Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-05-21
DEATH FROM THE CLOUDS
TERRIBLE DEVASTATION RY
WESTERN WHIRLWINDS.

way, which arrived last night. brought
the following meagre particulars of a
cyclone near Harvard. ILL.,: SsShortly be-
lore O'Clock last evening dark cloud
was seen hanging over Chemung, a small
village near Harvard. A roaring sound
was heard, and suddenly ftlnnel-shaped
cyclone formed and swOoped down in the
place with fearful rapidity. Houses were
torn to pieces like so many card boards and
Whlrled through the air. Large buildings
were leveled in an instant There are no
definite details, but it is understood that a
number of persons were killed and at
least twenty wounded. Passing to the
east the storm struck Belvidere, doing
considerable damage. Here the wind
changed to the northeast and Widened to
a mile. Laurence, small station six
miles north of Harvard, was desOlated.
A dispatch to the Netos from SPRING
neId, Ill, says 1.-The damage caused by
the cyclone storm which visited this sec
tiOn of the State last evening was more
appalling than was supposed. 1t struck
the ground ON Eliza les farm south of
the junction and laid waste three dwell
lngs and as many barns and out houses.
Mr.. lies house, a large two story brick
building. was entirely demolished. 1t was
occupied by Mr.. Booker, who was
considerably injured. A male baby was
nearly killed. Across the road from
BOOker's place Zeublin Willford's house
was swept away by tornado, but no
damage to life resulted. A quarter of a
mile further to the northeast the home of
Mrs. English was torn to pieces. Every
thing about the place was entirely de-
Stroyed. Mrs. English was crushed and
mangled by falling timbers, but there
of IN
sons, James and Thomas, were only slight
ly injured. The hurricane struck the earth
again four miles east of the city, where the
little settlement of Round Prairie is situat-
ed,and played havoc with the lives and pro-
perty of farmers in that vicinity. Several
persons who took refuge in cellars es-
capped uninjured, although their houses
were swept from over their heads. Henry
1arbee was killed, and twelve or fifteen
persons, more or less, were injured. From
Round Prairie the storm swept on to Daw-
son, nine miles northeast, but doing no Sc
rlOus damage till that point was reached.
Here a number of houses were torn
down and Mrs. Fearis was killed.
At Buffalo, another little hamlet, Mrs.
Thomas Chandler was killed by the fall
ing timbers of her home. Another storm
is reported to have struck Just east of
Jacksonville, and to have pursued a
NOrtheasterly direction twenty-five miles
west of Springfield. 1t is said that the
little hamlet of Lesterburg was destroyed,
and that eight persons were killed and
injured. Full particulars are as yet un-
obtainable.
From advices received by the Asso-
ciated press from the points i'm Illinois
visited by the cyclone Friday night fifty
four deaths have already been reported in
the State, and the number injured is estI-
mated at very nearly 200. Owing to the
condition OF the wires north of Milwaukee
no accurate computation of the loss of
life in Wisconsin can be made.
CLINTON, ILL, May ia terrible cy-
clone passed over this place last night,
doing large amount of damage and kill
ing several people. The wind took south
east course and followed up Salt creek, in
this county, on the line of which many
houses were totally destroyed. About six
miles south of Clinton the wind tore down
a house, killing Peter Clifton, his wife
and eight-year-Old daughter, and fatally
injured another child. The members OF
family named Bennison were seriously in
jured, and many other families more or
less injured whose names could not be
obtained. The damage is very great.
In Dewitt county, last night, eleven
farm houses were demolished by the
storm. Some were blown completely out
of sight. George p. Clifton. his wife and
SSNeI-S6dE Olu UaNlSUIeT, were klIIeu, anu
many persons injured.
STAUNTON, ILL, May 19.-At o'clock
last night a tornado passed about three
miles east of here, totally demOlishing
LivingstOne's fine farm residence and dam
gerOusly injuring Mr.. Livingstone. Other
buildings in the vicinity were destroyed
and orchards injured. A construction
crew of about twenty-five men on the
Springfield and Illinois Southeastern Rail-
n
house, some of them sleeping in large
barn. All were seriously injured. Mr.. |
CantWell, contractor, and Alva BerPie
were instantly killed. 4 little girl, aged !
eight years, cannot recover.
ALTON, ILL, May 19.-The storm here
last night was heavy, but did no great !
damage. At Grafton, a few miles north |
Of here, great damage was done. All the |
derricks of the Grafton Stone Quarry |
Company were destroyed, together with |
five engines and several horses. The loss |
is very heavy. Three houses in Shin Hol- |
low, near Grafton, belonging to Dennis |
Shay, John McVeigh and Michael |
Garner were totally wrecked. |
Mrs. Garner was killed and her husband |
is supposed to have been thrown into the |
ravine and killed and his body washed |
Shay had a leg broken.
The storm was also severe at Edwards |
vile. Mrs. VIM. MaXey, of Alton, while |
going from her fathers house, near |
Edwardsville, to a neighbOr's, was killed |
by being blown against tree. The root |
of the court house was blown off.
CHIPMAN, ILL, May ia cyclone |
passed through this section yesterday |
doiug great damage. Several persons are |
reported seriously injured and one is |
dead. The storm came from the SOUTH |
west, passing half mile west of this |
place and one mile east Of Plainview, and |
covered space about quarter OF mile |
in width.
JACKSONVILLE, ILL, May 19.-Morgan |
county experienced last evening the most |
disastrous wind storm known in its his |
tory, On Greasy Prairie, eleven miles |
south of here. several farm houses were |
DESTROYED and one man, boy ana two |
children were killed, and others were ln- |
iured. Southeast of the city, along the |
line of the Jacksonville and Southeastern !
Railway, much damage is reported.
Near Franklin the storm was fearlully |
destructive.
AT Pisgah house the barn and orchard |
of James OXley were swept away and |
his wife and children were seriously in
jured.
At WOOdlawn, where there was a severe |
tornado attended with fatal casualties |
three years ago, the railroad depot was |
destroyed and cars were blown from
the track into atoms and the |
track being partially torn up. |
The worst Of the cyelane, however, was |
some nine miles north of here, at Liter,
on the Peoria branch Of the Wabash |
Railroad The storm cloud was In the /
shape of a column, and struck the south |
part of the town and Travelled northeast
across the business and resi-
dence portion of the place, leveling four |
stores. two churches, the depot, repair |
sboD and thirteen dwellings, besides in
turing others and destroying much other
property. .,
At Mrs. Grifin's house her three sons |
and one daughter were injured, and an |
other daughter, aged twenty-five years, /
was killed, She herself was in a danger
Gus condition from the shock to her whole
system, Another ruined dWeIllng was
that of her son, DIR. Griffin, VINO, Win MS
wife. is at the city hospital here, and 0oth
are probably fatally injured internally. |
His seven months old daughter was
killed, James Stevenson's house was de-
stroyed. He had leg broken ana MS I
wife was killed. Mr.. and Mrs. JOhn IrOt-
ter. an aged couple, lost their lives In their
wrecked home. This makes the numDer
of killed in the town five. There are fully /
fiffeen persons injured, three of whom /
will probably die. Ten of the injured were
brought TO this city this morning. |
Farther to the southeast, along the track |
of the storm, scattering farm houses and |
harms were leyelled to the ground. The |