Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-09-10
TORN UP BY A TORNADO.
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE DE-
VASTATED IN EIGHT MINUTES.

SPRINGFIELD, ", sept. IA terrible
cyclone struck Washington Court House,
a city of 1000 Inhabitants, % miles west
of here, at s O'clock last evening and
almost literally swept it from the earth.
II came from the northwest and broke
upon the town very sudden, carrying
everything before IL. The tornado whirled
up Court street, the main business tho
roughfare, and ruined almost every busi-
ness block on it, at least 40 or 90 in all.
Hardly private residence IN the town
escaped, fully 400 buildings going down.
The Baptist, Presbyterian and Catholic
churches all suffered a common fate. The
Ohio Southern Pan Handle, Narrow Gauge
and Midland railroad depots were blown
into smIthereens, and every building in
the vicinity was carried away, making
ingress or egress almost impossible.
Every wire within a circuit of two miles
is down.
AN ENTERPRIsING OPERATOR.
The reports received of the catastrophe
are from a telegraph operator who tapped
the wire two miles west of town and sit
ting in heavy rain storm works his in
strument. The panic-stricken people
were taken completely unawares, and fled
from the tumbling buildings in every di-
rection through the murky darkness. A
mad frenzy seemed to seize them and they
| hurried hither and thither IN their wild
| distraction, little knowing whittier they
were going. After the whirlwind. which
lasted about ten minutes, heavy rain
fall set in which continued unabated dur
ing the night. AS soon as few of the
cooler heads recovered their senses search
ing parties were organized, and the sad
work of looking for the lost began.
10 BODIES RECOVERED.
Up to this noon fifteen bodies had been
recovered from the debris Of the various
ruined buildings, and the dreary work
was just beginning to get under way.
The glimmer of lanterns procured from
farm houses in the vicinity, and from a
few houses left standing was the only
| light the searchers had to work by. Two
or three people were stumbled upon in the
| middle of tce street, where they were
stricken down by'fying bricks or timbeTs.
Cellars Of houses and every sort OF refuge
We're filed with shivering people, hud-
ding together in the rain, attempting to
keep warm. One babe in arms has died
from exposure.
THE KILLED AND INJURED.
A 10=year-old girl named shaokelford,
Mrs. MQllie dones, Edith Floyd, Ella
FOrsha. Jennfe FOTsha and Flora Carr
were killei, aud Herbert TaggaTt, James
posed TO be fatally injured. Fully 800
persons were hurt.
The loss will exceed $1,OOO,OOO. The
council has appointed a relief committee
and militia are guarding the stores whose
contents are all exposed.
Among the seriously injured are Judge
Asa Gregg, w. w. Sharp, Bowman
Hess, Milton Hyer, Hugh Foster, II, h.
Whidpley, station agent. The list of
those slightly injured is very large.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN.
Washington Court House is the county
seat of Fayette county. 1t has had a most
extraordinary business growth within
the past fifteen years. and being the GEN.
tire Of a rich agricultural district, with
excellent railroad facilities, IL had grown
to be business place of considerable i'm
| pOrtanee. Its residents had beautifed the
town with tasteful dwellings, and its re-
Gently completed court house was one OF
the best in the State. To-day this pros
porous town is a mass of ruins. Last
nights experience of it's inhabitants has
no parallel in the experience of any town
in Ohio. A heavy rainfall began about 8
O'Clock last night. That and the dark
ness drove everybody into shelter, 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.
BREWING OF THE CYCLONE.
Shortly after the rain began the wind
came with terrifying sound. Its work
was almost instantaneous. The people
say that it was over in two minutes, but
nobody could take note of the time In such
fearful experience, in the fierce roaring
of the terrible tornado, the crashing of
broken and falling buildings, the sharp
flashes of lightning. the rolling thunder
/ r,ff rod n q oF
the storm had passed and men could COM
municate with each other IL was found
that all We're in darkness. The gas works
were destroyed and all the street lights
were out. Only by the lightning flashes
were the frightened PEOPLE able to catch
glimpses of the desolation that had
wrecked their little city. The number of
deaths was miraculOusly small.
SEARCHING THE RUINS.
The next duty was to search for the i'm
prisoned and injured. In this there was
aprompt and whole-hearted effort. Bon
fires were lighted and torches improyised.
The debris was overturned 10 see IL any
more dead could be found. With cheer
ful welcome the doors OF such houses as
we're not destroyed were opened for the
houseless ones driven in the rain. In
many cases these were utterly bereft OF
| all their household goods. The night was
work for the stronger. The Sheriff called
! upon the militia to set a guard over the
exposed stocks OF all the business houses,
for they we're all broken or DESTROYED,
and prowllng thieves were not wanting
even In the first hour OF the cityis mis-
fortune. Oi course their numbers grew
to-day, when crowds OF visitors poured in.
DAYLIGHT on THE DEsoLArIoN.
With daylight came a most dishearten-
| Ing spectacle. The streets were well nigh
impossible from trees and parts OF houses
cast into them. The worst OF all was the
sight of the poor who had lost all, and who
had no place OF shelter. They wandered
hopelessly about a. iftheY were strangers.
| Ofcourse people whose houses were not
ruined began at once TO care for their un-
fortunate fellow sufferers. Farmers soon
began 20 pour into town, drawn bv curi0s.
lty, but at the same time bringing with
them substantial aid for the destitute.
Before the day ended the councils had
/ taken formal action by organ zinR a
/ Relief Committee. and by night much
was done toward preventing actual priva-
ton. The great wonder Ia 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 building was literally thrown down,
vet not one WAS injured. Thlrty-Ona
utvh ha nd