Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-06-27
THE FATAL FUNNEL

THE FATAL FUNNEL
Destruction By Storm in Northwest M1s
souri-Several Persons Killed and Much
Damage to Property-Family Drowned
in Arkansas.
ALBANY, No. June 22.-The little VII.
age of Lone Star, this Gentry couDty,
was wiped out OF existence by q cyclone
Thursday afternoon and the surrounding
country devastated. Three persons were
killed outright and q half dozen moro
probably fatally injured. It is impossible
to estimate the damage done but it will
amount to thousands of dollars.
At ESQ p. M. two funnel-shaped clouds
appeared in the northwest travelling
rapidly and very low down.
The frame residence OF H p. Williams,
three miles east Of Albany. was struck
and completely demolished. Nothing of
the building was left standing except q
corner post Williams niue-year- -old
son and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Crispin,
were killed outright and Mrs. Williams
and three small children were fatally in.
jured
Immediately east Of the residence Of
Mr.. Williams was that OF Mr.. Million. 1t
was right in the cyclones track and was
swept from the face of the earth in .
twinkling. The timbers composing 1t were
scattered all over the surrounding country.
Mr.. Million and his family had seen the
approach of the storm and taken refuge in
a cyclone cave and all escaped injury.
Moving on the two great clouds wheeled
down on the village OF Lone Star, de-
stroying the storehouse Of A-C.Townsend.
the Baptist Church and almost every resi-.
dence in the place.
Mr.. Townsend, who 10 also the post.
master, was fatally injured, as was Mrs.
George Stineman.
More than sixty people were rendered
homeless in an instant by the storm and
many were slightly injured.
The destruction was most complete and
there exists immediate necessity for re-
lief The citizens of Albany met yester-
day morning and raised several hundred
dollars and furnished a large amount q
clothing and provisions for the relief q
the storm stricken people of Lone Star.
The cyclone passed off to the southeast
doing great damage to growing crops. or
chards and forests in its path. At Sloan
Spring and Freewater great damage was
also done, but so far no reports of fatali-
ties have been received from there.
IN NODAwAY COUNTY.
MARYsvILLE, Mo, June PA disas
ship, Nodaway County, Thursday after
noon. Two large funnel-shaped clouds.
one coming from the southeast and the
other from the northwest, met near the
southeast corner of Union township.
whirling and twisting at a fearful rate,
taking a northeasterly course. School
houses, dwellings and barns were torn
down, orchards uprooted and great trees
torn out by the roots.
The first place struck by the storm was
the residence of g. G. Leech. The roof
off al o. "A nd
was entirely demolished.
One-half mile east the house, of ]. w. r
Walt and John Allen were damaged.
The residence of Mr.. d. Simmons near
that of Mr.. Allen was wrecked.
The '.Snowball'' school house, one
quarter of a mile northeast OF Simmons
was completely demolished. The
school was filed with pupils, but all
escaped injury except a little daughter Of
Mrs. j. NJ Berkley, who had her arm
broken.
Within few hundred yards of the
school house, the residence of j, 8. Men
nard, his barns and outhouses were blown
away.
A mile further on the Logan school
house was lifted from the side of hill on
which it stood and landed on the top of
the eminence. One after another the houses
and barns of j. A. Sparks, Perry Jackson.
King and Samuel King were demolished
by the cyclone.
At the Logan school two pupils were
slightly injured, and at the residence Of
Samuel Kennard, Mrs. Kennard was
knocked insensible.
Continuing in its track the cyclone swept
down on Parnell City doing great damage
and wrecking the school house and many
residences.
EIGHT OF A FAMILY DROWNED
LITTLE Rock, Ark, June 22-Deputy
United States Marshal Newton Faulken-
burg reported to-day that on his trip to
Conway and Van Buren, counties, just
concluded he learned that during heavy
rain storm in that section of the State last
Saturday night an old man named Emer-
son had the misfortune to lose his wife
and seven children in a flood.
As near as the marshal could learn-and
the facts are meager-there had been Q
tremendous rain near Clinton, the county
seat of Van Buren, on the upper Red
river, and it was near this place the acci-
dent took place. Emmerson. who is an
old settler in Van Buren County, was
with his family in his house at night whom
the storm was raging. After an hour'e
rain the water gradually flooded his house
and fearing he and his family would Be
drowned. he gathered two Of hi.
children in his arms and
made for the door to escape. As the door
opened, q huge log afloat dashed In the
entrance and knocked the little ones from
his arms. They fell at his feet into the
swift current and were lost. He then took
up two more, one in each arm, and sue.
ceeded in getting out with them safely,
telling his wife to follow with the Others,
but in attempting to escape in the same
manner tho mother, with two children In
her arms and three clinging to her drssA
was carried down with the food and
drowned.
The father and two children. the only
ones left in a family of eleven, escaped
with their lives. The night was dark am
the father, with the only Two survivors o.
his large family, stood in water above th
waist clinging to q tree for sever al hour
and when the waters subsided in the morn
ing a search was made and the dead bodie
of the mother and seven children were dis
covered scat cred here and there for . con-
siderable distance around the place. ths