The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1884-03-06
WORST ON RECORD.
The Terrible Destxustivene1 Of tho
Recent Tornado in TIA
Southern States.
Six Hundred Lives and Over Seven
Millions, Worth Of Property
Destroyed.
Dwellings Torn to Pieces and the Oocu-
pants Exposed to the Fury of
the Tempest
Clean swaths Cut Through Dense FORESTS
Shocking Wounds Of the
Victims.

Clean swaths Cut Through Dense Forests--
Shocking Wounds Of the
| Victims.
The frst reports OF the great Southern
cyclone were not I'm the least exaggerated.
Later and fuller details more than confirm
the arst accounts, and settle, beyond all
doubt, that 1t is the greatest disaster that
bas ever happened In this country. The loss
| of life and destruction OF property are
| sinnlv appalliuQ In Alabama 30 people
are known to have been killed, and many
wounded beyond the hope OF recovery. In
| Georgia the fatalities arc placed AZ wv, WINE
many are mortally wounded. In South Caro-
| lima IO3 are known To have lost their lives,
| and IN North Carolina the killed number De-
| tween IS aud 100. These figures snow the
| loss of life TO have been about oeo: ILe loss
! Of property IL immense. Whole villages "ere
swept entirely away and plantations ana
| farms denuded Of everything valuable. 1--we
stock in great number was slaugnt
or maimed 80 that 1t viii have 10 DO
killed. Much valuable timber was Also
| blown down and splintered to the extent that
| il will be worthless. In Georgia the pecuniary
loss Is estimated at 81 0c0, 0O0 and in one portion
! cover the damage In South Carolina the dam
age will foot up at least 81, 10000 and In North
Carolina 1t is estimated at $1.5Oo,0Oo
| The storm blew straight across the State on
Alabama, forty miles, sweeping every thing It
! encountered to destruction. Whole towns were
literally obliterated, the houses being nrushed
! away like chaff. Houses fences, cattle. all were
blended in an indescribable mass of objects with
out moments warning. Ten villages fell victims
to the fury OF the blast, and hundreds OF farm
houses were swept away. Horses, COWS, mules.
ana wagons were strewn through the woods Tor
miles. The same scenes or death ana devasta-
ton followed in the wake OF the tornado IN It's
entire course through Georgia and the Carolinas.
Almost incredible stories are told illustrative OF
It's destructive power. Thousand OF acres OF
| forests were swept away like chan. Railroad
cars loaded with freight were lifted from the
| tracks hurled hundreds of yards, and wrecked.
Many instances are reported where parents ana
children were lifted from their homes by the
storm carried high in the air, and landed on
| ground again without sustaining any injury.
A little boy in the Cahaba valley, Georgia, had
| his scalp blown from his head. lady near
Cartersville, Ga, saw the storm coming and ran
with her children into the cellar, erouching and
trembling with fear. The house was blown
from its foundation and torn to atoms leaving
the mother and her little ones comparatively
unframed. The mothers arm was broken,
and one of the children had finger torn on.
Gaze Spring tGa.) man relates the fol-
lowing: noticed the funnel shaped cloud, black
as ink, long before 1t reached Cave Spring. The
small end Of the funnel was dancing along the
earth, drawing into its fatal vacuum everything
In its path. saw houses lifted bodily from their
foundations carried along Tor yards ana, tnen
the Beautiful village would have Keen q
mass OF ruins. but when few miles away its
course changed and we were saved
Jarvey Henderson, of Heard County, Georgia,
when the storm approached, took refuge in q
well. While lying on his face In the bottom or
| the well a fence-rail was hurled into the well
with great force by the wind. The rail came
down endways, one end striking Henderson In
the back, and going through ugh, him I'm imraied the
stantly. In Talbot County, Georgia, little girl
named Annie Green, while drawing pail of water
| from IA well, was struck on the head with large
/ hailstone and sustained a fracture OF the skull
While lying on the ground, apparently dead, the
wind picked her up and after carrying her nearly
where she remained until rescued by her par
ents In Harris County, Georgia, hail fell in
pieces OF about five inches IN circumference In
many curious shapes. In Baldwin County. hail
feb as large as goose-eggs, and In Warren
County it was 80 heavy as to form drifts two
feet deep Hogs weighing $50 to zoo pounds
plantations On the Georgia Pacific Railroad a
fence-rail was driven squarely through cross
tie AZ torI Davis6oroush' s Ga, the contents
woods for miles. At another place a
large iron safe was carried many yards
One man was found 200 yards from where the
cyclone struck him. He was dead. At one place
a child was carried of by the wind, and its body
| has not yet been recovered.
! At Leeds Ala. John Few, O negro who was
killed, was carried by the velocity of the wind
800 yards, and when picked up was in perfect
him by his body coming in contact with
various obstacles in the way. Mrs.
Bass, wife OF a prominent Leeds
| pebble with such force that the missile
passed through her clothing and Embedded it
| self deeply In her flesh. The pebble was cut out
! by physician. and the probabilities that
| she will get well. The scene around Leeds Is
! described "a awful Houses just completed were
blown away, and not even a brick left where the
| houses stood. Horses, mules, and COWS were
| killed, aud in some instances fence-rails were
| driven clear through their bodies. Two horses
were seen to sail away in the air, and have not
| since been seen. William Fitzgerald and Miss
! Annie Hodges. while returning home from q
rioI Ioht
| the tornado. and the horse, buggy, Fitzgerald,
and the young lady blown nearly 80 yards, and
when picked mp were horribly mangled and dis
| figured. Near Greensport, Ala, small DWELL
! ing house was blown nearly half a mile before
the angry elements and twisted into fragments.
A boy who attended a water tank Leeds
was blown 200 yards and ever since has been o
raving maniac.
In Johnson County. N c.. d II. Jones' family
OF yards. His daughter fed the house gave
way, leaving her infant asleep In crib All Of
the house save the ground floor was wrecked.
| The little child was found asleep unin-
jured, though the railing OF the crib
was carried 200 yards. A wagon blown
n pdsed
and child were blown into n swamp and killed
In the same swamp baby was found half dead
with cold and IL soon died. The wounds of the
dead In this locality are described most hor-
rible. Heads were crushed fiat, immense splint-
ers driven through bodies, others were impaled
on broken trees, forced into piles of logs, had
their intestines torn out. John Dalkin,
near Rockingham, N. c., was found
dead with piece Of splintered
timber as large az mans leg piercing his
abdomen. McDonald's saw and grist mills were
scattered like chat, the nill-stones even being
taken mp and carried several yards Acarriage-
way or slip, composed OF two large stills, l2xll
inches and about thirty feet long, and pinned
together, was taken mp and carried across the
pond with a carriage which was on IT, light
wood log, feet In diameter and 20 feet long was
caught up from the ground and carried several
feet Birds and poultry were stripped OF their
feathers and killed. Cows, hogs, cate, and even
rats and MICE were destroyed. A young lady.
when the house began To rock, ran out, and
was instantly killed by being pierced
through by fence rail. The scene
of the disaster about Rockingham f. said by
those who witnessed IL TO have been worse than
q battlefield. After the wind had passed the
rain fell In torrents; when the rain had nearly
ceased hailstones of extraordinary size fell in
x.n.,loa