Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-07-10
From the Burlington Hawkeye.
TORNADO.

Trees Uprooted, Barns and D,celling |
Houses Whfried High IN Air and
Dashed to Pieces-F'oW Persons
Killed, and THO Mortaly Wounded.
Telegraphic dispatches having been
received In this city late on Friday |
night, briefly stating that severe |
storm, at p. NJ. on Thursday evening, |
had caused great loss of life and prop |
erty, in the vicinity of Carthage, lii
nois, reporter of the HAwK-EYE was |
dispatched to the scene of the disaster
early on Saturday morning. The re-
port sent back is as follows:
One OF the most destructive hurri-
canes that has ever visited the Western
States, for some years, swept over the
country adjacent to the quiet little will
age of Basco, in Bearcreek township,
Hancock county, Illinois, on Thursday
evening last.
Considerable rain had fallen during
the day, accompanied with frequent
peaIs of thunder. and lightning flashes,
but toward night the sky suddenly
darkened down to an almost inky black
ness, and about Z O'Clock r. NJ. huge
storm cloud burst over farm situated
some two miles due west of the B. q
o. railroad track.
Immediately the wind rose with
terrific sweep upwards and commenced
TO circle, taking in a swath of over 800
yards in width.
Directly in its course, one-half mile
east OF the starting point, stood the
HOUSE AND BARN OF JACOB Bo0s.
The roof and upper portion of the
| tousc were torn of and hurled several
rods away, while the barn, in which
| were stalled three .horses, and four or
| five tons of hay, was lifted clear of the
foundation, and, Incredible as ii may
seem, carried by the whirlwind to a
height Of not less than two hundred
| feet in mid-air. The horse standing
inthe centre of the stall was, by some
strange freak of the raging element,
| singled out and thrown headlong into
Il grove, distant over twenty rods from
the farm yard, and instantly killed
The other two fell from less height
square upon their backs, but were found
alive, and although severely injured,
are likely to recover. The barn itself
was torn, board from board, in pieces,
and scattered broadcast over the fields,
minus the hay, of which no trace has
been discovered Twenty acres of
grain, belonging to Mr.. Boos were also
destroyed; a portion of his household
furniture smashed, aud. in all, his loss
will reach considerable more than ST.
600.
The grove mentioned, as located in
the neighborhood of his place, was
completely devastated; many of the
trees being torn up by the roots and
others broken in two, or at the top
Here amongst the fallen timbers were
found the remains Of agricultural inn
plements belonging to Mr. Boos, who
asserts that he saw them carried aloft
and tossed through the air like feather
| weights al the commencement of the
| storm.
| Further on the house and barn of III.
Steffey were similarly visited, and the
stable thrown to the ground. A wag-
on of Mr.. Steffey's was subsequently,
found some distance of, lying in frag-
ments and rendered utterly useless.
One of the most curious traits of the
hurricane was the style in which the
iron work of oil the agricultural ma
chimes destroyed were twisted, bent
and broken. Nothing seemed to with
| stand the fury of the tempest
in the slightest degree. Heavy
posts sank two feet and a half in the
solid ground were wrested from their
places and cast up. whilst post fences
many rods in length, were displaced
and completely overturned
THE HOUSE OF JOHN sAuSDERsoN.
Varying pomewhas IRON the easterly
direction in which ii had hitherto kept
the wind swept over the residence of
John SanndersOn, lifting it from its
position and whirling it high in air.
| Mrs. Saunderson, who was in the house
| with her two children alone at the
time, was thrown out, and found sew.
cral hundred yards away from the for.
mer site of her house, lying under q
pile of rails, with one leg mashed up
to jelly, and suffering fearfully from
the effects of her wounds. One of her
children was found dead, short way
off, and the other with both legs bro
ken. They were at once removed to
the Basco House, but neither Mrs.
Saundcrson or the surviving child are
expected to recover.
MIR. Saunderson, who had been
standing about a hundred yards west
of his house when it was carried Off,
was struck on the head by q flying log
and rendered senscless, as was also q
ncighbor who happened to be standing
by him at the moment.
/ A brick house belonging to Mr.. Rob.
ert Donaldson was badly wrecked, the
roof being blown of, and ono of the
| gables stove in.
1 Further east the honse and barn OF
Mr.. Richard Huff were blown down,
and the roofs and tinbers torn to
| shreds. Mrs. Huff and children, at the
first alarm. took refuge in the cellar.
and by doing SO, in all probability,
saved their lives. M
| Next came the dwelling of Mr.. Geo.
| Alden, which, like. the rest, went down
before the devouring element. A large
bridge on the road running north of
the village was caught up in the hurri-
cane, and sent circling through the air,
free from its fastenings, thus leaving
the roads impossible to teams. A very
large barn belonging to Judge Skinner,
Of Quincy, was blown down, and q
dwelling house sitting on the same
property, was blown from its original
position, the plaster on the inside walls
completely stripped OF, and the ground
flooring crushed into the form of an
angle. We understand that Judge
SINNERS loss is estimated at $4,000.
Sweeping on, the storm next encoun-
tered the house of Mr.. John HUFF,
which shared similar fate with its
predecessors. The scene presented by
the track of the storm was one of des-
olation and distress. s
Mingled with the PROSTATE fences
lay weatherboards, shingles, fragments
| of furniture, articles OF clothing, bro
ken saddles, wheels, harness, and nu-
merous other things which told the eye
Of devastated houses and ruined prop
erty at a single glance.
1t is impossible at the present writ
ing to give our readers anything like
an adequate idea of the actual losses
sustained by the sufferers from this
terrible visitation but at the lowest es-
innate they must foot up many thous-
ands of dollars.