The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-03-01

THE TORNADO which desolated portions
of Alabama, Georgia, North and South
Carolina last week is believed to have
been the most destructive visitation of its
kind in the history of this country, 1t ex-
tended over wider field, and was attended
with more loss of life and destruction of
property than any other. A few samples of
its work will illustrate its character We
copy from dispatch from Raleigh, N. c.:
People report fifty persons killed in
Richmond county, and perhaps hundred
were wounded. A mile southeast of Mr..
Thomas p Covington's was Il small village
of colored people. Here the storm did
great DANA e. OF about twenty houses
not one was left standing. Every one was
leveled with the ground. Here ten people
We're killed outright and several were
wounded who have since died.
There were two branches of the cyclone.
One passed through Darlington, 5. c., and
crossed the Pee Dee river in the lower part
of Arson, then went on TO Rockingham.
The other cyclone passed west of Wades
boro, crossing the Carolina Central road Il
mile east of POlktOn, near the Montgomery
line. This one passed right through the
county, destroying every living thing in its
path. So far there is news positively of
the death of six persons in Arson county.
All the houses were destroyed on the plan
tations of Henry Huntly, James W. Ward,
William Little, f. B. Flake, John ID. Penn
berton, and Capt. Bradley. OF a tract of
seventy five acres of welltimbered land not
sound tree is left. On the farm of Bee
Martin on Brown Creek the cabin of ne
gro was blown down and the man instantly
killed On Steve Boyette's place every
house was blown down.
A stump five feet in diameter not over
two feet high, was blown up by the roots
and carried hundreds of yards. Hundreds
of smaller stumps were tori up by the
roots and timber was twisted and torn in a
surprising manner The main current Of
the storm was not more than fifty feet wide.
The track looks like the bed of IL river or
creek, so completely was everything re
moved from it.
In other townships, 50 far as heard from,
some hundred or more dwelling houses
were destroyed, besides all outhouses, etc.
In Montgomery county such devastation
was never witnessed before. Every house
on Kinks place was blown down and no
sipn of life is to be Seen-fenCes, gates, ev-
erything is gone. TIE mountain lying just
west of the houses looked as if swept of
forest The extent of the storm in Mont
gomery county is not known yet. 1t eX
tended as far AS Uwharrie, near Saunders
ford, five miles or more, and many houses
were blown to pieces many people killed,
and some children are not yet found.
Another account says:
No pen can give more than faint pic
ture of the scene. Clean StreakS through
the woods, miles long, We're made in a few
moments by the cyclone, Many of the
trees show traces of lightning The sur
vivors tell most heartrending stories. In
IIarnett county mother and her child
were blown into swamp and killed. In
the same swamp Il baby was found half
dead with cold. A colored man wrapped
it in his coat and took it To a fire, but il
soon died The wounds of the dead are
most horrible; some with their heads
crushed fiat, others with immense Splinters
through their bodies, others impaled on
broken trees, some forced into piles of logs,
with their intestines torn out. The destruc-
ton of farm property is unparalleled tits
estimated now that not less than sixty and
perhaps one hundred lives have been lost
i'm North Carolina alone.