Bridgeton pioneer., 1886-05-20
A TERRIBLE STORM.

it. Its fury was confined to a belt no
more than quarter of a mile wide,
but within this area everything was
leveled to the earth. Houses and build
ings of all descriptions were wrecked,
and scattered over miles of territory.
Forests were laid low. crops destroyed,
fences torn down, and what was ii
blooming and prosperous country is
now a dreary waste Hundreds of
families are homeless In this county
thirty dead bodies have been found,
with many times that number injured.
An hour before midnight The tornado
had reached its height. Low, scurry
ing masses of mist shot through the
air, and brilliant balls of fire appeared
mysteriously, blown swiftly along and
exploded with "a loud report. No one
ventured to stir from safe hiding.
Many superstitious people assembled
in the dark recesses of cellars. knelt on
the flooded floors and prayed for
mercy, believing the last trump had
indeed sounded Out in the country
in the track of the storm, farmers and
their families sought refuge in the
Easements of their barns, not few to
meet their death there Torrents of
rain, mixed with large hailstones,
swept periodically, like sheets of water
from a falls, full against frail frame
houses, dashing in the windows.
Passing into Auglaize county, the
tornado continued its work of ruin,
though reports place the damage there
as less severe than at other points.
Hardin county came next, and here
the dread destroyer redoubled its fury.
Hitherto its path had been through
the open country, away from towns
and other settlements. Shortly before
midnight it pounced upon Dunkirk,
town of / 300 inhabitants, in the North
eastern corner of the county.
The inhabitants, not dreaming of
the impending danger, were asleep
when the tornado came upon them
passed on. The town. or that portion
of it in the storms path, was in ruins.
1t was an indescribable scene. Above
the roar of the elements and the crash
ing of timbers came the wild screams
of agony and fright; men, women and
children calling for help and frantically
to1
then in the confusion. Four persons
were found dead. They are: William
McElree and two children, and Mrs.
Rufus Lease. Twenty persons badly
injured were taken from the wrecks of
their dwellings The residence of Mr.
McElree was totally destroyed, and a
house near by was blown down, kill
ing man whose name is unknown.
The house of Thomas Moore was
razed to the ground, injuring Mr..
Moore, John Thompson and J. Pick
EFT seriously, but not fatally. The big
oak schoolhouse and church, two miles
Northeast of the town, are reported as
destroyed Mr.. Samuel Packard was
fatally hurt and his wife injured by the
demolition of their residence.
In the Blanchard River Valley the
fences, telegraph poles, trees and many
houses were laid low, and several days
must elapse before the wires can be
fixed again along the Pttsburg, Fort
Wayne and Chicago Railroad. Three
deaths are reported from the South of
Dunkirk A train on the Fort Wayne
road near Dunkirk narrowly es-
capped being wrecked. A huge tree
was blown over passenger coach
slightly injuring IA number of inmates.
Wyandotte and Hancock counties,
adjoining one another, We're nearly
devastated. AT Carey, prosperous
teen buildings were completely de-
stroyed, and six persons were killed out
right. Bloomville, South Carey, Whar-
ton and many other villages suffered
in like manner.
Gathering energy as it went, the
tornado pounced upon the slumberng
people of Seneca county, and left a
host of victims without bed or shelter
Ten miles West of Tiffin, the county
seat, a strip of country half mile
wide and several miles in length
was totally stripped of buildings, in
fact, of all else above the surface of
the ground. A huge barn was blown
across the Baltimore and Ohio track,
and a through passenger train was
only saved from wreck by the fore
sight of two country boys, who ran
ahead of the obstruction and signaled
the engineer with a lantern.
This deadly visitation was the more
terrible, coming as it did, unawares,
and in the middle of the night. Its
victims knew nothing of its approach
until buried in the ruins ofthelr houses,
or snatch ed from bed and hurled to
destruction.