The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1873-05-29
inc The damage done seemed TOT

damage whatever was done in w ash
ington, the point nearest where the
storm laid its destroying hand about
six miles distant. The roar which &C
eompanied this manifestation ofaDgsr
of nature was distinctlyiheard here,
and it is said by farmers, who live
ten miles away, that they could hear
a peculiar, rumbling noise, and could
not avoid connecting it with the
storm. To some the noise sounded
like heavy freight train at night,
when everything was reposing to
others like musketry, with an occa-
sional discharge of artillery. sSoarce-
ly any lightning flashes were visible,
and only an occasional loud peal of
thunder was heard. The rain fell in
torrents, not in drops, but in sheets,
there appeared to be lake of water
in the atmosphere. The whole coun-
try was flooded to the depth of sew
eral inches, and it is feared that the
| corn already planted has been wash
ed out,
IN THE LINE OF THE STORM.
Everything, except here and there
mile or two over which the whirl-
wind seemed to have jumped, is des-
olate looking. Scarcely house,
barn, shed, or granary is LETT. All
were swept away as clean as the
fire swept out the north side OF Chi
cago. The exact starting point of
the storm is not known, but it is be-
lieved to have been in Keokuk coun-
ty, probably few miles west of Ian.
caster, which town, 1t is said, was to.
tally demolished. 1t advanced in a
north. easterty direction, pas ing
north of Tallyrand about three miles,
and south of Keota, through the Ger
man settlement called Baden, ap-
preaching the line of Washington
county where it jumped a distance
of about eight miles, alighting again
about six miles northwest of Wash
ington on the farm of Frank Brown.
Remaining on the ground for six or
eight miles, it passed up to the High
land township. Leaving the earth
here, it struck again in Middle town
ship, where its force was spent, and
it disappeared as suddenly as it ap-
peared.
Those who saw the commence
ment says they first noticed an i'm
mence
BLACK MASS,
which to some resenbled a large
haystack in shape, to others a bal
loon, with the small end towards the
ground. They could not see beyond
its borders, but, as they,saw it 60 by,
they saw mud and boards flying in
all directions.
A barn was blown fully a quarter
of a mile, and alighted almost intact.
An apple orchard, one of the largest
in the county, is now without trees.
they were torn up by the roots and
hurried along. A grove of honey
locusts was also carried away. Trees
eighteen inches thick were snapped
as clay pipes can be. Some of the
stumps remaining standing look as
though saw had been used, So
smooth and clean was the break. A
hedge fence facing the roadway,
presented a peculiar appearance.
Against the outside of it for nearly
a quarter of a mile, was hay and
straw mixed Unfortunately. How
it came there can only be accounted
tor in one way. A water spout
drove it into the hedge. A simple
rain storm could not have fastened it
so securely. Scarcely any rail, board
or wire fence could be seen, all hav-
ing been lifted up by the whirl. wind
and carried no one knows where.
Pieces of imbedded timber were so
thick in the fields that forty or fifty
acres had the appearance of having
been devoted to the raising of beans
and hops.
One singular thing is that the mud
was blown SO hard into the faces of
many of the children at the school
house that it cannot be washed off.
Some of their faces look as if they
had been tatooed with India ink or
powder. Miss Smith says the first
thing she realized was that she was
standing in the road, surrounded by
the boys and girls. She does not
know how they got there, being I'M
conscious of having made an ascent
into the air.
Mrs. Walters was instantly killed.
When found, she had one of pair
of twins In her arms. The little fell
low was bruised and cut, and died
the following morn re-. The other
one escaped, though no one can tell
how. Three of her other children
were in the school house and receiv-
ed serious injuries. Two of them
are not expected to live.
A correspondent from Harper,
near Sigourney says Mrs. Engledin-
gle ives instantly killed. 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
literally
RENT AsUNDER.
The trunk from the neck TO the
abdomen was found in one place,
the arms in another, and the head
and neck farther away. One limb
stuck in the sand where it fell. Pro.
badly she was instantly killed. Her
child was killed, the top of the head
being blown of, giving the appear
ance of scalping. Great sympathy
is felt for the husband and father,
thus doubly bereaved. There was
another child, who fortunately, was
at neighbor's house with the father.
Near Skunk River woods flock
of 800 sheep were quietly grazing
when the storm arose. With an in
stinctive dread they gathered in a
circle, that companionship might
alleviate the sense of danger. They
congregated directly in the line of
the storm, and when it came il ele-
waited them until, as an eyewitness
expressed it. "they looked like q
flock of BIRDS" They circled round
and round, the velocity of the inner
current overcoming the attraction Of
gravitation, until the centrifugal mo-
ton moved them to the edge Of the
cyclone, where the velocity being
diminished, they fell to the earth.
Of the 1900, only forty were found
alive up to this afternoon, and it is
believed that the remainder were
killed. They were absolutely divel.