The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-05-26
sY TELEc GRAPH.
THE IOWA TORNADO.
further Details Of the Terrible nur.
TlCRne.

10 day, give full details oil the terrlDlt
hurricane which swept over portion oI
Washington and Keokuk counties on
Thursday last. In the line Of the storm
everything except here and there mile
" two, over which the whirl wind seems
10 have jumped, Is desolate looking.
Scarcely house, barn, shed or gransry
Is left. All were swept away as clean as
The fire wiped out the north side OF Obi
csgo. The cxatct starting point OF the
storm Is not known but it Is believed TO
have been in Keokuk county, probably
few miles west Of Lancaster, which town
il is said was totally demolished. II ad-
yanced in nOrtherly direction, passing
north Of Tallyrand about three miles, and
south OF KeOla, through the German set
element called Baden, approaching the
line Of Washington county where 1t jump.
ed district OF about eight miles alight-
ing again about six miles northwest
Of Washington on the farm OF
Frank Brown. Remaining on the ground
tor six or eight miles, 1t passed up to
Highland township. Leaving the earth
here, il struck again in Middle township,
where It's force was spent, and It dissp-
Dpsred as suddenly as 1t appeared. Those
who saw the commencement say they
lIrst noticed au immense black mass,
which to some Iesembled huge hay
stack in shape, and to others a small bal
loon with tho small end towards the
ground. They could not see beyond It's
.,orders, but as 1t went by they saw mud
and boards flying in all directions Houses
we're torn from their foundations as II
they were chat, broken and twisted into
4 million fragments, some OF which were
forced into the ground two or three feet.
Cattle were lifted up, carried some
,iistSnce and hurled heOdlong TO the
earth. One heifer three years old
VITA thrown into ditch head first, and
when found her head and neck were
buried in the mud. 1t is impossible 10
rive an adequate description Of tho pro-
gress OF the cyclone 1t moved forward so
TaDidly. and those who saw II approach
ipg were so badly frightened that they
thought only OF their safety. What met
their view they could not avoid looking
al, although fear seems TO have confused
Iheir minds and rendered them unable to
give o satisfactory account OF 1t. Those
Who were in its midst and escaped with
hrul;en limbs and bruised bodies have no
distinct recollection oil anything, except
that they were lifted up and carried along
with the rapidly Of lightning and landed
suddenly iu the mud. A few who were
in their dwellings and thought they were
safe, found themselves sprawling on
The ground, but how they got there they
were unable 10 tell. Some sought q ref.
uge In the cellars Of their houses, and
while crouchlDg in corners trembling
from fear, saw the building lifted up and
blown away.
A Reporter OF the Tribune took ride
over the route Of the hurricane this morn.
inc. and was astonished ut the ruin
wF0upht in an hour or two. The tirst
farm visited was that oil John L. Cum
ninUhan, which Is about seven miles
northeast Of Washington. Neither the
harm or house was visible; they had been
torn TO pieces, and only few fragments
remained, nearly all the timber having
been blown away. Pieces OF boards were
sticking out OF fields, some OF them i'm
bedded in the ground two ieet, anu SO
tightly that they could not be pulled out.
Dead stock was visible everywhere
horses, cows, pigs and chickens. Here
and there were pigs impaled to the
ground, while frequently chickens were
encountered without feathers on them.
Three hundred head Of stock were Killed
outright, In one dwelling, when the
,0rnado approached, were Mrs. Mccoy,
daughter II MIR. Cunningham, blrs. CAP
ringer and two children OF the lormer.
They went into the cellar for shRlteE but
remained there only short time, being
lifted up and carried sOmC distance and
thrown 10 the ground. Mrs. Mccoy had
her head cut and badly bruised. brs.
CsrrlpCe was rendered insensiblc but was
not seriously hurt. The children were
upinIured, they were found lying In
heap beside the cellar walls. cast OF Gun
ninghams. Near Highland township line
is the farm OF Mr.. Davidson. his mouse
and barn were destroyed and no himself
killed. Mr. Hausset, who was with HIN
at the time was fatally injured and died
ON Friday morning. All OF the latters
ciothing were torn of his body. To
tho north from Cunninghams ia the
mrm of John BabcOck. His resi-
I"nce. barns, out.houses and granaries
were demolished and his family
we're fortunately absent, and he himself
escaped uninjIred. The apple orchard,
one OF the largest In the country, Is now
without trees. They were torn up by the
roots and hurried along. a grove OF
honey locust wGs also carried away.
frees eighteen inches thick were snapped
az easily US clay pipes can be. Some Of
the stunps remaining look as II saw
lad been used so smooth and clean are
ihey cut, The next iHrm was that OF
David Coner. Here was tho same DESC
lstIon as at the other places, only less
building material was observable. VI
the houses, barns and sheds scarcely a
ycs,sgc was left. Mr.. and Mrs. Coner
and Alex ellison, neighbor, were IN INC
house, and sought shelter in the cellar
and escaped with slight injuries. a short
distance from COnGr's stood the distri Ct
school house, which shared tho late Of all
others in the path Of the cyclone. Miss
Smith. the teacher, and 90 pupils were IN
the school house when the storm struck II
and carried It away, leaving them in the
roadway, with the exception oil daugh'
Ter OF Henry Rathmel, aged eleven, who
was taken up and carried = quarter oil a
mile, where her mangled and nearly nude
bOdy Was afterwards found. Miss smith
sudher scholars were injured, several ol
them seriously. One very singular thing
is that the mud was blown so hard into
Tho faces nj many of the children that II
cannot be washed of, Some ol thelI
faces look as /! they had been taoooea
with India ink or powder. u
Near the school house stood the dwell
ing house OF Henry Walters. II W%
blown 10 atoms, and Mrs. Walters IN
stantly killed. When found she had one
oiA pair Of twins in her arms The ilttl'
fellow was bruised and cut, and died the
following morning, The other one &C.
caped-no one can tell how. Thret