Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1886-05-20
STORM AND FLOOD.
Horrible Results OF the Storm ut Xenia,
Ohio.
From Twenty Five TO Thirty Lives
Lost I'm the Flooded Portion Of
the City

The terrible wind and rain storm on the
night OF the 18th was attended by horrible re.
suits in Xenia, Ohio The water backed up at
the cast end of town to abank against the Pan
Handle railroad. The bank gave way sudden!
ly, and the food came dashlng through the
town along Shawnee creek in waves fifteen or
twenty feet high, and swept twenty or thirty
houses away and did 500 900 worth OF damage.
The gas works we're flooded, and the town
thrown in darkness and terror. The cries of
the people IN the flooded district were awful TO
hear Many heroic acts n saving the drown.
ing are reported. Bonires were lighted and
people worked all night. Twenty bodies were
rec, v,red and there are still number missing;
Whole families persisted In the flooded dis
trct There was great damage TO property all
around the county, and the extent OF the dam
aye cannot now be even approx mat d. The
following is a list Of the dead;
Mrs. Nellie Anderson and sister, Mrs Casey,
widows Mrs. Samuel Cochran and two sons
Matt Evans, wife and child. Orrin Morris,
wife and Eve children; Stephen Dalton, VIM.
Howell, wife and six or seven children; Lewis
Anderson and wife; Mrs. Ed Lindsay.
Another dispatch says: About seven o'clock
terrible clouds were seen gathering and terrific
lightning, followed by peals Of thunder. This
lasted till nine o'clock, when an extraordinary
clap of thunder seemed to open the gates and
the rain fell In torrents. People living on
Water street escaped by every way possible.
The spout seemed to vent its fury On that por
ton of the city. For stretch OF 100 yards
the Little Miami Railroad is swept away. The
spout struck the houses on Water street. and
ore them to pieces Of II they were shells. A
resident Of the street states that within two
minutes after the clap of thunder he stood in
water to his waist, he being about twenty five
yards from the creek. When the waters
reached the residence Of Aaron Ferguson, II
was swept away, with nine inmates, and lodged
against the bridge, where they were afterwards
rescued. The next damage was at the coal
yard of Samuel Clark, in which was located a
tenement house occupied by family named
Powell, nine In number. Up to 0 o'clock none
of them had been heard from. The next point
OF destruction was In what is known as the
bottoms dozen houses, occupied mostly
by colored people, were here swept away boz
ems of horses were lost, and railroads leading
out of the city were swept away, so that 1t Is
impossible to hear from outside points At
least dozen trains are here and within few
miles Of the city. The telegraph wires are
down and business suspended. One family by
the name of Morris were swept away. The last
seen Of them was at the Miami street bridge,
when the man was seen at the window by the
terror stricken crowd, waving the lighted
lamp. The next instant the house collapsed,
n,,I hn,, n,,1,y h,,,
years OF age, has been found. The work Of
finding bodies still continues. The mayors
Office has been turned into morgue and there
are now twenty-five bodies there. The scenes
are hcart-rcndlng. Whole families lie disfg-
ured on cots. The following is q list OF the
killed; Mrs. Lindsay (coored), Mrs. Casey
(colored), Mrs. Anderson (colored), and a
child named Anderson, Mrs Cocoran, crippled,
and an idiot named Corcoran, Mrs. and Mr..
Louis Anderson, Stephen Dunn, Orrln Morris,
wife and five children, William Evans and
vic. The loss Of property Is great Whole
luml er yards and all their contents have gone
completely. The scenes In the devastated
districts are indescrlbable Forces of men are
busily engaged in clearing away and hundreds
of people surround the places. Strangers are
beginning to pour into the city from every
direction. The City Council has appropriated
81 coo for immediate use In the burial of the
victims. The private subscription has already
reached into thousands. The committee Ia
doing the city for clothing and bedding. The
rink has been turned into refuge for the
homeless. All the aid possible Is needed from
every source. The losses viii aggregate some
thing ike $4,000 The Little Miami railroad
has about sixteen miles swept away. In ad-
dition TO the above, two more bodies were
found, being children. They have not been
identified. The complete number Of bodies
found is twenty five. Eleven persons are still
missing.