Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-03-14
THE WINDS DEVASTATION.

Eater Details from the Recent storm ~
tho south-Nearfy Three Hundred A've'
un,vn to Have Boon Lost, and tne
,,....h.r NAV Reach Four Hundred
r,,o,..nds of Buildings Demolished
rh,,,,,en Blown Out of Sight and Huge
Trees Torn to Atoms.
ATLANTA, Ca, Feb. Gas fuller re-
norts of the cyclone which devastated the
northern part Of this State and Alabama
ond the western sections Of North and South
Carolina come in, the disaster seems to
grow in terrible proportions. No pertect
estimate of the number Of lives lost
or the damage done can yet be formed,
hut it is known beyond all doubt that
His is the greatest disaster that has
ever happened in America The killed
and wounded belong almost exclusively to
the noorer classes, and there will BIO suffer-
ing and restitution among those who es-
caped. The number of deaths so far re-
ported aggregates 29s. Of these lib are in
Gearaia. 4s in North Carolina, 1903 in South
Carolina, and "a i'll Alabama. Many Sec
tions have not been heard from, and the
death list will probably reach 400.
O,,t of tho worst tales Of the storm comes
from Grassy Knob, one OF the highest parts
of the lone swamp range in Cherokee Coun-
tv. The cyclone came in sight seven miles
to the right Of Jasper. 1t went over the
mountains and cut of sight eight miles from
that town. It was in sight perhaps five
minutes, and in ton the tract had returned
to its erstwhile quiet The devastated
route was from half a mile to three miles
across.
In that five minutes trip over that fifteen
mile sluice of country Mrs. Levi Cogle and
two c~ildren, William Graver, William
Herrin, Alonzo Wright, Mrs. James Dowde
and tive children, Mrs. Wyley, Mrs. Lewis
King and two children, john Nicholson,
Mrs. Nations, Mrs Watkins, a child OF Per-
nv Petit, a child of w. II. Collier and a
child Of Hiram Walker were killed
twenty deaths in all, known and accounted
for.
In the fifteen miles the cyclone crossed
the Western & Atlantic Railroad near Car.
terrvilie, but did nothing of consequence
until it reached a point a few miles from
Jasper. Then it made a fifteen-mile shoot
for Grassy Knob, and this is what it left:
down. John Nicholson's house was de-
molished, and his wife and the aged sister
of the Hon. Lem Alfred killed. The
Widow Corbin's house was blown down,
but out of the eight persons in it none
were hurt. James Dowde was torn
to pieces and his wife and two chill
dren killed. Lewis Kings house was de-
stroyed and his wife killed. Bill Ander-
sons house was blown down and his little
girl hurt. The Refuge Baptist Church was
blown to atoms. William Reese's wife ran
into the cellar of her house with her eight
children. The building was blown from
over them and dashed into a million splint-
ers. Mr.. Reese had an arm broken, and
one child had a finger hurt so that it had to
be amputated.
Tates Tor Cool Spring, as the town is
called) was wiped from the face Of the
earth.
COLUMBUS, Ga, Feb. 22.-Tuesday's cy-
! clone passed through Lincoln County about
dusk, ranging from southwest to northwest.
1t missed Lncolnton about q mile. A large
two-story building known as the Warner
place was unroofed and all of the out
houses On the place leveled. Two negro
children were killed and a third one is miss
ing. The latter is supposed to have been
burned up in the cabin which was
blown down. Thirteen other negroes
are injured, some fatally. On Samuel
Ranson's place two negroes were killed and
three houses blown down. The track of
the cyclone was about half a mile wide, and
everything in its path was destroyed. The
destruction Of life and property was unpre-
cedented. At Harmony Grove, Jackson
County, the Nash Hotel was swept away,
killing a white lady and fatally wounding
another. Mr.. Xix and son were killed in a
falling building. In Oconee County many
lives were lost, and fences and houses were
blown down
RAE1GH, N. c., Feb. 22.-Details from
the track of the cyclone in this State re-
ceived make it worse than was expected.
After passing through Darlington, in South
Carolina, where four persons were killed
and fifty houses blown down, the storm en-
tered this State at the town of Polkton, ir
Anson County, on the Carolina Contra
Railroad. The wind then moved east and
destroyed everything in its path. The storm
blew down McDonald's mills. The mill
stones were found fifty yards from
where the house stood. Litesville, in the
same county, was struck and several ne.
groes were killed. A woman was found ii
a swamp with her babe on her breast alive
Six dead bodies were found near Ellington
Harnett County. The track appears to have
been through Union, Arson, Montgomery
Stanley, Richmond, Moore, Robson, Cum
berland, Hadnett, johnson, Sampson, Nasf
and Edgecomb. In johnson the track wa:
four hundred yards wide, and in thi.
space everything was swept from off tn.
face of the earth as if by fire. Several per
sons are reported injured, but no one il
known to have been killed. On tlle plan
tation of William Little, who lives near An
s~onvisle, twenty-eight houses were de
stroyed. At Rocky Mount two churche:
and a number of other buildings were blown
down and two children killed. The wors
OF the cyclone was at Rockingham, where
t"enty-three persons were killed and eight
cen wounded. Those who were on the edg,
say that all was over in two or tire,
minutes. Everything was destroyed anl
the people were killed or wounded
in that short time. Fragments O
houses only remained. The largest trees
were torn up by the roots, and the grounc
was covered with broken timbers. Man,
people We're killed and wounded by tlyins
tlmoers. A young lady, when the houss
began to rock, ran out, and was Instant,
Killed by being pierced through by a tlyin!
fence rail. Men who had been 10 Pbila
delphla Church say that the scene of th,
disaster Is worse than a battlefield. Ate
the wind had passed the rain fell in tor
rents; when the rail had nearly ceased hail
stones of extraordinary size fell in grea
quantities. Horses, mules and cattle wer