The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1885-09-17
A HASTY VISIT To The STRICKEN City

The mournful tidings of death have told
As, flowing and glowing,
And blowing and moving,
Over the city the wave hath rolld.
Cries the mother, with bitter tears,
Over the fate of her loved ones gone,
There father, with burning fears,
Though the tempest is rushing on
While, flying and crying,
The whole earth defying,
The winds raging through field or lawn,
''Death'' in the thunder which loudly calls
Out of the force of the bowling blast,
'tDeath'' in the crashing of falling walls,
Or the bolts of the timbers, hurtling past
Blundering and laundering
Plundering and sundering,
| As every moment would be the last.
Onward, stin onward, over the plain,
Rushes the torrent with deadly sweep,
Mortal forces are all in vain
Strong tremble and women weep,
Vain is imploring
| The roaring and pouring
Sings drear requiem, hoarse and deep.
vainly we look for a sign of hope,
Filling the heart with cheerful ray
Vainly cast our horoscope
X To view the joy of the coming day:
We borrow but sorrow
| To think of tomorrow,
For swiftly the death-angel futters this way
oh, who fathom the righteous thought,
| Or read the depths of His holy will,
Beneath whose power the wonders wrought
To finite reasoning seems but ILL
| Through tempest fires blowing
His merces are glowing,
And the heart may rejoice in His Providence still
So many reports have been in circula-
ton relating to the damage done by the
cyclone at Washington G. H., that a num-
ber of Jackson people embraced the op-
portunity of going to that point on last
Thursday To one travelling from the
hills of Jackson County to that great gar
den spot, the Paint Bottoms, it seems
wonderful what people do with all the
corn that is raised. Along the sides of
the o. S. track, in many places as far as
the eye can reach, is a solid, unbroken
| field of corn, tall of stalk, and immense
of ear. Surely, there is no prettier coun-
try anywhere these beautiful and fertile
bottom lands
AS the train began to full into Wash
ington signs of destruction began to man
ifest themselves, one of the first being
the damage to the beautiful residence of
Hon. Mills Gardner. Here few shingles
had disappeared, there tree had been
uprooted, and yonder the side of house
had been blown in. AS the train slowly
pulled up at the depot, we discovered that
there was no depot there, the only cyl
dence of there having ever been such
thing there, being the floor, and a few
piles of debris. Across from the depot is
the old wooden mill, party blown down.
This mill was occupied as a residence
and two persons were killed in the wreck.
One of the next features which attract
our attention is the Skating Rink. About
all that is left of this is the floor and some
seats. Then we go to the Mills Gardner
block, occupied by the Stimson Brothers
for long time as wholesale Grocery.
This firm had recently sold out. A great
portion of this building was blown down,
piling Groceries. brick, mortar and tim
bers, to distance of fifteen feet. There
were four or five men in the store when
the storm came up, and they sought safe
ty by running into the strong vault made
to hold the accounts of the firm. None
were injured. The Gardner House, ad
joining, was considerably damaged. In
this hotel bridal couple had engaged
rooms, but the top was torn off, the fur
niture broken. and the room rendered al
together unsatisfactory. There was debris
scattered5all around this section, guarded
by the National Guard.
In the Odd Fellows Hall, some twenty
three members were holding a session.
When the first crash came they ran to
the front of the room, which was on the
second floor. The front wall Immediately
fell, when they rushed for the back part
Of the room. The wall fell, throwing Mr..
j. G.. Vanpelt distance of forty or fifty
feet, badly hurting him.
The Salvation army was holding forth
at Music Hall. When the storm came
they rushed for the door, which was
promptly closed. Then began a scene of
screaming, singing praying and shouting,
which was described as sadly ludicrous.
Through the din and roar of Il cyclone,
the enthusiastic shouts of the soldiers of
the Cross" could be heard. The Army
has frequently claimed to be impervious
to the attacks of the Devil, and their get
ting away with cyclone, would seem to
be corroborative of such assertion. The
roof was blown off this building, and it
was otherwise dama9ed-but the army
escaped, and on Thursday evening was III
front of the Court House shouting ho-
ZannaS.
Miss Lucy Pine had been left in charge
of the two infant children of her sister,
Mrs. Craig, while the latter and her hus-
band went down town. She had put the
children to bed when the storm came.
She ran to the bed and leaned over the
children, just in time to receive across
her back timber which would doubtless
have crushed the children. With both
children in her arms she crawled out and
escaped. This is only one, which will
serve to illustrate hundred other es-
capes as miraculous as this. Some three
hundred persons were rendered practical
ly homeless by the storm. Nearly one
hundred houses were completely wrecked,
though some Of them can be rebuilt at
less cost than entirely new ones. The
total losses in money are said to foot up
over three hundred thousand dollars,
though some citizens place it high as a
million. In fact the loss will prove much
greater than the apparent loss at this
time.
The Rev. J. B. Steptoe was just leaving
the Baptist Church-which is just across
the street from the fine Catholic Church
when the storm came up the Minister
lodged into the tower of the Catholic
Church, and was engaged in vigorously
praying when the Baptist Church was
wrecked badly, and the Catholic Church
completely blown down except the tower
in which the Rev. John was praying.
In our walk around the stricken city
we concluded to call upon Bro. Milliken
of the Fayette County Herald Saunter-
ing up the stairway leading to his office
OF what purported to be his office, we ran
onto a cylinder press and Il jobber, almost