The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-05-15
A DEATH-DEAL1NG STORM.
Terrible Disaster at xenia, Ohio.
Many Houses Swept Away and Lives Lost by
the Sudden Rising of a Stream.

| the Sudden Rising Of Stream.
COLUMBUS, O., May ia special from
Xenia. Ohio, says-About7 clock last even.
| ing terrible clouds were seen gathering and
terrific lightning followed peals of thunder.
This lasted until 8 o'clock, when an extraor-
binary clap of thunder seemed to open the
gates and the rain fell in torrents. The people
living in houses on Water street escaped by
every way possible. The spout seemed tc
vent its fury on that portion of the city. Fol
stretch of $50 yards the Little Miami R. r.
is swept away. The spout struck the houses
on Water street and tore them to pieces as il
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 il
was swept away with nine inmates and lodged
against 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 q family named
Powell nine in number. Up to p. m. none
of them had been heard from. The next
| point of destruction was in what is known as
the bottoms. A dozen houses, occupied
mostly by colored people, were here swept
away.
One family, by the name of Morris, were
swept away. The last seen Of them was at the
Miami street bridge, when man was seen at
the window by the terror stricken crowd
waving lighted lamp. The next instant the
house disappeared and they were gone. Only
one, a boy 10 years of age, has been found.
| The work of finding the bodies still con-
tinues tonight. The mayors Office has been
turned into a morgue, and there are now ~
bodies there. The scenes are heartrendng.
Whole families lie disfgured on cots.
The following is list of the killed-Mrs.
Lindsay, colored; Mrs. Casey, colored; Mrs.
Anderson, colored; a child named Anderson /;
Mrs Corcoran, white; crippled idiot named
Corcoran; Mr.. and Mrs. Louis Anderson;
Stephen Duudon; Orrin Morris, wife and five
children, white; VIM. Past, colored, wife and
five children; VIM. Adams and wife.
The loss of property is great-whole lumber
yards and all bridges gone completely. The
scenes in the devastated district are indie.
scribable. Forces of men are busily engaged
clearing away, and hundreds of people snr-
round the places. The rink has been turned
into refuge for the homeless, who are many.
Among losses are Mcdowell & Terrence,
lumber, $4,000; Miami Powder Company,
So, 900; Little Miami Railroad, $125,000;
private individuals, $4,000. The city engi-
neer places city loss at $4,000. The Little
Miami Road has about 16 miles swept away.
In addition to the above the bodies of two
children were found this evening. The COM
pete number of bodies found is %, with IL
persons still missing.
Another account says There was terrible
wind and rain-storm at 10 o'clock last night,
with a wonderful electrical display. Water
backed up at the east end of town to lake
AGAINST the Pan Handle Railroad. The bank
gave way suddenly and the flood came dash
ing through the town along Shawnee creek in
waves Is or 20 feet high, and swept 20 or 80
houses away, and did 100000 damage.
Twenty bodies were recovered and there is
still number missing. Whole families per-
ished in the flooded districts. The following
are among the dead: Mrs. Nellie Anderson
and sister, Mrs. Casey, Mrs Samuel Cochran
and two sons, Matt Evans, wife and child,
Orrin Morris, wife and five children, Stephen
Dalton. VIM. Powell, wife and six or seven
children, Lewis Anderson and wife, Mrs. Ed.
Lindsay.
CINCINNATI, May 13.-The storm of last
night which did such fearful work at Xenia,
Ohio, was far reaching. 1t is heard of in Hi
nois, through Indiana and Ohio, and at Win
chester, Va. Here there has been an unusual
electrical disturbance for the past three nights
On Monday night there was almost uninter-
rupted lightning from II P. NJ. until A. NJ.
Tuesday night a similar condition existed, ac-
companied by heavy rains and hail. Last
night there was another electrical storm, with
wind heavy rain and hail. The Aenia storm.
however, was much more furious. The coun-
ties of Montgomery, Clarke, Butler, Warren
and Greene lie adjacent in Ohio, and form an
elevated plateau with but shallow valleys and
low hills. In these counties are the towns of
Dayton, Springfield, Hamilton, Lebanon and
Xenia. In the eastern county of Indiana,
adjoining this district, is Connorsville. At
ali these places the rain of last night was OF
the heaviest volume ever known. Dayton
measured A inches in about three hours.
Xenia was situated so as to meet the worst
results. Shawnee run traverses the portion
of the city adjacent to the Little Miami Rail-
road, which lies lower than the main portion
of the city. The railroad embankment rises
above the general level, and the stream flows
through it in large culvert. Last nights
rainfall was entirely too much for the capacity
of the culvert. The water rose, and at last
swept away the embankment, and with accu-
INFLATED force rushed upon the small cottages
located on the low banks and bore them from
their foundations.
STORMS ELSEWHERE.
A violent storm, lasting fifteen minutes;
passed over Winchester, Virginia, Wednesday
evening. Two clouds of greenish cast, hang
ing low, one from the northeast, the other
from the southwest, met and burst immediate
" over the city. The wind attained great
velocity, and hailstones the size of walnuts
fell to the depth of from two inches to three
feet. Trees were stripped of their foliage,
and the rain fell in torrents, filling the streets
and cellars Every house with western ex-
posure had all the window glass destroyed.
Carriages were overturned on the reads lead
ing to the city, the occupants narrowly es-
Gaping with their lives.
A cyclone struck Williamsport, Indiana,
on Wednesday evening. Several houses
and barns in the north end of the town
were carried away. Reports come from At.
tea, two miles east of there, that several of
the business buildings, including a new mill,
were destroyed. The Revere House and the
Chicago and Great Southern railway office
and the wagon bridge over the Wabash river
were torn down. Several persons were on
the bridge at the time it went down and all
are supposed to have been killed. AT Will
liamsporttwo brick houses belonging to Henry
Butt we're torn down and Mrs. Butt was badly
injured.
William Hixon, butcher of Lanark, ILL.,,
drove under shed to escape the fury of We'd
nerday's storm. The shed was blown down,
and one of the foundation stones struck Hixon
on the head, fracturing his skull. He died
about two hours later.
A very severe storm of wind, rain and light
ming visited Evansville, Indiana, on Tuesday
evening. The African Baptist Church,
large brick building, was wrecked, stores
were unroofed and fences, trees and chin
neys levelled. The losses ON property are
believed to aggregate 5000, 200. On the river
steamer had her upper works blown away.
Two men were drowned in skiff and man
was killed by falling tree.
The greater portion of Vichy Springs,
twelve miles north of Rolo, Missouri, was de-
stroyed by the storm ofTuesday night. Most
of the dwellings and many of the stores were
demolished or unroofed. No lives were lost,
but fsnr persons were injured.
Usage City and SedsIla, Missouri, were
flooded by Tuesdays storm, and at Sedalia
one house was demolished and several others
were unroofed. Two railroad bridges were
demolished in the vicinity.
At Mortonville, Kansas, the Brock block
and bank were demolished by the storm of
Tuesday.
Hailstones, some of which were eleven in
ches in circumference, fell at Mineral Point,
Missouri, on Tuesday afternoon. A colt was