Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1882-04-19
wRATHFuL WINDS.
Two Missouri Towns Destroyed by
Tornadoes.
Seven People Killed at Browns
vile and Thirty Injured.
A Devastating Cyclone


independence, Mo-. April ia tel
rihc cyclone swept over the town of
Brownsville, Saline Co., Mo-, at 4:S0
o'clock this afternoon. The entire busi-
ness portion of the town was demolish.
ed and seven persons killed, and be.
tween twenty and thirty others badly in
iursd. The storm came from the south
west, and was very similar to the one
which destroyed the town of Richmond
four years ago. The storm came up sud-
denly, and tho first intimation the peo-
pie had was Q roaring sound, which was
Immediately followed by the appearance
Of large black funnel shaped cloud,
coming from the southwest. at the rate
of at least 100 miles per hour. When the
cloud was 6st noticed it was apparently
about two miles distant and hung fifty
yards above tho earth. When it reached
the western part of the town it dropped
down almost to the ground, and seemed
to draw everything within radius of
several hundred yards up into the mouth
OF the funnel. 1t swept through the
town laying everything in its path.
Stores and brick business houses were
picked up like straws and whirled and
twisted into shapeless masses; frame
dwellings we're carried some distance and
dropped, smashing the houses into kind
ling wood. Heavy timbers were carried
several hundred yards through the air.
and falling end downwards. stuck several
feet in the ground. Occasionally the
funnel seemed to strike the earth aud
would rebound some distance into the
sir, only to fall again, and continue its
work of destruction. The storm lasted
less than two minutes, but during that
short space of time, about twenty
business houses and dwellings
were levelled to the ground
The storm came up so suddenly that the
people had no time for preparation and
in fact, scarcely any one knew what wa,
coming until the storm was upon them
People in the street were picked up anG
carried some distance and hurled to the
ground, dead or bruised, almost beyoni
recognition, while others we're buried BY
the falling walls and debris. For som,
time after the storm passed the peopl,
Who we're not injured were SO terribly ex
cited that nothing could be done. Whe,
they at last recovered from thei
CONSERVATION, search for tn
dead and wounded was commenced. I
was at first supposed that fifty person
had been killed. but thorough searcl
! | revealed that only seven were killed out
! right, fourteen mortally wounded, an,
sixteen seriously injured. The kille,
I were J. s. Schrugs, farmer; Claude Me1
4 Ger, dry goods merchant; L. X. Clark
VIM. Williams, clerk; Con White, cit
! marshal;J s. Payne, minister; Jane
. Miller, clerk. The names of th
:, wounded and the extent c
their injuries cannot be learne
!, tonight. The storms passage was abo,
l5e yards wide: and every house, treo G
shrub in its path was lsveled TO th
}. ground.
:. After leaving Brownsville the funn'
pursued an eastern direction, and vi
next heard Of near MasshAll, whore %,
eral farm houses wcre destroyed. A
y The Telegraph lines leading out !
v Rrovpsville were broken and only OF