Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-06-16
ANOTHER TERRIBLE CYCLONE.

vsttrE. - -
Portions of Indiana Visited by a Destr,,-
tive Storm Nineteen Persons Said ~
Have Been Killed, Many Others won,s
ed, and Much Valuable Property Ia
stroyed,
MEAGER REPORTS. .0
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, May 20.
The cyclone which passed over the west.
ern and southern part of the State Monday
night seems to have lone much more dam.
age than at first reported. Its exact course
is not definitely defined, for it did damage
as high up as Fountain County, and from
that down through Clay, Owen, johnson
and Shelby Counties. Near Covington there
was comparatively little damage done by
the rain, but there was terrific lightning
and much hail. The wife and infant
child of Robert Brewer, living below the
town, were instantly killed by a stroke of
lightning, which came down the chimney
and through the fireplace. At Clay City, in
the southern portion of Clay County, the
cyclone, which was then in two separate
parts, did great damage, leveling fences and
buildings west of the town and filling the
air with debris, which was scattered for
miles around. Thompson's Bank and Jette
& Witse's large warehouse were entirely
demolished. Three miles east of the town
it struck the large frame house of John
Craft, crushing it to pieces and instantly
killing five persons, Mrs. John Craft and
child, Mrs. Christian Williams and child,
and Fred Pfeifter. Mr.. Craft and an elder
son, who got in the cellar, were also dam
gerously hurt. The wind was accompanied
by heavy rain and hail, and the darkness
for a time was intense. At P%atricksburg,
Owen County, the cyclone was about a mile
wide and seemed to come from the north
east. Two saw-mills, a tlouring-mill, and
about a dozen houses were torn to pieces.
The store OF Coats&Smaltz was badly smashed
and both gentlemen seriously hurt. At Ed
inburgh, in johnson County, the wind and
hail did great damage to property and lum-
Der. The steeple of the Methodist Church
was blown through the roof of the parson-
age, and the pastor, G.. w. Lee, was serious
ly injured. The barn on the farm of Jar
rett Demings, who lives five miles west of
Edinburgh, was blown down, and his son
John and a farmland by the name
of Daniel Lane buried in it's ruins
and instantly killed. The cyclone ex-
tended thence in a southeasterly direction,
but seemed to have spent much of
its force. The Cincinnati train on the Big
-Four run into a cyclone near Greensburg. A
tree was blown across the track in front of
ed by the efficiency of the air-brakes. At
Adams the wind unroofed a mill, and con-
siderable damage was done to orchards and
forests. The reports from the cyclone are
very meager, as the damage was generally
done in the country and away from news
centers.
At Meals Mill, on Eel River, near Brazil,
eight men had taken refuge under a heavy
bridge, which was torn to pieces, and 10
seph Seely and George Kay We're killed,
while the others were badly injured. In the
lam was killed by debris and her child
was carried away and has not been found.
SHELBY COUNTY.
S~HELBYv1LLE, Ind, May 80.
A cyclone of terrific force struck the
southern part of this county Monday eve
ming, doing great damage. In a track six
miles long and one mile wide, forests, Or
chards and fences were swept away The
destruction to property was great. Chris
Girton had a d~welling-house torn to pieces,
the roof taken off of a large grist-mill, anda
number OF cattle pens torn down. The
Fately school-house was badly damaged.
Henry Girard, John Colby and David Conger
lost their barns. Robert Titus lost a new
house that had not been occupied, also his
barn. In Norristown, a small village, every
house was injured, the church and school
house being badly wrecked. Near Norris
town Samuel Spellman's barn was struck by
lightning and burned to the ground. Loss,
$1,000; insured in the Continental for $500.
A mile farther OH the barn of Wilson Flem-
ing was also struck by lightning and burned.
Loss, $500; no insurance. Near these
were the barns of David Masee and Mat
Smith, both Of which are total wrecks.
Near Geneva Job Tindale, John How
ard, Thomas Jones and John Guelest
lost their barns, and the residence of Joseph
Mount, John Hungate and John Carter were
demolished. In this county there was not
a person injured, but near Edinburgh two
men who took refuge in a barn were killed
by the building being blown over. One of
them was Frank Deming and the other
Daniel Lane. The storm lasted ten min
utes, and was followed by a very hard rain
and hail storm.