The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-07-21

Purchase Of Alaska from Russls.... 1871 1891
Pacific railroad opened. -. 1869
Centennial Celebration and Exhibi-
st. Nichols: for July.
THE IOWA SE,OAIRA.
Details eff the TornadO-The
Dead and Wounded.
From the Des AoInes RegisterI
In order to obtain fuller details of
the terrible tornado in Warren
county, on the night Of July 4th, q
Register reporter wGs dispatched
there Friday morning.
The tornado travelled through
Warren county in two directions,
from northwest to southeast and in
Q course almost exactly the reverse.
It swept along with . fury
that can not be imagined by one
that has not seen the consequences.
It il clearly demonstrated that it
was not . Whirlwind. In the
course of some forty miles travel
and observation, the reporter failed
to see . tree that had been twisted
Ell or Q building or fence that was
scattered out Of the path in which
it started. It Is also demonstrated
that the tornado travelled in Q strip
but . few hundred feet wide. When
it passed through Indianola 1t scar
cely exceeded 200 feet in width, and
there were but four disastrous cur
rents Of wind that struck the town.
The tornado skipped" like q
stone skimming along the surface
- AA
rupt, as If there had been . great
weight in the gale that csused it to
drop directly to the ground. A
singular instance of this was seen
in the effect 1t Indianola. The
storm came sweeping down imme-
| diately in the line of the railroad.
The first TIVE buildings in the way
were the Farmers Elevator and the
Bush elevator. Then came the de-
pot, the engine house and the wind
mill. The storm leveled every 9TH
er building, missing the fret, de-
mclished the second, missing the
third and destroying the fourth.
These buildings were from three to
Elk hundred feet apatr.
Bushis elevator was turned up
side down. The lower half. Wal
blown entirely away; the upper
half lies top side down, sixty feet
from where it originally stood.
The west end and north side Of the
engine house are blown entirely
away, the ruins being scattered 3
half Q mile.
Just before you reach IndiAncla
by rail the results of the storm be.
| come visible. The house of John
Lafferty was blown away so COM
pletely that none Of the ruins are
left. s. B. Lindsey's dwelling il
almost as badly scattered. The fam
lily was saved by taking mp their
quarters in the cellar.
Mr.. Eppis refused to leave his
house when the remainder OF the
family left, and was blown out of
second-stOry window, and landed
uninjured, astride . sm0kS house.
From the railway train can be seen
the ruins OF three dwellings,, of
which nothing remained, and 3 dog
en- mOrethet are go badly wrecked
as to be almost Valueless. The de-
bris Of one house stiack . railroad
bridge with auch force as to dis
place it two feet. Mr.. Ford and
story window and carried over q
quarter Of . mile, and set down
comparatively uniDjured.
In every instance where Q house
was destroyed the windows and
doors appear to have been first
forced in and then the roof went
of. at Dan Van Pelt's his large
barn door was fastened to Q center
post four inches square. It yielded
the first blast and the gale lifted the
roof in an instant. The house was
surrounded by . dense grove OF ma
pies, which saved it from destruc-
ton. The trees, many Of them II
inches through, are broken OF
about ten feet from the ground. and
the tops are hurled over tho farm.
Mr., Van Peit's ffne orchard is prob
ably half destroyed. But of indi-
vidual losses we have not space to
speak. The destruction OF proper
tY is immense, but much OF It il of
. nature that prevents calcalsti0n.
The value Of q bearing apple tree
can not be estimated; thousands
are entirely destroyed.
Where the storm passed through
timber il moved swath es eleanly
cut as If done with . scythe. Oaks
two feet thick were bent to the
ground and torn up by the roots.
ElIna half that size were broken of
ten or fifteen feet from the ground,
and all the weaker woods were
snapped of like pipe stems. Prob
ably three-fourths Of the planted
groves on the line OF the tornado
are destroyed, and the Sane pro.
portion of orchards. Barns and
aut-houses suffered severely, scarce
] ly one remains uninjured, aad ma.
ny are entirely gone
The commencement OF the storm
was 8 rs, and lasted thirty minutes.
This is the report given BY parties
residing at points on the line Of the
tornado fifteen miles apart showing
Its intense velocity. Its general
course was from . little weat Of
northwest to the southeast, al
though in some places this was en-
tirely reversed.
The death roll in Warren county,
wonderful Is 1t appears in view Of
| the number of dwellings destroyed
/ Ioots up but fave-tW0 mothers and
their infant children, and one boy.
In almost every house injured pe0-
pie were found; bat none Of the
wounded arc considered TO be In 6
dangerous condition. The circum.
stances Of the deaths are - follows;
Mr. Eudalsy's house, on the fataI
night, was occupied BY himself and
wife and six chfldren Mrs.. Ogden,
and her three children When the
storm came in its fullest fury most