The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1870-01-24
THE CAVE CITY HORROR.
Further Details OF the Great Disastor.

Tho Louisville. Courier. Journal Of Janua--
ry 10th says:
"None but those who knew the place be-
fore and have seen il since the disaster
which occurred at four o'clock on Monday
morning at Cave City, can have an adequa.
to conception OF the wonderful doings and
terrible results of the tornado The scene
beggars description, defes the exaggerating
propensities of reporters, and can never be
fully comprehended even by those who were
in the midst of it. Language would fail to
portray even few of the scenes aud Incl
dents, oil Of which if published would have
fulled volume.
The first heard Of the storm by Professor
A. t. Williams was the heavy dashing of
hail agans. the windows of his house.
The bail storm lasted but few moments,
and Immediately thereafter the heavens and
earth were Illuminated by a living, continu-
ous sheet of flame. Williams said he had
been in many hard fought battle, and had
beard many hideous sounds, but never
heard anything like the voice Of this mons
ter storm. TIE wind rumbled and below
ed, screamed and shrieked, as il all the
fends OF mythology had been turned loose,
The crashing OF the houses, and the whirl-
ing OF the timbers and splinters through the
air which followed the demonical sounds oil
The wind were terrific, but nothing like the
roaring and bowling Of the winds.
1t appeared that the storm. dense cloud.
composed Of all the angry, destructive and
noisy elements of nature, rolling like .
great ball upon the earth, envelopng and
'wrenching from its place everything that
comes within its reach. It's speed was that
Of cannon ball, or Of lightning ITSELF The
storm had hardly subsidized when rain TO-
lowed in most incessant torrents, and the
half clad, homeless people were drenched
and chilled until they were helpless from
exposure, if not from the wounds they re-
ceived BY being struck with or thrown
against the flying timbers, or buried them
in the debris.
The following heartrending scene. if dark.
ness like that of Egypt, occasionally broke
by a vivid fash of lightning, could he call
ed scene. What the eyes could not be-
hold the ears could hear. The stout hearts
that were terrified few moments before by
the hideous sbrieks of the s,orm-demou,
now melted with pity at the piteous wall OF
the poor helpless women and children. The
danger was over, but the suffering had COM
menced. Husbands and wives, parents and
children, who had been sleeping comlur,a-
| bly, in The same room, ,perbaps in each Others
| embrace, were separated aud thrown in op.
posite directions, in some Instances falling
several hundred feet from the site OF their
dwelling. To search for each other iu the
awful darkness, the drencbing lain pouring
down and impeding the steps OF those who
were free and able 10 Ii, guided only hy
the sound of the voices Of the suffering,
treading upon upturned nails and spinters,
with unprotected feet stumbling over q Q
piles Of timber and debris, without a sngl
hope Of finding loved ones alive and wit 4
the certainty of finding them cold in DEAN
or suffering from their wOunds-was the
work OF two hours of such darkness as is
only known just before day and Immediate
ly after the storm. Who shall describe it !
Certainly not one WHO was in Louisville
sleeping comfortably at the time, il those
who witnessed and experienced it and snf-
fered from it despair al the thought of a
description.
Prof. Williams, after being awakened
q ID hearing the approaching storm. antici-
pated danger and pre- pared for the worst re-
suits. He thought his house was s,ron aud
would withstand the storm, aud it did
bravely resist the first attack, but it was af
terward lifted from its foundation and turn-
ed around like top, two or three times,
and then, in an instant, the whole buldine
was torn to splnters, and the fradments and
the occupants were tossed to the wind
ike feathers Not mere than thirty seconds
elapsed from the time the storm struck ,b
house until it was torn to pieces. and IL
whole time, from the beating OF the ha
aga inst tie window until the storm wa
past did not exceed two minutes. Ther
were positive evidences that this house wa
turned around before completely yieldiu
to the storn. The persons who wei