Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-02-23
FORTY PERSONS KILLED.
The city Of Mt. Vernon, ILL.,, Nearly
lie troyed by a Cyclone.
Three Hundred Houses Wrecked aud
u Thousand People Made
Homeless.

EVANSVILLE. Ind, Feb. 10.-News
comes from Mt. Vernon, H.. of fright.
ful cyclone which swept over that place
about $50 this afternoon, resulting IN the
death Of nj least fifty persons, the wound
ing Of about two hundred aud fifty others
aud the almost total destruction Of tho
tnwn The telegraph service at the place
was almost entirely demolished, only one
wire 10 this city having escaped the gen.
eral destruction, As u consequence II Is
impossible rs yet TO obtain anything like
details OF the horror.
The storm came from the northwest,
and sweeping around In half circle
practically RACED the business portion Of
the town, The awful visitation only
lasted u few Ssconds, aud almost lmmc-
dmtcly fire broke out In u number If tho
ruined buildings, The fire department
of the town was. Of course, totally un.
able to cope with the additional danger
aud an appeal for and was tclegraphed to
this city. The dispatch received was tho
lirst intimation to Evansville that tho
disaster had occurred.
A special train with Ave engines aud u
number of physicians was at once dis.
patched 10 the stricken town, Since their
departure fragmentary dispatches have
been received furnishing some little In.
formation regarding the disaster. One
message TO the effect that forty eight
bodies have already been taken from tho
ruins, which yet partially or wholly con
zeal many more viCtims--dcad, diving or
seriously injured The same dispatch
says the lowest estimates place the num-
Der Of injured At $50, but, owing to the
fact that all press wires are broken, II Is
impossible ms yet TO give n list Of the
killed or wounded. So far the only per.
son known to have met death was Engin'
Ger Cummings. Of the louisville " Nash
vile road, Tho shops of the company,
located on the outskirts OF the town, were
among the first building demolished, aud
Cunningham was crushed to death In tho
ruins,
Reports from across the river In Ken
turl,y say the same storm crossed over 10
that State, aud that the experience OF
Mount Vernon was duplicated ut Norton
villo II small town la Hopkins county.
This report receives indirect confirmation
In the fact that nothing has been heard
nom the place since.
Late dispatches say the scene in the
stricken city tonight was peculiarly dis
li'NNlhg' ! hlNNgH 'nt giNuN HNhI ~ 'h'h'
mcn women aud boys were struggling in
their efforts to reach those imprisoned be-
meath timbcrs and bricks Cries came
from every pile of debris In some OF tho
streets where the great cloud swept with
rcsiStloSs force the dead lay In the warm
rain, which mingled with their blood.
Above the scene of dcsolatiun the sky was
rcd from the conllagralion, aud the wind,
which was blowing from the south, was
mdcn with blazing brands Such picture
appalled, the stoutcSt heart For hours
the survivors thought of nothing but
themselves, With flames roaring behind
aud upon nll sides nf them, there wa no
alternative but llcc oyer the bodies of the
dead aud the wounded, and the mass of
ruin, which pinned them TO the onrth.
For an hour II looked rs though tbs
victims of the blast would be burned
where they lay. As the night wore on
the survivors became Drawer, and plunged
into the ruins OF the east end. where
many haplcss creatures lay grooming aud
Drawing.