The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1885-09-16
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SpR1sGfIELD, Ohio, Sept. 9.-The
cyclone which swept over Washing
ton Court House last evening was
very destructive. 1t il place OF
four thousand inhabitants, twenty
five miles west from this place. The
cyclone struck the town at s o'clock
and almost literally swept it from
the earth. II came from the North
west breaking upon the town very
suddenly. carrying everything before
it. The tornado whirled up Court
street, the main business thorough
fare, and ruined every business block
on tat least forty or fifty in all.
Hardly a private residence in town
escaped, fully four hundred build
ings going down. The Baptist and
Presbyterian and Catholic Churches
all suffered the common fate. The
Ohio and Hudson, Pan Handle, Mar
row Gauge and Midland Railroad
depots were blown into splinters,
and every building in the vicinity
was carried awaJ, making ingress or
egress almost Impossible.
The people we're panic-strlcken,
and fed from the tumbling build
ings in every direction through the
mnrky darkness. A mad frenzy
seemed to seize them and they hur-
ried hither and thither in their wild
distraction, little knowing whittier
they were fleeing. With the cyclone,
which lasted perhaps ten minutes,
s heavy rain set in and continued
unabated during the night. As soon
as a few of the cooler heads had re-
covered their senses searching par
ties were organized and the sad
work of searching for the dead be-
gan. Five bodies were recovered
from the debris without much diff
Guilty, and the searchers kept up
their dreary work all night, expect
ing to find many more. Two or
three bodies were stumbled upon in
the middle of the street, where they
were stricken down by flying bricks
and timbers. The cellars of houses
and every sort of refuge were filled
with shivering people, huddled to-
gether in the vain attempt to keep
warm.
Washington Court House is the
county seat of Fayette county. 1t
has made a most extraordinary bus
mess growth within the past fifteen
years, and, being the centre of a rich
agricultural district, with excellent
railroad facilities, it had grown to be
business place of considerable i'm
portance. Its residents had beauti-
fed the town with tasteful dwellings
and its recently completed Court
House was one of the best in the
State. To-day this prosperous town
is mass of ruins. Last nights ex-
perience of its inhabitants has no
parallel in the experience of any
town in Ohio. A heavy rainfall be-
gan about s o'clock. That and the
darkness drove everybody into shell
ter, so that while there are some who
say they saw funnel-shaped clouds
it does not seem possible that there
could have been much observation
of the heavens. Shortly after the
rain began the wind came with a
terrifying sound. Its work was al
most instantaneous. People say it
was over in two minutes, but nobody
could take note of time in such a
fearful experience. The fierce roar
of the terrible tornado, the crashing
of broken and falling buildings, the
sharp flashes of lightning, the roll
ing thunder and the pitiless rain
combined to produce sensations of
the most horrifying character.
The gas works were destroyed and
the street lights were out. Only by
the lightning flashes were the fright.
ened people able to catch glimpses
of the desolation that had wrecked
their little city. Friends called for
friends and as answers came the
first shock of dread was relieved.
The number of deaths was miracu-
lously small.
The next duty was to search for
imprisoned and wounded. Bonfres
were lighted and torches improvised.
and wherever cries were heard ready
aid was given. With cheerful well
come the doors of such houses as
were not destroyed we're opened for
the houseless ones driven into the
rain. In many cases these we're ut
terly bereft of all their household
goods. The night was a fearful one.
The Sheriff called the militia to set
a guard over the exposed stocks of
all the business houses, for they were
all broken or destroyed and prowl.
ing thieves were not wanting even
in the first hour of the city's misfor-
tune. With daylight came most
disheartening spectacle. The fair
town of yesterday lay torn and
wrecked in disordered heaps. The
streets were well nigh impossible
from the trees and broken houses
cast into them. Worst of all was
the sight of the poor who had lost
all and who had no place to lay their
heads. They wandered hopelessly
about, as if they were strangers. Of
course the people whose houses were
not ruined began at once to care for
their unfortunate fellow.sufferers,
but the farmers soon began to pour
into town, drawn by curiosity, but
at the same time bringing with them
substantial aid for the destitute. Be-
fore the day had ended the Council
had taken formal action BY organiz-
ing reliet committee and by night
much was done toward preventing
ing actual privation.
The great wonder is that more
lives were not lost In Odd Fellows
Hall forty members were gathered
at a meeting in the second story
when the storm came. The build
ing was literally thrown down, yet
not one was injured. Thirty went
down with the ruins and escaped,
while the rest clung to the walls of
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