The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1888-03-01

HoRRrn1K SCENES IN A CYCLONE
WRECKED TOWN.


MocNT VERNON, H., Feb. a.
There were terrible scenes in this
fated town when daybreak came
Monday morning. The cyclone Of
Sunday bad done awful work, and
on every hand we're ruin and death.
Destruction had come with sudden
and 6ercs call. The violence Of the
storm had burst almost without
waraiug, and when IL had swept the
town tbirty-seven people had been
killed and almost two hundred badly
injuredsFA
Aboat five hundred buildings had
been wrecked, and With the ruin came
The flames 10 add to the terror aud
suffering Of the stricken people. In
few minutes twelve TO fifteen hun
dred people had been made home-
less.
1t VAS q long night of distress.
Men, women aud children were work.
ing at the ruins struggling to release
those imprisoned under the charred
timbers aud masses of stone and
brick. Many OF the dead lay in the
streets, which were filed with the
gruesome light of torches aud lat
terms, while from every pile of ruins
cane means, ehrieks and cries. From
under the timbers aud bricks the
blood OF the crushed victims min
gled with the rain. The flames roared
savagoly and threatened TO roast
tuose buried boneath the ruins, and
the fire gave fierce battle to The brave
people who fought to protect thsse
pinned TO the earth. II. q. Murray,
owner OF the Evans Bank building
was burned 10 death. A heroic ef
fort vas made to save him. but the
iamos soon bnshed the asonizing
cries OF the unfortunate man.
CcDsralia, Ashley, Nashville Evans
vile quickly and generously sent fire
engines, doctors aud other aid.
Everybody that had house threw
It open 10 tho homeless. Bedrooms
were turned into hospitals. and the
women folks bccame nurses.
Cunductor Il. S. Roardon, of tie
Louisville aud Nashville train, which
was caught in the cyclone. describe.
the scene. 1T was all over in a min>
nte' he says. the thing that mosl
impressed me was the destruction @,
tue county CONT house, magufi,
cent three story brick building. The
Conrt house stood in n prominent
place aud could easily be seen al,n ost
from The tower to the ground 1t
iooFed to me as though the huge
pile of brick aud mortar had been
struck bya gigantic battering ram,
or, If Jon please, by big club iu the
hands of a power stroug enough to
knock 1t down at single blow. II
seemed to collapse all at once, spread
out, crush and bury oil the buildings
surrounding it,
Marcus Aarous, a drummer for a
Philadelphia house, who was n pass
'enger on the train, says: 1t was u
terrible calamity. never witnessed
anything so frigh,ful in my life. On
reaching the Mount Vernon station
II began to thunder aud lightning.
Presently it began to rain aud bail.
driving everyone to shelter. Just
abont this time a potontous black
cloud, fnnnol~shared, was seen owe,
our heads Some Of the people
knew III n moment what was coming
aud began to cry ont 10 words of
warning The cloud burst in a nom
ent after forming. 1t came with the
aud claeh ofa mighty battle. Houses
OF all description went down like
wheat bcfo-e tho fail Men, women
and children ran hither and thither.
screaming 10 their peril and fright.
Our train was lying ia tie track of
the cyclone, aud it was taken at a
flying rate down the track. The
engineer cunld not control the train,
aud fortunately for us the brakes
were not on. A strange thing WAS
that three nnnntes after tue cyclone
the sun was shining brightly and
serfnoly ON tho scene Of dsvasta-
ton
Agent Wallace of the Southern
Express, in describing tue cyclone
says: Men and women on the
streets we're blown to the ground
ln moment the wbirling cloud ar
rived at the town and it could be
seen dipping down here and there