The daily Panola star. (Sardis, Miss.) 1871-1872, 1871-11-04

n ihls place Wa active sHd ,iii ient. aad
with NE c1acsFtsi aellpn af ali psfiis.
everything was betng done that was pos
llble inr the contpft anil restoration .
tie suiisrCrs.
Abont ffisen pef cent Of those injured
are ~ badly burned that u is Impossible
Tor them ~ recuypr. Tho Others will ~
able 10 return tO business IN a month
lime, or less. The burns occurred most
frequently upon the feet, hands and face,
and nearly al suffer nom the Inhalation
of bot sand and clnders and from the
usual pulmonary complications OF burns.
TheflFe which destroyed Peshtlgo oc.
CURED on the evening Of the Sih inst,
and history has never furnished a plrL-
lei to IL terrible destructiveness. shortly
AFTER the church going people had re-
turned from the evening service, an Om-
inOus sound was heard, like the distant
roaring Of the sea, or like coming
storm. This increased In intensity. and
soon the Inhabitants became alarmed and
apprchenslyc Of danger. Balls Of fire
were observed TO fall like meieors Ia the
town, ignitlng whatever they came la
contact with. l,y this time the whole
population were thoroughly aroused and
alarmed, and caught up their children,
AMI what valuabcs they could hastily
seize, and began to llee for a place Of
safety. Now bright light appeared In
the southwest horizon, gradually In
creasing till the heavens were aglow with
light. But few moments elapsed after
this before the horrible tornado Of fire
came upon the people, enveloping them
In flame, smoke, burning sand and elm
ders. Those who had not now reached
the river, or some other place Of safety.
were suilocated and burned 10 clndcr
before they could advance half dozen
steps further. God only knows the hos
ror and terrible suffering of the whole
town of Pcshtigo on that memorable
Sunday night, Ii seemed rs il the love of
God had been withdrawn from the place,
and the fury iiends OF hell had been loos-
ened to wantonly vex and torment the
I people.
No tongue can tell, no pen can describe,
no brush can depict the realities of that
/ night. Exaggeration would be utterly
/ impossible. 1t delles human ingenuity.
It was the destruction of Sodom re-
enacted. 1t seems as il the wickcdness
of the place had Knocked God until fiery
thunderbolts were loosened for It's de-
struction. But now, he who had been
boldest In sin was first to call upon his
Maker for succ0r.
The character of this fire was usllke
any we have ever seen described before.
4 II n ttu funpn1 hxF hatn 4
accompanied by various electrical phcno-
mena. Those that survived the terrible
ordeal testify that they received electrical
shocks, while they saw electrical flames
flash In the air and dance over the surface
Of the earth around them. But the fury
of the flash was past In hall an hour,
though the fire continued to burn more
or less fierCely during the whole night.
The full effects of the storm were not
apparent until daylight returned, and
the survivors could come forth from their
retreats. A party OF $50 fortunately ran
! together upon low meadow below the
bridge, and all were saved. A family Of
! five persons saved themselves by jumping
into shallow well. Another family OF
the same number were all snsocated by
like resort. A large number threw
themselves into the mill-pond and sus
tanned themselves by clinging to the
boom and floating logs, at the same time
continually wetting the head to prevent
ing 1t from roasting.
we saw many children, some only one
month old, which had been kept In tho
water tho whole night, and yet survived.
Some who were too i'll TO walk were taken
from their beds and thrown into the wa
ter.
A large number were drowned, some
by being trampled upon or thrown oil
from their logs by tho cattle and horses
that, maddened by the fire, rushed into
the water. Many entire families per
ished. Eleven were lost out Of one
family.
Some of the bodies were so thoroughly
burned and'consumed that they could be |
scooped up and held In the double hands. |
But tho details and incidents are too har- 7
rowing to relate.
The tornado camc from the southwest T
and swept over tract of country eight
or ten miles In width, and OF indefinite
length. The timber In It's colirsc was
felled by the wind and burned by the
fire, and every vestlge Of fence and build
ng was swept away, with two or re.
Sometimes the wind struck
he earth with such force that the small
was torn up and kept IN
while at other times Il would
kip away from the earth. Tho whole
population Of Peshtlgo village, and Of the
arm lands In the vicinity, was 1000, and
nlly onc-third OF those persisted on that
earful night. On the east shore OF the
'ay, reports place the loss Of life fully as
Ugh as at Peshtigo, making the entire
oss of life reach the fearful number OF
200.
The immediate wants Of the survivors
re nearly supplied, but no incoDsidcra-
'le amount will be required to enable :,
hem to live through the winter. The
PROCLAMATION Of Governor talrchild Of
he l4th, states trnthfully the demands
hesc persons have upon lis, and Is meet
ng with q hearty response from every
art OF the State. Let the good work
70 on, for II ever there was cnsc for
surely t.iis IL one. The pco-
Die have been literally stripped OF every
hing. Not a vestige Of house or fence
lr anything 81 a cDmbnstiblc nature re-
mains. A more desolatc spectacle than
he present site Of what was once the
pleasant village Of Peshtigo cannot be
or described.
Z. NJ Cnn.p,
TnEgSoN NICHOLS, NJ. u.
Relief Commit,
.s>ss