The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-06-06

hdIlSstS, duotlltT one IN the SOllnefn part
of Jackson county, south of Kansas City,
Missouri, did immense damage. The
following are from the special dispatches
To the Kansas City Journal:
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo, May 31-A terri
bic cyclone struck near Lees Summit
and swept through the immediate cOun-
try between that and Blue Springs, Fri
day evening between & and Z O'Clock. and
destroyed everything in the shape of
buildings, fences and trees in its path.
Four lives were lost so far as heard from,
and twenty or twenty-five persons are
bruised and injured more or less. The
tornado originated about two miles
south of Lees Summit, on the evening of
the Both. 1t had been raining in that
section of country during the day. The
sky cleared of, and toward evening the
weather began to get oppressive, a warm
wind setting in from the south. When
it was nearly six o'clock in the after
noon, a cold current of air came down
from the northwest. This cold current
was accompanied by hail and some rain.
The hot and the cold currents, judging
from the accounts given, seem to have
met each other at about the southern
edge of Lees Summit. A man who was
watching the phenomenon says that n
CuIlCAl NaDOI III d ClOuu
suddenly shot up into the air directly over
the city. The cloud remained there for
few moments, and then moved quickly
to the southeast, where it assumed afun-
mel shape, and commenced to whirl
around, taking a northeast course. The
storm center apparently originated on
the farm of d. H. Whiting, two miles
south of the Summit. 1t proceeded in a
northeast direction, tearing up crops and
fences and tearing down the telegraph
wire, uplifting posts that were set thirty
inches in the ground, and sending all
rushing through the air. The first house
i struck was that of DIR. Huntington, sit
uated about two miles south of Lees
Summit The building was a two-story
frame, and was torn TO pieces. The fam
lily were in the cellar at the time, and on
this account escaped uninjured. 1t was
the merest accident that they happened
to be where they were, and it occurred
in this way: Mrs. Huntington had gone
into the cellar, taking her children
along, to give them some lunch. While
she was down there the wind blew open
a window, which she tried to close; but
failing in the attempt, called her hus-
hand to assist her. He answered her
call, and had just reached the bottom of
the steps when the cyclone struck
hooSSs II OH away Oue tAC
floor of the first story. Passing along,
the tempest next struck Mr. J. L. Good
mans house, situated near Mr.. Dunning-
tons. The house was wrenched some
what, but was not leveled, it being
on the outer edge of the path of the
j storm. GOOdman's barn was reduced &c
tOoth-pick state. There was not enough
debris to fill wheel barrow left of Dun
nington's house. The residence of Mr..
Reeder, half mile from Mr.. Goodman,
was shaken but not overturned. The
Watson nursery house. a frame of two
rooms, was lifted in bulk, carried dis
lance of about fifty feet, and then set
down without being knocked to pieces.
The house was empty of human occu-
pants, those who did occupy it, the hands,
being absent in the fields, out of range
of the winds fury. From the nursery
house to the home of Mr.. Quissenberry
is three-quarters of a mile, in northeast
direction. This house was totally de
mOlished, as also were the houses OF
Messrs. Scruggs, Constable, Hutchins
Warden, and others. Some persons were
blown and trees CARRIED 100 yards. A
son of Mrs. Block opened the door just
as the storm arrived at the house, and
was blown a distance of $50 yards. The
house was a complete wreck, but there
|, 0C4C AO SCltQAS Al
ter passing over Blocks, the tornado
swept on to Blue Springs.
The trail of the cyclone Is about one
hundred feet in width. Persons who
were carried up and let down again, say
, that in falling there was a force bearing
them up, and that their sensations were
somewhat similar to those which one
would experience in sinking into a sub
stance OF about the consistency of bank
of snow: It is also stated by those taken
up that the air surrounding them was
hot, and had a strong sulphurv SAVIOR
The crops which were passed over by
the whiFlwlnd, or whatever 1t was, lOok
as if sealding water had been poured
upon them, being quite black.
The house of r. L. Harris one-thlrti Ot
mile southeast of Blue Springs, which
was completely demolished, and himself
and family consisting of wife and foul
children carried up into the air com
pletely out of sight, and dropped in diff
ferent places and directions from the site
of the dwelling at distances from one tC
! two hundred yards. Mrs. Harris and
> one child, little girl aged years were
killed instantly, Mr., Harris lived unit
+ one O'Clock the following morning, and
another child, babe eight months old
is no doubt dead by this time. The 9th
Il wv - SAil NCAs
badly injured hut will probably live
Mrs. H. clothes were torn completely of
E of her, while one Mr.. H. IS boots was torn
; off his foot, and his clothing torn t.
: shreds. The children's clothing wa:
damaged but little. All of them were
completely covered with a thick
BLACK, sULPHURnUs SMELLING MUD.
Portions of the building were found
, scattered around at distances of from
: two to four hundred yards from the
} place where the house stood. The cook
f ing stove was carried distance of sew
!, enty-five yards, and was found half burr
] ed in mud with fire still in it. Fences
in the vicinity of the Harris residence
were completely carried away and scat
2 tered all over the adjacent country, anC
2 cattle and hogs were killed in large mum
} beers. The tornado did not strike thu
town of Blue Springs. but was very
; plainly discernihle from that point.
HOW A TORNADO looks.
; At the time the storm came up tn
family of Mr.. Harris were at supper, al
/ in ignorance of the terrible calamit,
! which was about to befall them, ant
! when the hurricane struck the house
I was torn to pieces so quickly that the,
had no time to calculate their danger
: themselves. A couple of young mel
were passing the house about a hundre'
: yards to the north. They felt no win,
mt all, but saw the destruction of tn
Harris dwelling very plainly. The
state that the first intimation they hal
of a tornado was
p TERRIBLE ROARING,
: and looking over their shoulders south
|, west they saw the storm coming in til
y shape of a large inverted funnel, reach
! ing from very near the ground out c
J. sight IN the air, at the rate of about fl
e teen miles per hour, When they say
8 this coming they whipped up thei
T horses and managed to get out of tn
? path. The next they saw was the dwell
}; ing and family of Mr.. Harris, togethe
d with the Outbuildings, going straight u
e into the air in one confused mass, az
% Icompanied by a dense cloud of sulphT
s rous smelling smoke. For Q space {
), ten seconds they were unable to see AM
e thing, after which, for a few second
e more, broken timbers and debris of a
d kinds began
d TO RAIN DOWN
y in all directions around them. The
very narrowly missed being struck
= The tornado, after leaving the Harr
J. place, kept on IN
4 THE SAME GENERAL DIRECTION
-e but did no damage of consequence unit
is it reached the residence of Mr.. Unde