Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1873-06-04
The Iowa Tornado.

lhe extent, violence aud dcslFuctiy
effects Of the terrific tornado which swc,
! over keOkuk and Washington countie.
. Ia, Thursday afternoon, Nav 22, wer
hardly more than outlined IN the telc
graphic accounts given at the time, be
cause definite ipformation was DOT readil
Obisinsble. Further details by mail con
firn previous reports. that it was the mos
: devastating wind-storm ever known in ,ha
, section, and give many interesting addi
ilonal particulars. Keokuk and Wash
ington counties are in tho southeastern
portion Of the state. aud, though the ex
act starting-point of the storm is unknown
1t is believed to have been near the towr
OF Lancaster, in the southern part o.
heokuk county. 1t advanced in a north.
easterly direction. passing south of Keota,
through Baden and, approaching the lines
of Washington county, passed a district
OF about eight niles, alighting again near
the town Of Washington. Remaining on
the ground for six or eight miles, it passed
Highland township and, again leaving the
earth, jumped to Middle township. where
Its force seemed to be spent aud it van.
lshed as suddenly as it hal appeared.
Those who saw the commencement saw
they first noticed an immense black mass,
which resembled balloon, with the small
end toward the ground. They could not
see beg ond its borders, but, as it went by,
they saw mud, boards and timber A, ing
in every. direction. Houses were torn
from their foundations. whirlsd about like
chips and twisted into thousand frag-
ments. Cattle were lifted bodily, car.
ried some distance and hurled to the
ground with such violence as TO imbed
them half out of sight in the sand or mud
1t was impossible at first TO obtain any
adequate description Of its progress, for
those who witnessed it we're of course
.Fs!ss9sas 9ssFy saS Sf '5HjS 5
ceps that they were lifted up, carried along
with the rapidity Of Lighting, and landed
suddenly IN the mud. A few who were
in their dwellings, and as they thought
safe, found themselves sprawlng on the
ground, but how they got there they are
unable 10 tell. Some sought refuge in
the. cellars of their houses, and, while
crouchipg in the corners, trembling from
feaf, saw the buildings lifted up and blown
away, All who remember anything of it
tell the same story, that it was black
Inverted, one, moving with appalling swift
ness and carrying everything before it
for width of about 100 yards, Its roar
was heard ten miles away; very little
lightning was observed, and only an oc-
casional peal Of thunder, but the rain fell
in sheets, flooding the ground to the depth
of several inches in very short time.
Hardly house, tree or any living thing
remains 10 the track 1t passed over. On
the farm Of Mr., Cunningham, near WASH
ington, neither the barn nor house was
visible after the storm. They had been
torn to pieces. and only a fow fragments
remain, nearly all the timber having been
blownaway. Pieces of boards were stick
ing out of the fields, some Of them lmbed-
ded in the ground two feet, and SO tightly
that they could not be pulled out. Dead
stock was visible everywhere, horses,
COWS, pigs and chickens having been hus-
tied about so lively as to be deprived of
the breath of life. Here and there were
pigs impaled to the. ground, while fre-
quentlv chickens wnrn "-'--'-~'o.eN I" ~
out feather on them. Mr.. Cunningham
49,
lost three hundred mead OF stock; his
family took refuge in the cellar, and the
house was lifted bodily from over their
heads and swept away; after their
shelter had been thus removed, the WIND
lifted them out Of the cellar and carried
them some distance, though they were
but little injured. Over one farm pieces
of imbedded timber were SO thick in the
fields that 40 or so acres had the ap-
pcarance Of having been devoted to the
raising Of beans aud hops. ,a.
Nothing whatever remains-of the Bee
dleford school-house. School was IN ses-
sion when the cyclone made its appear
ance, about 20 scholars being in attend-
ance. The building shared the same fate
las the-othcrs which came within the grasp
Of the tornado, and teacher and scholars
cannot imagine how they got into the
roadway. The wind demolished the win
dows first, and, rushing into the building
lifted it up as if it we're made of paper
and knocked it about like shuttleeook'
i A daughter Of Henry Rathmol, aged II
years, was in the doorway, and, seeing
tho black cloud coming, started to run
ont. No one knew what had become ol
her until they found her mangled body
,r .r.a~.a,l ~ iba mud a