The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-06-22
WOFUL WINDS.
Western Cyclone Sweeps Over
Central, Iowa.
The Town of GrinneIl Destroyed.-0ne
Hundred People KiIIed.-Great
Damage Elsewhere,

1
more heart-rending. 1t is impossible
| to Judge the extent of the loss of life or
damage to property. Physicians already
| have more cases than they can attend to
properly and are anxious for help from
other cities. No. II was wrecked one
mile and a half east, gand Conductor
Deignan and some of his passengers,
were seriously injured. The head brake
man is missing. Fourteen cars are said
| to be blown clear off the track, which is
| not much damaged from the water.
| There is no telegraph communication
from any direction.
GRINNELL, June 1S, 4:5O D. m.
A special train from DesMOines reach
ed this place at $40 with twelve physi-
| clans on board from Des Moines, COlfax,
| and Kellogg. The situation is worse
| than even the first reports made it ap-
pear. ThiTty-twO people are dead, and
about one hundred or more wounded.
| Eight deaths are reported from Malcolm,
which Is entirely leYeled and destroyed.
Brooklyn has also suffered in this way.
Some eight of the students are badly in
jured, having been dug out of the ruins.
The Chaplin House is turned into hos
pital.
A special to the Register says: From
numerous and contradictory stories of
startled citizens we gather the old story
funnel-shaped cloud, 1t was seen first
coming from the southwest, sweeping
up to the northwest corner of the town,
leveling huge trees in its pathway and
taking A. A. Fosters house and barn,
leVeling both to the ground, and carry
ing Mr.. and Mrs. Foster and their two
children thirty yards, precipitating them
amidst the debris. Allan is somewhat
hurt: Just east of Foster was H. c. Pit
mans house, which was also completely
leyeled, burying beneath it Pitman, his
wife and three children, the wife's sister
and her little baby, Foster took out
three-year girl, Hattie, dead; a boy,
Harry aged ten years, fatally injured, and
Arthur slightly injured. Not far away
was the residence of Mr.. Lewis, an old
gentleman and lady, who were both
killed. From here the storm pursued a
zig-Zag direction to north of the city,
when, after wiping out the finest resi-
dence portion of the city, it turned toward
the college. The west building was
dumped into heap of lath and plaster,
and broken timber, burying beneath it
| eight students who rOOmed therein, all
of which were afterwards extracted
| more or less injured, and one died. The
East College, tiVe-stOTy building, was
unrOOfed and fire followed. After COM
pleting its work of demolition at the
College, the whirling fend struck
straight across the Iowa Central road
and directly in its path lay some loaded
| cars and great MOgUl engine which
was lifted completely off the track, and
the train tOppled on either side at the
/ whim of the wind. Across the track
| was the building of Professor j. W.
Chamberlin, Treasurer of the college,
which was gathered up in sections and
dumped in disjOfnted heap, portions of
| it upside down and iTretrievabiy ruined.
Near by once stood twO-stOry house in
which Miss Abbie Agard was killed.
| Hardly a sign was left of it. In the
vicinity stood the house of II. McCon-
nell, who was going around almost de-
| mented, carrying a lantern in which
there WAS no glass or light, moving it
| up and down in search of valuable pa
| pers which were blown away. The house
was pile of lath, splinters and plaster.
Retracing its steps among the acres of
ruins in the vicinity, the cloud came to
| block which contained nine houses,
and all but enc were leVeled to the
| ground. In one house of this block four
| persons were killed. Not far ef stood
Lucy Saunders fine residence, and what
of it that is not scattered over the ad-
| joining country is dumped into the cellar.
There were ten people in Saunders eel
| lar, .all of whom escaped. Then followed
EOWS OI HOUSES dS LdI Oh Gue ground as
space will allow. The house of A. E.
Reinfred was completely demolished,
and himself and wife were taken from
| the ruins nearly dead. Mrs. HOWard's
| was blown half block, the fragments
| jamming the corner of Jones house.
Frank CaTr0ll, who was stealing a ride
from Davenport, was on the Rock Island
freight train that was carried off the
track, lies at the Chaplin House with a
hrnI oh da nd
! Moore, Rock Island brakeman, is dy-
ing in commissions at the Chaplin House.
Scenes around the ruins are heartrend-
ing. Families are wandering over the
ruins Of their homes ia a daZed sort of
way, replying willingly to all the ques-
tiOns asked, and laughing in such q
pathetic manner at some ridiculous in
eident while some near and dear friend
is dead or dying, One young girl was
laughter, thatShe believed she had found
fragment of her room and was looking
for some articles in which to know it.
She stopped and picked up photograph
and burst into tears. 1t was the picture
of her little sister who had been killed.
Many of those who were saved in de-
molished dwellings, had fled to cellars
while the houses were carried from over
their heads. A j. Preston was away
from his home, and saw the funnel fury
coming he tried to reach his home, but
the tornado caught up with him and he
kept himself from being blown away by
clinging to the roots of tree. The en-
gine house where seven of the dead
bodies are laid out presents a sight that
brings back army days. Other dead per-
sons are around in the wrecks of their
homes where enough was left for shelter.
Those who are familiar with the varied
localities in this terribly afflicted little
city are aware that it was Ornamented
with cotton woods or soft maple, hun
dreds of them are leveled and the beau
tiful grounds are thickly embedded with
broken timbers. G. H. Stevens barn
and horse were carried completely over
his house, and the animal escaped with
slight injuries. The number of injured
range up among the hundreds; but the
doctors aid was pressed! in for only
about fifty cases; nearly every person in
the track of the tornado complains of
injuries more or less serious, or shows