Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-05-06
THE MARsHraELD CALAMITY.

THE MARSHF1ELD CALAMITY.
| Particulars of the Terrible Disaster ut
| Marshfieid, Mo- Partial List OF the
Killed.
Compiled from the St. Louis papers.l
| THE TORNADO
| struck the town yesterday Sunday evening
| shortly after six o'clock TWAS first seen ap-
| preaching from the southwest In the form of
| a dense black cloud. One man, living two
| miles southeast of town. says that he saw the
| storm approaching several miles away, COM
| ing from a southwesterly direction. He says
that it first seemed to be a very small cloud,
| coae-shaped, whirling along the ground at q
rapid rate As it advanced it increased in
| size, and as it approached the town the whole
| heavens were bIackeRed and the air was
filled with flying leaves, pieces of timber and
| bits of rubbish, which fell in showers
all through the country. The storm was so
| sudden and unexpected in coming and passed
away 50 quickly that little time was given to
| observe what was going on, but from the va
riouS experiences 1t seems that the majority
| of people scarcely knew of its approach until
| 1t was over, either leaving them safe and
| sound or with the wreck of their homes and
| the mutilA1ed forms of their families around
| them. Some ran out into the street under the
| impression that the darkness was caused by
| the smoke from a fire. Some held on to
| trees. others thrrw themselves fiat to the
ground, and some rushed wildly about try
| ing to escape from the tempest. :.
Hon. Joseph Wisely, who witnessed it from
the time it made its first appearance, says
reached within a mile of the town. 1t was a
huge cone shaped, dark looking mass, sew
eral hundred yards in width; and as it sped
apparently danced from side to side as if in
gi nan at v,o the g. terror of ddv.n those
CONSERVATION seized upon those who wiz
messed its approach, and who were aware of
its dread import, and many were the attempts
family were saved by fleeing from their resi-
dence and lying fiat on the ground and were
fortunate enough to be on the outskirts of the
storm. 1t bore down on the heart of the own,
and for space of half a mile in width tore to
pieces and ground into spiinters every thing
in its path. Nothing was Ieit-not one stone
above another in the foundations-and from
beneath the ruins of these hundreds of piles
of rubbish that represented what had but a
few minutes previous been happy homes and
well filled business houses, came the dying
cries and agonizing shrieks of men. women
and children. Darkness soon set in, but all
like Trojans in extricating the living and dead
from the ruins.
SCENE OF DEsoLATIoN.
The scene of desolation which Marshfield
presented this morning was one never to be
forgotten. Two-thirds of the town was in
ruins. In some places the houses were
jumbled up together and jammed into and
over one another that it was difficult matter
10 distinguish CnSIu apart. OCncF parLS Oh the
town were swept SO clean of houses and trees
and shrubbery that the scene resembled mere
parts s Of an m. open mo than any
walls wall blown 0 down. The ' principal
gether resembling more mass of rubbish than
buildings. Houses and parts of houses were
on four small bush
the Square. The dwelling houses situated in
the southern part of the town escaped injury,
not lying in the path of the storm.
The destruction of property was enough,
but when we add to THIS the loss of life, taken
the scene can be better IMAGINED than describ.
ed. Corpses were scattered In every direction
along the streets, and from time to time were
taken out from the piles of debris horribly
mangled and diSfigured. Now and then II
body would be found with the head severed
from the trunk, Again the head would be
mashed in and brains and blood would be
spattered around. Some were found mangled
almost beyond recognition. If any thing
dead bodies, it was the condition of the
wounded, whose piteous groans and heart
rending cries were heard on every side.
ASSISTANCE FROM ABROAD.
As soon as the news of the disaster reached
Springfield and Lebanon, two special trains
were dispatched from Springfield, with sur.
Could be hurriediy obtained, and a large num-
Der of citizens of Lebanon came up on the
morning passenger train About three O'Clock
and medicines for the wounded. As rap
wounded could be extricated from
the ruins of the buildings, they were prepared
for interment. Tho wounded were conveyed
the public school building, which was not
badly damaged. 1t was turned into a hospi-
There n ars o now ifty wounded in this baipding
under the care of noble women from Leba-
non and Springfield. who are doing all in their
power to alleviate the sufferings of those un-
der their care.
The scene here april 2o) is one of the great.
est ama the s m int has
been kept. Over seventy persons are known
to have been kflledin the town, and of this
identified. Eighty wounded persons have re-
ceived attention and sixty five of them are
Of
and twenty doctors are here from Spring |
field, Lebanon and Rolla, and every thing |
wounded and destitute. The citizens have |
organized into committees, for various pur- |
grams offering help have been received from |
St Louis, Philadelphia, Chicago, Oswego and |
Columbus, Kas.
The property loss to the town is estimated
ut 100000. The loss of goods in stock is esti- |
mated at 100000 With few exceptions the |
From reliable reports from the track of the
storm in Webster County alone the loss of life |
will not fall short of 100 killed and 200 |
The total loss of property in the county will |
reach the enormous figure OF 100000.
VARIOUS INCIDENTS.
A babe eighteen months old, whose mother
was killed and friends all wounded, was
found yesterday in the ravine north Of town,
where it lay all night. It Is now doing well.
Another little child about two years old was
afternoon found in a tree-top,
where it had been nearly twenty -four
hours. 1t is considerably bruised, but will re-
cover. 1t is understood that it was to day
claimed by its parents, who live some two
and half or three miles from SouthtOwn. It's
aerial flight hence must have extended over
three miles. A wagon has been found that
was carried over four miles, and a section of
the iron smoke stack of the mill over three T.
and a half miles,
PARTIAL LIST OF THE KILLED.
Mrs. r. w. Fyan, Matilda widemeyer, Eddie
Widemeyer, Louisa Hicks, Mr.. keso, Nancy |
A. Hawley and child, j. NJ. Leeds, wife and
TWO children, Daniel Wright and wife, VIM.
Doss, Lucinda GOodam, Nora Smith, Julia
Starr, Fannie Johnson, Ida SMITH, Ann
Woods, Annie Rudd', Kittie White, Mrs. I'm.
1erwood and infant child, Mrs. Short, Mrs.
Arlelia King and infant child, two
Evans children, Minnie Smith, Henry Bollin- |
ger, Mrs. j. w. Potter, DIR. Bradford and son,
Mrs. Florence N. Moore, Rev. Z. +. Condo, Re-
Sy1theriin aged q. Snther1iU- |