The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1880-05-06
.THE APRIL CYCLONES.

b
when the actual extent Of the area ira
yerscd by the fearful tornado of Sunday,
April 10, h asccrtained by the Signal
ssrvice Burea, and the complete records
Of it, disaster arc made up, It viii nm
questionably prove to have been one Of
thcmost wide weeping storms that have
ever devastated this country, in the
length and brtsith Of its course aswcll
q in the destruction ofpropcrty and the
loss oflife ii cntailcd, not even excepting
the furious cyclones which some years
ago destroyed Conanchc and New Alba
NY, in Iowa. lis yet too carly to deter
mine the actual limits and boundaries
of the great storm, but its general
course is apparent. 1t was proceeded ON
tho 10Th by q smaller cyclone, which
whirlcd through Southern Ohio and
West Virginia, but was not accompanied
by any serious loss. The great tornado
two days later, seems TO have gathered
its first Roadway in Ozark County, Ar
kansas, or 1t was at that point that it
first descended to the earth. From there
It travelled in IL North easteriy direction,
doing its worst damage in the Northern
part Of the State, where the Towns Of
EPaso and Fayetteville were wiped out
and Dardcncllc partially destroyed, ten
people being killed. As it entered Mis-
souri,, up the Valley Of the James River,
it gained fearful strength and velocity,
still following fits northcasterly course
and sweeping everything before it.
Licking Barrettivillc' and Marshicld
were Destroyed aud and Findlcy, Pine
vile, Cassvillc, Gray's Crcek, NcwBloom-
field and Shawnee partially 30. Its full
fury was expended upon MarshGcld,
where lSo buildings were lcyeled to the
ground, and nearly 100 lives were lost,
So far Is known l2l people were killed
in Missouri, and list OF injured runs up
into the hundreds. Within its area the
destruction was complete. Houses, barns
fences, trees, shrubcry everything was
swept away. The destruction was as COM
pletc Is II q fire had swept over the coun-
try. Aftcr leaving Missouri the monster
began to lose some of his power. The
castrn edges of Iowa and Kansas were
touched lightly at Dubuque, Wyandotte,
and Lawrence. Crossing the Mississippi,
it seemed to gather little more force,
and it's effects were felt at Rocton, La
Sale, Ottawa, Ashland and other points
north of the Illinois River. As it enter
cd Wisconsin its area grew narrower,
for we only hear of it in Rock County,
where ten or eleven towns were badly in
jurcd, though no one was killed. 1t seems
to have died away at Manitawoc, on the
western shore Of Lake Michigan where
so many other storms Of their description
have spent their force. Following in the
wake of this monster, smaller cyclones
swept through Adams County, in this
State on the 23rd, Macoupin County ON
the 24th doing considerable danagc'but
insignificant as compared with the cy-
clone of the 18th. The cyclones exactly
tallies with that of the other great ones
which have stared in the distant South
west; carrying ruin and devastation in
their track, and ultimatly dissipating
their force on Lake Michigan. 1t was a
black, funnclshapcd cloud, lined with
white inside, whirling with inconcciv-
able rapidity, accompanied with thunder
and lightning at some points with sheets
of rain roaring like some huge animal,
dipping down to the earth and bound
ing from it again like balloon that is
not under control, sucking everything
into its vortex and whirling it out again
over the edges of its funnel, over the
country it was passing. In some places
showers Of sand were thrown from it
and in others stones, branches oftrecs,
fragments of hoases, and all kinds of deb
ris. Fortunately Chicago has been spared,
feeling only the wind which has accom-
panied the cyclone. aroused by its at
mosphcric disturbance, aud nightly
thunder storms which have come from
the strong northeast winds which have
blown across Lake Michigan. When the
complete history of the tornado Of April
IS is made up, it viii unqucstionabley
prove to be the most extensive and de-
stuctivc that has ever swept over the
Mississippi Valley.