Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1883-04-28


about CLOCK yesterday afternoon. The
wind for the past three days had been
blowing a gale, and lowering clouds indl-
Gated storm. Its approach was known
for some minutes by the deep, rumbling
sound. windows in dwellings shaking
with violence, and many people thought
it was an earthquake. Thunder roared
and lightning flashed with alarming force
and vividness. Fences were torn down;
trees which had stood storms for years
were uprooted and cast a hundred yards
away. East of the railroad in WesSon
the damage was light, but in Wesson a
portion of the town is in destruction. IL
was awful in its character. As soon as
the storm had somewhat abated and the
people began TO look about, LIQUIDS peals OF
! church bells were rung out. People were
seen running in all directions toward
! West Wesson. The rain, meantime, was
/ pouring in torrents. Reaching Peach Or
chard street, an indescribable scene was
witnessed. This street is lined with
large number Of houses in which the op.
erativcs of the Mississippi Mills are domi-
! ciled, and here the greatest destruction
occurred. People were seen on all sides
sobbing, and the groans of the wounded
beneath the ruins were perfectly appall-
! ing. Dwellings were torn to atoms. The
! pine forest Just beyond was blown out OF
existence. The work of removing the
dead and extricatlng the wounded from
| the ruins began at once. Calvin Reed,
! living in the vicinity, died from excite
ment 1t is estimated that the number or
killed is twelve. Two or three children
arc missing. One hundred and fifty or
two hundred dwellings are blown down.
The number of people with broken limbs
is estimated by the physicians at seventy
five. The wounded were removed rs fast
as possible TO the houses which escaped
injury. Several dead lay in the violent
rain for more than an hour after the
storm. The dead are now all laid out,
and collins are being made for them. The
! mills will not run to-day.
A special train with physicians from
McComb City and Brookhaven has ar
rived. Some of the physicians will go to
Beauregard, where the destruction to life
and property is simply indescribable.
Among the killed in Wesson are Mrs.
Causty and two children several children
OF j. f. Gibson, one of whom was found
crushed under a chimney. Two persons
were so mangled is to be unacceptable,
! and several others whose names could not
be obtained in the confusion. \ little
boy was found iii the woods, several hum
dred yards away, unhurt. Wesson, except
in the locality mentioned, suffered little,
except general destruction OF fences and
trees.
Beauregard lay in TIE direct line Of the
cyclone. The scene there is absolutely
appalling. The town is literally wiped
out OF existence. 1t is in truth mass Of
ruins. 1t is with difficulty that one can
ride through, so thckly are the trees
strewn across the road. There is not
house of any character standing in the
place. Two brick stores Of Thompson IL
Co. and NJ. Daniel IL Co., the largest il
the place, are swept away. Timber is
scattered for miles around. Even out in
the coutry two and half miles dwellings
were swept away. 1t is estimated that
twenty-three people were killed and near
" hundred wounded.
Besides the losses in the towns named
the devastation of the country lying in
the path of the hurricane is very great to
crops, farm houses and stock, and there is
some loss of life. A public meeting of
citizens Tonight subscribed $500 for the
sufferers.
At IL o'clock yesterday morning tor
nado passed about mile east of Red Lick,
causing some loss of life and great dam
age to property. The track of the storm
was two hundred yards wide. Every
thing in the track was swept away
dwellings, cabins, trees, fences, cattle, exc.
On Ross place, a mile from here, the storm
leveled the quarters and fences, killing 4
colored child and injuring several persons.
Only one house remains standing. On
the KillingswGrth plantation great many
cabins were blown down and much dam
| age done to crops and fences. In one cabin
were five people, who say the walls and
roofs Of houses were lifted and carried
away, leaving the people standing unhurt
on the floor. ...
The cyclone passed within mile OF
Starkville. The destruction Of property
was appalling. Dwellings, gin houses
ard barns were swept away, and in every
instance scattered before the wind. The
reports of destruction and distress con-
tinue TO come in. Five or ten lives were
lost in this neighborhood. At the colored
church negro man was taken bodily up,
and the last seen of him he was far above
the earth, wildly beating the air as if
seeking something to stay his PROCESS.
At Caledonia, twelve miles north of CO.
lumbus, the storm seems to have cOncen-
trated its fury. Every fence for miles
was blown away, trees blown down and
carried before the wind like chaff and
many houses torn to pieces. Jack Stephen
son, an estimable young man, while bend
ing over his wife to allay her fears was
struck on the head by falling beam and
instantly killed. Mrs. Kalb was danger
ously wounded, as was also Mrs. Odin. a
terrific cyclone passed over that portion
Of the city Of Aberdeen known as Freed