Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-05-04
THE CYCLONE.
Graphic Description of the Terrible
Whiriwind at Brownsville, Mo.


Graphic Description of the Terrible
Whirlwind at Brownsville, Mo.
The st. Louis Republicans CORE
spondent. writing from Brownsville,
under date of April 20, gives particu-
lars of the terrible cyclone. He says
the widest confusion reigned all day.
The town is crowded with people from
the surrounding country, who flocked
IN to see the devastation. The work
of clearing the debris was commenced
after the storm passed, has been kept
up constantly and necessarily ever
since, but it will require several DAYS
to thoroughly overhaul the ruins. Two
more dead bodies were exhumed and it
is thought there is still woman and
child beneath the ruins.
E. G. Biggerstaff was on the street
when the two storm clouds united and
made their terrible rush for the town.
He stood directly in the line Of the
funnel-shaped cloud, and thinking to
get out of its way, started to run, but
had proceeded not more than dozen
yards when he was envelOped and
drawn up several feet above the ground
and hurled against 2 brick building,
but escaped without even a bruise.
He says while he was up in the air.
and within the whirling vortex of the
cloud, he heard a terrible cracking
sound and could see myriads of sparks
dying round, evidently Of the electrical
kind.
The storm didn't last more than a
minute, and when it passed, all parts
OF the town it touched were a perfect
waste.
The first house the storm struck was
a two-story brick building on the
corner of Main and Spring streets,
occupied by Myers & Duensing, dry
goods; Thomas Andrews, clothing; A..
Thelsea, groceries, and A. S. Reinhart,
hardware-all of which were lifted
from their foundations and hurled into
the street, burying the inmates and
killing three outright.
The storm then continued northeast,
demolishing number of dwellings on
the way to the brick block on Licking
ton avenue, where seven. story brick
building was destroyed and others bad
ly damaged. The Brokville hotel. a
large two-stery frame, was completely
carried away and the timbers scattered
1000 yards around. The brick public
school building was cut down to the
first windows. The school had been
dismissed about fifteen minutes before
the storm. The Christian church was
also destroyed. About twenty frame
and brick dwellings were demolished
and great loss, at least 5000, is
sustained.
The force Of the wind was so great
that it lifted brick building clear off
its foundations, and frame buildings
were picked up bodily and twisted into
splinters. The carpets and furniture
in the dwellings were carried entirely
out of town and logged in tree tops, and
lumber yards were scattered all over
the country. Several pieces were found
a mile distant from the house which
was carried fifty feet and hurled
against brick wall, and two miles out
in the country fence rail was driven
entirely through the body of a cow.
The home physicians have been re,
lieved by others from Sedalia and ad-
jacent towns and the wounded have
been nearly all attended to. A large
number of persons are rendered home
less. The cyclone is fully equal to that
Of Richmond IN 1873, or Marshfield in
1879.
A special train was run from Soda
liza to day. and the proceeds of the trip,
about S40O, was donated to the suffer
ers. Another train will be run to-
morrow for the same purpose. The
mayor has issued proclamation stat
ing that donations will be received by
the committee for distribution. No
new facts were developed. At Mon
trose eighteen dwellings and seven
churches were destroyed. A number
of farmhouses in the vicinity are de-
m OliShed