The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-06-28
THE DEADLY CYCLONE.

| THE DEADLY CYCLONE.
The report that reached Us on Friday
night OF a serious cloudburst and Cy-
clone disaster at Earlville, but Of
which, on account OF the broken tele'
graph wires, we could get no details,
was fully confirmed by authentic news
Yesterday, and the calamity shown to
| be much more serious than we had an
| ticipated. The disaster occurred about
| four miles north OF Earlville at about
| four in the afternoon. The storm
came from the SouthweSt-apparently
| from the vicinity Of SuDlette-sweep-
| ing number Of houses and barns in
| its track, and As far as aScertained at
| least seventeen lives have been lost.
Its most dreadful work appears to
have been done at the Fields school
house, at What is called the Four Cor
ners, four miles north OF Earlyille.
| The tempest no sooner struck the
school house thanit was torn TO pieces,
the material OF which it was composed
! being scattered like chaf. At the
| time there were eight persons in the
roOm and not one Of them escaped to
tell the fearful experience of that mo-
ment. They were Miss Maggie Nc
Bride, the teacher and seven Of her
pupils. All We're fearfUlly bruised and
some crushed and pounded almost hey
Ond recognition. Several Of the bodies
were hurled into a creek that flowed
near by, now swollen to torrent, car.
ried down the stream, and had not at
( last account been recovered. Peter
Reams, broom peddler, driving by
| the school house at the time, was
caught up in the whirling cloud and
carried some distance, and his lifele,S
body dropped into hedge. His team
and wagon were also taken up and no
trace Of them has yet been discovered.
| The house Of Newton Wood was next
demolished, the family saving them
selves by taking refuge in the cellar.
| The storm swept on in a northeast di-
rection through Paw Paw Grove, car
rying everything before it, seventeen
| lives being reported as lost and over
twenty houses destroyed in the village
| Of Paw Paw. Not a thing was left
standing in the path Of the cyclone.
Huge trees, orchards, fences-eyery-
thing was obliterated.
In regard to the cyclone at Sublette
yesterdays Mendoza Reporter brings
this report:
About ten houses werecOmpletely de-
StrOyed and scattered all oyer and 9TH
ers badly damaged. one church lost
its steeple. A number of people were
injured; Mrs. Buettner. an old lady
and two children are reported to have
been hurt fatally. East Of Sublette
| there was also a terrific destruction
tated. As far as known at this writ
Arndt, Neit Zapp, George Politsch,
John Politsch, Phil. Schelinger and F.
j. Schmitt, all in Brooklyn, were
| SJTuCk by lnt Slbllll anu uDustS dlii
Outbuildings razed from the ground.
At Schmtt's four Of his children were
hurt, one Of them fatally. A farm
hand or Mr.. Schmitt had his arm bro
ken twice and received numerous bad
cuts about the face and body, he was
brought to town and cared for by DR..
| Edwards. The wife of Geo. Politsch
received broken arm and other bad
| injuries. A school house between the
Politsch farms was destroyed and most
OF the - children in It more or less Sc
riously hurt.
The report we received Of cyclone
at Cornell is also confirmed 1t swept
over the country a short distance west
Of the village, in path about eighty
rods wide The house Of ). Plymier
was first struck and torn to pieces.
MR. =. himself being badly hurt. The
houses Of VIM. Nancamp aud j. NJ.
Bradley were badly damaged The
house of VIM. Sutl tie was unroofed,
that Of w. ID. Common torn to pieces:
and so on eastward for four miles every
house, barn, tree and fence in its way
was demolished. While many were
more or less badly hurt, there is no ac-
count of any life being lost.