Daily Republican., 1879-06-03
WILMINGTON, DEL. TUESDAY, JUNE g. 1879.
STORM IN THE WEST.
Buildings Demolish ed-Trees Up
rooted and People Killed.

rooted and People Killed.
Further particulars of the cyclon,
which passed over portions Of Kansas
Nebraska and Missouri show a grea
loss of life and property. 1t began t.
storm on Thursday. At about six
o'clock on Friday evening the rain sud.
denly ceased. A large, sullen- looking
cloud was noticed just east OF the town
Of Frankfort, on the line Of the central
branch of the Union Pacific railroad,
west of Atchison.
THE CLOUD WAS FUNNEL-sHAPED,
and seemed to increase in size as it
moved along until it reached the town,
when it seized everything in its en-
brace, gathering up houses, barns, live
stock and human beings, twisting huge
timbers and trees like reeds, and leav-
ing death and destruction in its wake.
Four persons were killed at this point.
Reports from other points tell q like
story. The following despatch from
Independence, Mo-, gives
4 COOP DESCRIPTION OF THE sToRH:
"a cyclone struck the earth four
miles from Lees Summit on Saturday
evening and tore furrow through the
country about one hundreds yards wide
and ten miles long. leveling everything
in its track and killing and wouldipg
several people. The direction Of the
storm was southwest and northeast
Three miles east of Lees Summit the
house OF Mr.. Warren was destroyed.
Two members of his family were killed
and others severely wounded. Further
on the house of Alexander Scruggs was
unroofed, and his wife's skull was frac-
tured. The houses Of DR.. Dunnington
and Mr.. Underwood were destroyed,
Tut their families escaped unharmed.
The residence OF Mr.. Hutchins was torn
to pieces, and the family badly hurt
The house of Mr.. Harris, near Blue
Springs, was demolished, and Mr.. Har-
ris, his wife and little girl were killed
and three other children were mortally
wounded. Mr.. Harris was lifted high
up into the air,
CARRIED ABOUT TWO HUNDRED FEET.
and dashed to the earth, while his wife
and child were carried about the same
distance in an opposite direction. At
this point the storm cloud burst, but
came together again almost instantly
with terrific crash, bounded from the
earth, and came down again near the
dwelling of Mr.. Gore, which it passed
through, leaving the side walls only
standing. The funnel-shaped cloud
then rose high in the air, and disap-
psared in the Northwest. The heavi-
est rain ever known in this region ac-
companied the tornado. 1t actually
deluged the country it passed over"
SEVERITY OF THE STORM.
A despatch from Blue Springs says
that Mr.. Harris, his wife and children,
were carried up into the air and
dropped in different directions from the
site of the house they occupied, the
distances varying from 100 to zoo yards.
Mrs. Harris and one child were killed
outright. Mr.. Harris died several hours
One Of the other children
was found in pool Of water fifty yards
from the house, with straw and grass
wrapped so tightly around his head
and shoulders that it could only be re-
moved with great difficulty. The child
was only slightly injured, his escape
being attributed to the mysterious ban
dage around him. At Delphos, Kansas,
fifteen dead bodies were found in two
square miles of territory. Five persons
were killed in one house. At Irving,
Kansas, as far as now known, twelve
persons were killed; at Blue Springs,
three, and at Frankfort, four. A large
were injured.
ADvICEs FROM OTHER POINTS.
A report comes frem Brookville e, Kan
sss, at least IS miles southwest of Irv-
ing, the town where the most dsstruc-
tion took place, that terrific wind
storm passed over the country north
west of there OIL Friday afternoon, do
ing great damage and killing several
people. A cyclone also struck the outer
edge of Kirksville, Adair county, Mo-,
on Friday evening, and demolished
about dozen houses and severely in
jured several persons, one woman be-
ing reported killed. 1t is not unlikely
that these storms had common origin
out on the plains in Western Kansas;
that some local cause broke the srigi
nal cloud into fragments that separate
storms were formed from these, one of
which trayersed the northern tier Of
counties in Kansas; another travelled
striking the earth in Jack
son county, Mo-, thence moved north
ward to Kirksville and beyond, and
third, the weakest one OF the three,
passing over the country in the neigh
bOrhOOd of St, Joseph,