Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-26
A Swath Of Destruction in Law.
renoe, Mass.
WHY GUATEMALA Is WHIPPED
Congressman Pierce of Tennessee
Fatally Injured.
A DOUBLE SUICIDE IN CALIFORNIA
CYCLONE IN MASSACHUSETTS.
One Hundred Buildings Demolished in
Lawrence.

BosroN, July 26.-It is reported that disas-
trous tornado occurred at Lawrence. Mass, this
morning and that twenty five houses were de-
stroyed
The storm first struck Springfield street and
travelled thence 70 Salem street, devastating a
section twenty rods wide. II is estimated that
one hundred buildings have been leveled by
the storm. One man is known to have been
killed outright by a falling building, and the
injured are now reported as numbering fifty
or sixty. Fire has broken out in a number of
places in the ruins and the entire fire depart
ment are now at work extinguishing the flames.
The injured are being removed and cared for
as quickly as possible.
A Lawrence special says: The awful visi-
tation came at 9:55 o'clock. The wind
was east The rain was falling heavily,
when suddenly the heavens became aglow with
bright white light almost dazzling in its
effect. In e moment the wind yeered
directly to the west Heavy black
clouds shot from behind the
western hills high into the sky for a moment
and then the thick mass parted Down shot
black streaks from The murky mass. and in a
moment the crash came. Buildings were
crushed like egg shells, whole houses were
lifted from the cellars and terror seized their
occupants.
The buildings in the vicinity were all of
wood, pretty, cozy homes Of toilers in the
mills. In trice their ruin was complete. The
cyclone cut path in Sonth Lawrence over a
mile in length and 500 feet wide. Over 100
buildings were wrecked The hospital is filed
with injured, while homes spared from
the wreck are sheltering bleeding
women and children. The devastated section
is included by South Broadway and Temple
street, Market and Salem streets Communi-
cation with the outside world was instantly cut
of. The immense telegraph poles were
snapped as though they were pipe stems, and
the wires, which were whirled into cloud OF
tangled skeins, settled down a mass of Junk
POSSIBLY TWENTY-FIVE PEOPLE HURT
MAIDEN, MASS, July 26.-The first train
from Lawrence since the reported disaster ar
rived here at noon. The conductor states that
the tornado struck South Lawrence about five
hundred rods from the South Lawrence depo,
OF the Boston and Maine railroad about 10 a.
m. today and its path Of destruction extends to
the overhead bridge on the Boston and Maine
tracks between South Lawrence and North
Andover
In South Lawrence rs houses were shattered,
the roof of the new Catholic Church carried
away and q switch box of the Boston and Maine
road blown 500 feet, carrying with il railroad
employe, whose name is not known, and killing
him instantly. On the east side of the tracks
toward North Andover a grove of large trees. 10
to 10 acres in extent, were blown fiat by the wind
and fifteen houses are reported wrecked IN North
Andover The loss of life from the present
source of information is placed from l5 to rs,
and the number of injured. 1t is said must
reach 100 or loo. The railroad property has
not been damaged, and communication by
train is unbroken, while the wires are more or
less blown down.
Battery of Lawrence, which has Just
returned from camp. arrived hsre at noon on a
special train en- route to Lawrence where the
men will be detailed at once to guard work and
assist in the removal of the debris and search
for the dead and injured. Springfield
street, where the cyclone struck. con-
tained many of the handsome residences
of the town. The work of the tornado on this
street was clean cut, and after it had passed
but three houses of all between Blanchard and
South Union streets were left standing. All
the others on both sides of the street were
either moved completely down or partly de-
molished, and twenty people were injured on
this street alone. The windows of ST. Patrick's
Church were blown in trees. chimneys signs
fences and roofs are torn away outside OF the
path of the storm, while in its direct route
everything was laid fat