The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-05-01
THE STORM KING.

| The last week was hardly less notable than
the week that preceded 1t for the unusual mum
Der and severity of the storms and cyclone,
! throughout the country, most notably IN the
Mississippi valley. On Saturday afternoon OF
last week II cyclone of wonderful velocity and
terrible in its effects passed half mile north
of Carlinville in this state. 1t rayagcd dis
trct half mile wide and fifty miles or more
in length. Everything was swept before il;
houses, barns, trees and hedges were torn TO
pieces. a train on the Alton road only cs-
capped being hurled from the track by stopping
behind al cminence. A few miles north of
Taylorvile dozen Of houses were destroyed,
killing, crippling and carrying away num-
Der of the inmates. Hundreds of horses, cat.
tie, hogs and sheep were also killed or badly
crippled, and even fowls were found killed
ana Invested of their plumage. Another place
in Its course that was struck appears to have
been Rockbridgc, on the Chicago and Bur.
nngton branch road in Green county, where
other damage done.
The same storm, bu, somewhat less destruct
i've in its effects struck Ashland, ILL.,, doing
several thousand dollars worth of damage,
Farmer City, Peoria, kankakec, Frceport &c.
On the same afternoon, and possibly a part
of the same atmospheric disturbance" a.
most destructive hail-storm occurred at Han
mbal, Mo-, hailstoncs falling an inch in dame
~ hiatt 1,
ing windows and maddening unshetered
horses and cattle. The same hail.storm also
struck Brownville, Mo.
But more destructive even than the Illinois
cyclone was one which struck Macon, Miss,
on the 25th, about O'Clock in the evening.
AT the hour stated says despatch, two ter.
riblc currents of air, one from the northeast
and the other from the southwest bcaringl
clouds charged with electricity, were hurled
together right at the Inflated locality 1t was
a war of storms. Besides incessant lightning,
balls of fire were seen whirlng across the
clouds, varying in size from chestnut to that
OF mans head. Right IN the center of that
part of town around the railroad station theI
storms met, and the work Of destruction com
and IN less time than it can be told
the place was in ruins. The loss of life was
fearful. Through beating rain, and against
pitiless winds, our citizens rushed to the scene
to aid the sufferers Through the night squads
of men combined and went to work to remove
the debris, gather up the wounded, dying and
dead that were scattered everywhere. The
scene beggars all human attempts at descrip-
ton. To-day the citizens have closed their
places of business and are devoting the day to
caring for the dead and wounded. Eighteen
were killed outright and forty more or less
perhaps fatally, After the
storm some of the RUNS caught fire, but it was
checked before spreading to any extent. Near
10 O'Clock perfect waterspout visited the
scene to render it more horrible. Men and
woman were found to-day dccapltated, limbs
torn from bodies, and otherwise mutilated, a
quarter of mile from their homes. Stock
was all killed IN that vicinity. A bolt of
goods from store was found eight miles from
town IN a tree-top'