
had eight acres of young orchard in which
not a tree was left standing.
/ Just beyond Brentwood, towards the
/ south east, negro cabin was blown down
! and a child of Bob Watson killed
The house of 7. }. Moulton was badly
! damaged, the roof and ehimneys being blown
away, and several Of the out houses wrecked
! completely.
I q IL
was swept down and a cOlored child buried
in the ruins 1t lived but a short time after
being dug out.
Going further east, in the Mil Greek pike
region, the damage wrought was severe.
just south Of Antioch the houses of the fol
lowing named persons were blown down, but
ne have not been able to gain any partieu-
lars VIM. Kimbro, Thos. BrileY and VIM.
Briley.
Il No doubt great deal more damage has
been done than we have related above bui
the storm swept over such a wild extent oil
country that it has been impossible for us tc
gather up the full particulars of this terri
bic visitation. The damage to property has
been Immense, but we shall not attempt tC
estimate It
Not far from the Winston pike a coloreC
man was chopping wood when the storm
{ came up. He started to the house, but wa
falling tree. He was found late in the eve
ming.
A wagon at the Davis place, loaded Wit
t rails, was blown up a steep bill and into
3 tree top with such force as to break one o
$ the iron axles. The rails were scattered il
r all directions. A buggy at the same pIac
r was lifted into the air and carried bodilt
= about a hundred yards, when it was lei
. astride a stone wall
f a piano at the house Of Mrs. Philips wa
It blown out of the house several hundre
7, yards, into an adjacent field.
Mr.. EdmonsOn was travelling along th
n Franklin pike in a caFryall when the storr
e struck him He was tossed out OF the "
2 hicle, which, together with the horse, wa
= carried about two hundred Yards, whe
a everything was mixed up in interminabl
confusion. The horse escaped alive, and s
did the driver, but both were badl
:, bruised up.
r 1--WE men were telling trees between tn
j Wilson and Franklin pike, when the stoTI
s. come mp. They took shelter ina little sh2ntl
10 but when the tornado came upon tbeI
T. sought to escape to the open ground. The
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