Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-07-09
CONVICTS SLAIN.
A Fearful Tornado Strikes Baton
Rouge, La
PRISON WALLS FALL LIKE JERICHO.
ConvIcts at Work in the Factory and Sick
in the Hospital SuGer-Other Dam
age-The Storm in Missis-
sippL

| yesterday morning, unroohng houses,
| tearing up immense trees and carrying
| missiles along with it. The governors
mansion was directly in the path of the
| cyclone and it made clean sweep Of
every chimney and all the trees around
| it. The roof of the handsome residence
belonging to Mr.. Marshall was carried
away and great damage was done to
| the place.
The boulevard was one mass of trees
| torn up by the wind and the street was
filed with debris. There was scarcely
a pane of glass left in town and few
houses are completely unroofed. Resi-
dences were taken up by the wind and
carried for miles.
| At the penitentiary the scene was
| terrible one.
Without sanV warning whatever the
walls of the factory n which 100 con-
victs were at work were crushed in as
if they had been mere pasteboard. The
guards were helpless and as most Of
the men at work were either killed or
wounded little could be done toward
extricating the unfortunate victims IN
til help arrived from the main prison
building.
To add to the horror of the situation
the ruins caught fire from the furnace
in the engine room, but owing to the
heavy rain which was falling the threat
ened holocaust was averted. The res
cuers were quickly to work and began
the task of extricating the dead and dy-
ing from beneath the ruins. OF the
Il. =
the building it was discovered that
ten had been killed and thirty seri-
ously wounded, and all more or less
bruised. This. was not the worst
The hospital of the penitentiary,
in which was lying Il number of
manned and helpless convicts, was also
leveled TO the ground by the fury of
the storm. The work of rescue at the
factory building. whcee the larger num-
Der of lives were in danger, diverted
attention from the unfortunates
in tho hospital and it was
not until most OF the working force
had been rescued that tle prison Off
ciais found time TO turn their attention
to the hospital
Here the work was even more diff
cult than at the factory, owing TO the
weakness the inmates, who were un-
able even 20 give ttc rescuer5 any indi-
cations of their presence in the debris
by shopting. The work therefore pro-
eeeded slowly.
The cyclone entered the city at the
Garig bricllyard and passed up through !
Catfish town aud struck the hill just !
la ,EN T,I =
residence. Its path continued in a
northeasterlY direction and, crossing |
North boulevard hundred yards east /
of the governors mansion, it went |
north, striking the peni;entiary build |
ing and the J. a. Dougherty residence /
on North street and thence beyond the |
the city. It was 800 yards wide and
ricocheted along its course like a can
non ball, devastating as it went In the
city no one was killed, though several
persons were seriously injured.
In the city City houses at least were
unroofed or destroyed.
The storm was attended by a most
violent rain in which the rescuers
worked and which lasted for several
hours.
The wounded include nine white and
four colorcd convicts from New Orleans
and sixteen white and seven colored
convictS from other parts of the state.
OF these about six are expected to die
and the recovery of several of the
others is extremely doubtful.
The total damage to the penitentiary
buildings is estimated at SO, 900. l.
The towboat Smoky City was caught
in the cyclone eigIt miles below here.
The entire cabin was blown down. The
crew were all asleep, but although
great damage w&s done to the boat no
one was dangcrO sly hurt. 4 negro
fireman is missing. None of the officers
were injured. The smoky city was
owned BY Capt. $. $. Crump, Of Pitts
burgh, and was c5mmanded By 7, c.
Mcclure.
THE TORNADO IN MISSISSIPPI
BROoKHAvEN Miss, July 7-Yester-
lAy morning after o'clock the south
west portion OF this county was visited
by destructive cyclone which demol-
ished houses and fences and uprooted
trees Nearly all houses on the follow
ing places we're destroyed and a num-
Der of persons injured: Amos Hodges,
David Reeves, Sam thIndlers and the ]
Davis logging emp, where one man
was killed and three wounded. Another
cyclone passed twelve miles east of this
place at ) o'clock, doing great damage,
but no details have been received. /
MADISON, Miss, July "A cyclone {
struck this place about II o'clock yes 7
,erday from the southeast \
At II. E. McKay's plantation the Z
storm destroyed the negro cabins, I1illsd Q
Wesley Young, colored, and wounded /
several others. At DR.. J. II. McKay's I
very building was wrecked. t
The storm then passed across the
leveling telegraph poles. The
esidences of Glasscock and Brown
we're the first reached in town. Both =
louses were wrecked and much of the =
urniture destroyed and stock injured. :
The Presbyterian church and school Z
building were completely swept away, "
nd on the NJ. K. Jones place outbuild- .
ngs were destroyed, stock injured and
rees, orchards and shrubbery ruined.
Passing out of town to the northwest
he cyclone completely destroyed the d
wo colored churches and the residence | Il
f Handy Lee. "
Barbsd Wire TrusC.
ST. LOUIS, July An evening paper a
authority for the statement that the =
ntire barbed wire interests of the -