Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1873-06-03
TON SPECTATOR AND GENERAL ADVERTISER

The wind tore some OF the clothing from his
body, leaving only selvages at his wrists and his
ankles and round his waist.
Mr.. David kanter's farm was swept as clean
as the others. House. barn, granary, the very
wire fences were blown away. Fully forty acres
Of land were stuck full of splinters. A hay
stack was blown into and distributed along
hedge, as If some human art had contemplated
inventing combined fence and feeding place.
The family took refuge in the cellars and es
capped serious injury, though the wind whisked
OFT the superintendent house as parent might
remove the bed clothing from lazy child.
MIR. Alexander Gibson had the finest house
and outbuidings in the county. The wind blew
the barns to bits. The house was 10 two parts.
One OF these was turned quite round, the other
SCARED AWAY LIKE BIRD,
dropping the five inhabitants into the cellar.
Of these Miss Gardner, one of the handsomest
young ladies in the State, was so badly crushed
that, it she RECEIVERS, she will be crippled for
life A hired man, named Baker, and young
Gbson were dashed against trees in the Or
chard the former had an arm and leg broken,
the latter was fatally injured about the head.
The invalid children, who had been put into
feather bed for security, were saved, though
the wind carried them fifty or sixty yards away
and covered them up with splinters and straw.
There was not a tree lett in the orchard. The
tered it everywhere. Half dozen fatted cat
tie, which was awaiting the butcher, were blown
into swamp, and one had the whole of its
HEAD AND NECK DRIVEN INTO TIE EARTH.
A corusheller, weighing some six hundred
pounds, was blown some hundred and twenty
rods.
Mr.. Babcock' house and barns were carried
away. With the furniture went $500 10 bills
and $lsS00 10 notes. The apple trees were
torn out by hundreds, and lot of locust trees,
some four feet in circumference. broken off as
through just above the ground.
Mr.. Henry Walters farm was swept clean.
A cook stove was blown halt mile away. Mrs.
Walters had five Children Including infant
twins The house In It's fall broke Mrs. w al
| toms neck, aud one of her babies was crushed
to death IN her arms. The other twin escap ped.
The other three children attended the Hud-
dlesford school, just across the road Here there
| were seventeen children, with their teacher
Miss Polly Smith, The approach of the storm
was observed by Minnie Roihmer, girl OF
| twelve, who was standing at the door. She
| started to run home; but the other children,
PARALYZED BY TERROR,
gathered 10 helpless cluster about their teach
| err In moment the wbirlwiud shivered the
school house to atoms aud threw the inmates
| into the road
The teacher was seriously Injured
Julia Conner, a girl of sixteen, had her
shoulder broken.
| Two of the Walters children were SO badly
| hurt that their recovery is not expected,
| RaIlie Gibson had round hole made through
his cheek and his head laid open by board.
The little girl, Rothmer, who started to run
home was carried through the air for about a
quarter of mile and then flung to the earth and
| killed. She was rather
A HUMAN JELLY
than child. for, literally, there was not an IN
broken bone 10 her body
Among the other serious or curious Incidents
may be mentioned the wrecking of Mr. Waters
| house and the probably fatal wounding Of his
mother by broken board that penetrated her
| thigh ; the blowing of teamster, named Baker,
his wagon and team, clean over fence; the
uprooting OF some tombstones in cemetery,
near Lancaster; the abstracting of $4,000 in
greenbacks. which an economical German wo-
man had hidden in the roof of her house, and
the complete destruction Of large flock OF
sheep at the same place, which were tossed up
into the air TILL as an eyewitness affirmed. they
looked like so many birds.
| A WOMAN DIsEMBOWELLED,
| OF all the terrible deaths, though it was
mercIfully instanteous, that of Mrs. Enger-
dinge, who lived about FIVE miles from Kiota,
was the most horrible. She was sick in bed
with her baby, when the storm came on and
blew the house away. As it rose two or three
| of the larger timbers must have been driven
against her bed with the swiftness of cannon
balls. One cut the top Of the cbild's head off
and carried away part OF the brain. Two 9TH
ers struck the unfortunate woman in the abdo-
men and neck, broke her into fragments, as if
she had been torn asunder by four wild horses
or blown from cannon. The legs and inferior
portion OF the trunk went one way part of
the chest, the stomach and one arm another
the other arm was torn off and found sticking
in a bank of sand, and the head, neck and a
fragment Of the bust were found long dis
lance from the other CHASTITY relics of human
ity.
| THE TOTAL LOSS
is varonsly estimated. in money at $l75 900
TO $500, 000 including ihirty-6ye houses, 200
sheep, $500 hogs, 100 head of cattle, forty
horses and all the crops along the track of the
storm. The list OF killed and wounded shows
twelve persons dead and twenty nine wounded.
Detailed reports have yet TO come 10 from Keo-
kuk county, and several of the wounded can
not recover, SO that from eighteen to twenty
five names will probably be 90 the death roll.
FORMER HURRICANES
| This is by far the most destructive tornado,
especially in the matter of human life, that has
ever visited Iowa, though such storms do not
unfrequently occur in this vicinity. Tornadoes
are reported in lS4S, 1860, and 1862, and there
was heavy hail storm in 1868; but, as these
storms have generally been confined to the for
ests, the loss of life and property has hitherto
been inconsderable
re- GET THE BEST AND CHEAP EsT.-If you
want to get the best and cheapest Furniture OF
all kinds send your orders to Fl. +. Zimmerman
IL Son, 3d. 18th street, Washington, o. @. Or
| ders filled promptly and satisfaction guaranteed
( M~ Mems Fine Boots-every grade, very low
| at John j. McMahOn's, Augusta street.
| NeaC AdUertSS ems 2sts.