The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-04-01
A WHIRLWIND OF WRATH.
BUT TEMPERED WITH MERCY
ZEE sourHERN ToRNADo.

THE SOUTHERN TORNADO.
DEATH AND DEVASTATION AND EXTRAoRDI-
NARY ESCAPES MARKED IFS PATHwAY-LAT-
EST AND FULLEST PARTICULARS OF THE cY-
CLONE THAT SWEPT SEVERAL COUNTIES IN
GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA.
Southern exchanges having at lIst arrived,
the following further details of the terrific
tornado in the South are laid before an
apxiously awaiting public at the North;
THE AWFUL SCENE AT cAMAK
is thus described by the Augusta Chronicle
and Sentinel: Never did the furies do their
work more completely than did this storm.
The picture presented at the little railway
village of Camak, at the intersection of the
Georgia and Macon & Augusta railroads
was that of all the rest. Every house, save
one small store. was blown down,
and comprised the following property:
The residence of VIM. Mays (who
owned the town. nearly destroyed. All the
furniture on the upper floor blown away
A. ]. Mays's grocery and dry goods store,
rear portion blown off and front left stand
ingsnd VIM. Mays's Office. The Camak hotel,
kept by Mrs. Wright. Not one piece OF tim
Der of the hotel was let standing upon an
other NoOne was in it at the time save the
landlady and her family. They escaped
with only severe bruises, although not one
piece of timber left upon another
Most Of the furniture and bed clothing
were carried away. The next house IN line
aud DESTROYED was that of w. III. Troy.
This completed all the houses in the town
except the depot and the railroad and tele-
graph Office, near the track, which were
totally wrecked. The residence OF >. ID.
Mays, a little beyond the town, was demol-
ished. and the saw-mill of Mr.. Swain greatly
damaged. Mr.. Swan says that when he saw
the storm coming he ran out OF doors to an
open space with his son, and selZing
stump, fell upon the ground, his boy catch
ing hold of his leg. The boy was torn loose
and rolled fity yards off. he was Hailed
against the earth, but held his grip. A team
of mules was standing at the depot. Two OF
them were blown 100 yards and killed. An
incident can here be shown OF the terrible
force of the wind. A piece OF light wood
timber was driven through a telegraph
pole. 1t was broken off and remains there
still. The track of the storm has been
traced from Camak to the Savannah river.
Following its track from Camak we
found the houses upon the planta-
tions OF Messrs. Ivy and Bacon de-
stroyed, but one seriously wounded
The miraculous escapes can be told
by the hundred. Indeed, no one can
look upon the wrecks and ruins and under
stand how any person in them escaped. AT
the house of John w. Morgan we saw the
most perfect and complete destruction.
Even the floor was split wide open, and all
above except small bit of a shed-room,
gone. Mrs. Morgan was standing on the
back porch facing
THE DEATH-DEALING MONSTER
approaching with more rapidity than horse
ever flew around the course. She only had
time to turn and make, perhaps, one step
towards a main door. Then midnight
blackuess, a crash, roar-it was gonei
But for 500 yards in, front .sy her just now
beautiful residence, broken, splintsred,
crushed. with portions of roof, timbers.
sash, birds, ped clothing, flying
through the air. In the center OF
the building were four children. Not ono
was killed. One little girl was
blown into q cupboard and of ali the furni-
ture in the house that was the only piece
not broke n into kindling wood! Was not
the hand of God even present in that awful
storm? 1t relied on. The next house struck
was that OF James A. Benson. Mr.. B. was
in Columbia county, bat his vito and six
little children were at home. Like all the
rest, the house came down, burying all
in one common ruin. To add
to the horror, if anything can
be added that is more horrible, the house
took fire! One sweet little babe had just
been rocked to sleep by its mother, and was
lying in its cradle. The timbers fell every
where, except upon that baby's innocent
couch. The mother scrambled forth, and
soon had reason to thank God in heaven
net much hurt. To convey an idea OF
the force of the wind here, we Will
state that in the gin house was hol-
low wheel weighing four hundred
pounds. 1t was carried fully half mile and
landed in a field. a mule was blown from
the same gin house two hundred yards. A
negro one hundred, and his brains dashed
out against a tree. Not fence rail was left
upon this plantation, where it originally
lay, not a ground sill. 1t belonged TO Major
A. +. Sturgis. former member OF the Geor-
gia legislature. A specimen wreck was that
of the plantation of John E. Smith. 1t was
the most beautiful home in McDuffie county.
The house was double, two stories high,
with an ell. The cyclone struck the
southeast angle, ripped of halt the roof,
Knocked down the plsstering, entered the
room, smashed the partition walls, seized
the entire north side of the whole edltce and
holding this in Its hand as trophy, together
with the entire contents of the second story,
passed on with the rapidity of winged
racer. Mr. Smith, his wife and six children
had time to run into the hall below. That
hall was lett intact, The family could
scarcely have stood in another portion o.
the whole house without being killed out
right.
THE TRACK OF THE TWIN TORNADO
is thus traced by the same writer: The
writer will now return and take up as far al
possible another and evidently distinct cy
clone. Beyond the Ogeechee river nothing
definite could be heard from it. 1t came
from due west and travelled due east. Thi
would throw it's western track a little south
OF Milledgeville. IL crossed the Ogeechet
at the Lazenby plantation, fiteel
miles sout OF Mayfeld. All account
are agreed that each one crosses
that stream between II and o'clock Satur
day afternoon. The second or more south
\ ern cyclone was the exact counterpart of tn
other. The same black cloud, the phos
phorus, the electrical sparks, the cylindrics
shape, the Width, height, and the roaring
bustling sound as of Thousand shell
flying over a bombarded city. On
bee line these cyclones were fifteel
miles apart Each ran as straight a
an arroW. Each gnyarned by some orea