The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1873-06-21
down, aad, according to some, several
were carried away.

course, carrying everything before II
for width OF from 100 yards to a
quarter, of q mile. Fences were laid
fiat. Houses were Of no account. Men,
women, and children, and all kinds OF
animals were mingled in the moving
mass of mir ut height of from forty
to sixty feet. Trees foot in diameter
were snapped In twain, and the forests
seemed as If an immense scythe, pro-
PEELED by an invisible giant, had cut
all that dared to be in It's track. The
swath marked the path of the destroyer.
| Over hill and valley it moved, leav-
ing woe in it's track. For a few miles
from Lancaster the country is rather
thinly settled, but it left its marks
upon the face of nature.
It has reached Clear Creek Town
ship, three or four miles from this
place, where there are many houses,
and where its fury was most sadly felt.
It came down on the house of Mr..
Nicholas Engledingle, whose wife was
lying sick, her husband being absent.
She was alone with her child. The
house was carried away and torn to
atoms, and the unfortunate woman
and child went with it to destruction.
Her fate is very sad. She was liter
ally rent asunder. The trunk from
the neck to the abdomen was found
in one place, the arms in another, and
the head and neck further away. One
limb stuck in the sand where it fell.
Probably she was instantly killed.
Her child was killed, the top OF the
head being blown off, giving the ap-
pearance of scalping.
Michael Fuhs was sitting in the
house with his wife and child, when
it was raised from over their heads,
the child being killed. This happened
about five miles from Harper's Station,
six miles west of here.
Imet Mr.. Stowne, living seven miles
from Harper, as he and his hands were
at work repairing the damage. He
believed the storm passed his farm ut
) o'clock. He likenedit it to an immense
funnel, l,reacliny from earth to heaven,
and coming from the southwest. 1t
was black. He could not see through
it. He lost seventeen head Of cattle,
and had from eight to twelve crippled.
He could see the funnel for fifteen
minutes before it disappeared. He
understood three horses belonging to
MIR. Yomas were killed, and six be-
longing to MIR. Comitze, beside 100
hogs aud u dozen hogs Of Riddolphis'.
Nicholas Lake lost two cows. Fred
Letze's barn was thrown down and
three Of his horses wounded. The
loss Of stock will never be known.
Mr.. Snarr was working cheerftlly
in the ruins. His timber near was
cut and bent, and would never grow
again. His fences were undergoing
repair. Over in his field lay IL dead
beef just skinned, and dead hogs and
sheep were scattered here and there.
Fence posts were stuck firmly i'll the
ground where they stood, and the ter
rife strength Of the storm was visible
on every hand. In another place a
pump was drawn out Of the ground
and deposited in the soil half u mile
away, where it could be pumped,
though pumping would fetch no wa
ter.
The horsepower Of q thresl'ing ma
chine, weighing 2,34O pounds, was
raised rs il it were a feather, and
dropped u quarter of q mile from
home.
The houseof Peter Marsh was blown
down and one child killed. 1t is sta
ted that all the rest Of the family, in
Guiding seven children, werc stripped
Of every vestige Of clothing. The dead
child was found eighty yards from the
site of the dwelling.
NJ Campbell lost his wife. His
two children were badly hurt. Mr..
Bcyins, of Germantown, lost his barns
and fences, and Mr.. Lentz new barn
Just finished.
The town stood in imminent danger.
Citizens saw the column approaching,
and one gentleman had calculated
that it would strike tile post-office
first. SO it would, had it come direct
ly, but fortunately it did not. Three
miles from here it seemed to jump
over the town, and the next heard Of
it was six miles to the northwest,
where it seemed to land and continue
its APPALLING progress. It's calculated
that it jumped ten miles, leaving all
of that length Of its course from here
through Washington County, until it
disappeared somewhere in the Missis-
sippi Valley.
A wide diversity Of opinion exists
as to the rate at which the storm trav-
elled. Twenty miles an hour is the
opinion of a majority, but probably it
moved much faster, as at nearly every
point three o'clock is given as the
hour at which it passed. 1t traversed
a region of remarkable fertility, over
a rolling country. Some Of the hills,
being quite steep, retarded its speed,
but it probably moved with more "a
pidity than is generally supposed. 1t
dealt death and destruction wherever
it went.
There is sorrow in nearly every
household, and the entire country is
in active sympathy with those who