The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-09-01
THE FEARFUL CYCLONE.

EDITOR DEMOCRAT-DEAR SIR: Having
Just returned from Rochester, Mime
sofa, a brief account of the terrible cy-
clone, that swept over Dodge county on
the evening of the 2lst inst, may be ac-
ceptable. No tongue or pen can de-
scribe the ruins, one must see 1t to COM
prehend. Surviving citizens describe 1t
as phenomena of resistless force, bot h
horizontally and vertically coupled
with the sWiftest rotary motion. Few,
however, can tell of its direct action,
because when 1t struck they had some
thing else to think Of. The storm was
tripartite, formed of three whirling
cones, one coming south of west, (yOur
correspondent happened to be in the re-
giOn where this cone had its origin, and
l assure you il was too windy for pleas
ure,) one due west, and the smallest
north of west. They Joined near the
Court House. Prior to the breaking of
the full force of the wind the air was
supernaturally dark, but when the
WhiTlWind came, it brought with 1t a
CHASTITY sort of lurid light, indescriba-
bly, awful, and referred to by many as
inducive of strange, mental disturban-
ees. Language fails to describe its force.
Twenty bodies were buried when left;
two more were dead and others still ia
tally wounded, whilst many slightly
bruised and some manned for life. Mrs.
Quick and baby were killed outright;
Mr.. Quick died the next day; the re-
manning four children are more or less
injured. The case Of MIR. Hetzel Is an
example of the irresistible force of the
wind. He was driving span of horses
attached to a wagon, with span of
mules hitched behind. The wind took
team, wagon and man high up in the
air, and when found, the mules were
hanging in the treetOps by the harness;
one horse was killed ;the other badly bruis
ed. Mr.. Hetzel had an arm and his spine
broken, and died in q few hours. Far
mers who ate their suppers with CRATE
full cOnsciences that their wheat and
oats were cut and in shock, in few mo-
ments lost their all, not even a straw
being left. The track of the storm was
about thTee-fOurths of a mile wide and
fully fifty miles long. One farmer lost
his binder by the storm rolling it over
and over, and finally lifting it up in the
air, and hurting it down to the ground
endwise, smashing it to pieces. A pine
board about six feet long and four in
ches wide is driven endways through
the trunk of maple tree six inches
thick, and remains imbedded in it. An
other horrible feature was the uncer-
tainty of Identification, as both dead and
wounded had the dust 80 driven into
their flesh, that even repeated cleanings
with the sponge were necessary before
familiar lineaments and loved features
could be recognized. In the death of
Mrs. Young, an elderly lady, is proven
the terrible force of the side issues of
the storm. She was in hack on Broad
way, in front of the Court House. She
was lifted bodily from the hack and
thrown to the ground. The horses be.
ing blown one way, the vehicle another
while the driver described parabOla in
third.
A Mr.. Williams, living across the Zum'
bro river, happened to see the cyclone
when it first formed in the southwest
To little boy (whOse name he did not
know who WAS near him, he said:
That's cyclone; come with me into
this hazel-brush and hold yourself by
the roots" The boy not knowing what
a cyclone was took refuge in hen-cOoI
near by. Mr.. Williams saw the three
clouds join, and when the work of de-
structiOn commenced, he ran into the
hazel cOpse. He lay down face to the
earth and with the crown of his head
against fence post, gTasped the brush
near the roots with both hands. The
first gust played with him as if he were
a whip-lash, but he chung for life. There
was a little lull and then, as he express
ed lit, "the darn thing commenced iti
monkey work in airnest." A lot OF
boards from some building were blown
on top of him. Then his body was tori
from the earth, his hold lOOsened and hi
and the boards carried fifty yards ava.
into the cOpse. He was uninjured saw
the terrible shock, swollen hands, ant
abraded face. When the fury of tn
angry winds had somewhat abated, HI
began search for the boy, whom he fOunC
fully one thousand feet away on tn
other side of an intervening ravine. Tn
poor boy was demented and to all h
would say, "go away, you are 81,
COON" Frightful and death dealing a
the freaks of the storm have been, thu
narrow escapes have been as miraculous
Mrs. DOnahue and ten children escapes
without a scratch, although their hous
was crushed to atoms about them. MI
Patterson, a painter In the Harveste
works, was similarly by the falling tim
| bers forming bridge over him, com
pletely caging him in.
The next morning after the storm
little boy about ten years old was fOun(
uninjured, being protected by a roc
that rested on fence post, and whe
taken out, the little fellow began t
laugh and coo at the person who fOun
| ulLus f10 udu uOb D66u luoublnou Who
your correspondent left. The railrOa
switch was wrenched from its faster
ings, displacing the rails, by which a
incoming freight train was ditched an
the fireman killed. Wire fences are com
pletely wrapped with straw, hay, carpet
bedding, clothing, harvester canvas an
what not. The ground in many place
has the appearance of having been flOOC
ed by some mighty river, although u
rain fell. Some of the incidents whic
| have related seem almost incredible
and had not been there and seen th
devastation, might be 10th to believ
it; but L can assure your readers tha
one must see 1t to fully realize it.
| have been as near a cyclone and not g
into it as desire; and L hope never [
see such devastation and ruin again.
| u u