The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-05-31


| with fervid petition for divine protec
ton in hurry, svhen the tornado came
Many women were met with who accred
tied their escape 20 the power of prayer
Said one little woman who was lying Grip
| pied in bed. to the EAGLE reporter, ''Neve
had any idea that my husband knew
how prayer was worded, much
less to be able to make one. But wher
! the tornado took the roof of and a sid'
out of the bailding and twas knocked
down. he prayed with all his spirit; and
did too, and J believe that it did save u
from any greater injury. belong to TIT
church, but my husband doesn't, hut b.
| tells me this morning that he is going u
| join.
Mrs. Frank Ellis was leading her Sun
day school class, Sunday with a radiant
| face. Prayer saved u.s." she said to the
! EAGLE reporter. The reporter asked ne
! to recount her experiences. My husband
was down town, and his aged mother anC
| myself with the three children were sit
ting about table waiting for him 20 re
turn. Shortly after the tornado struck z
/ long two-by-four was hurled through Iht
wall like an arrow, passed within a. foot o.
my head and pierced The opposite wall
Then while the tempest ragged. we al
knelc down in a little group and prayed
! God to save US. And prayer saved US"
Judge john G. Woods and his wife were
aroused by the storm. Let us get out o.
this room" why, answered his wife
this room is as safe as another" saying
that it was all over with them, Mrs. Woods
began praying. mo, no, it isn't" ex
claimed her vigorous husband. we have
not lived all these years 10 die in tor
nado," and he grasped his wife and rushed
into another room. Mr.. Wood:
| said Sunday that be could not tell what
impelled him TO go into another room, but
that it looks like an intervention OF Provi
dence is shown by the fact that as they
left the room a ton of brick fell where
they had been standing and the room they
went into was the only one not demol
ished.
HER FLESH ON HIS CHEEK.
Among the saddest OF all the sad storie.
is the revolving death of Mrs. Sasher ant
her sister, Miss Strain. 1t was one oil
frequent repetition among the people OF
Wellington. Mr. and Mrs. Sasner had
only been married four months and Mis-:
Kittie was living with them. Mr.. Sashel
was down town when the storm struck
Mrs. Sasber was ironing and Miss hittit
was i'll and lying in bed. When the build
ing collapsed, Mrs. Sasher had evidently
run to her sisters side for when they were
taken out Mrs. Sasher's arm was around
Miss Kittie.
Mr.. Sasher ran from town to the place
where he lived. He found the building
down and on fire. He may have heard the
cries of his wife and dashed in, but the
general opinion IN Wellington is that they
were dead before the flames reached them
Somebody saw Sasher in among the flame:
and pulled him out. Two men held hin
while the improyised gangs of workmen
tried to put out the fire and pull the de-
bris away. In the meantime Sasher haC
gone mad and was fraptically calling fol
his wife. my wife, oh, God, my wife,
give me my wife" he would
cry. Then he would try tC
break loose and dash into the
flames again. Finally he had to be led
away Meanwhile, digging for the bodies
was going on diligently. A long rope was
tied around a large piece Of timber or foo!
or wall and the men would grasp the rope
together and pull. Jessie Durham, a
young man, reached the charred body oil
kittie Strain first, and throwing her over
his arm carried her out, her head resting
on his shoulder This was at 230 in the
morning, five hours after the storm. A
half hour later a friend said to Mr.. Dur
ham:
Jessie, what is that you have on your
cheek?"
Mr.. Durham took the object from his
cheek, looked at it and nearly tainted. 1t
was piece of Miss Kittie's flesh. In car
face aud left it there.
HEARTRENDING SCENES.
Harry Woods talked to an EAGLE re-
porter. The whole thing was rendered a
thousand times worse" he said, from the
fact that at the time so many husbands
were down town when the storm de-
scended. You never saw such confusion.
Men were simply wild. All the men who
were down town rushed home and saw
their houses in ruins and supposed their
wives were buried and the women and
children in turn supposed their husbands
were buried in the ruins down town.
Everybody consequently thought that ev-
erybody else was killed. All this confusion
was worst COMPOUNDED by darkness, black
as pitch. l WAS stopped by women a half
dozen times, who took me for their hus-
bands. People were crying, men and
women alike, and some acted stark mad.
This terrible state of affairs lasted till
nearly daylight, and did not end till every
body had some tidings that their friends
were safe. l passed up the street in all
this din Henry Conrad. the restaurant
man. whose wife and baby were buried
and rescued, rushed up to me and cried:
Tell me about my baby; give me my
baby" The men were then working very
hard to liberate the baby. A little further
on. met two men supporting poor Sasher.
HIS head had dropped on his chest and his
legs were totterng. His mind was gone.
| went over to where n group Of men,
women and children stood watching and
waiting. Il was the most solemn crowd
ever saw. Nobody said anything. They
did not converse, not even in whispers. In
the gray dawn, three stretchers with
bodies fled past this group aud l did not
hear a sound. II there was any curiosity
TO know whose bodies had just been Carried
past, IL was not expressed in audible
words Every lip seemed 10 be sealed by
the Calamity, aud every mind subdued."
FANCIED IT WAS COMING AGAIN.
Mr. NJ J. Mahon told the experience OF
his wife and daughter. Mss Naude, 70 the
EAGLE reporter. 4 was down town: my
wife was down stairs and my daughter
was in the upper story preparing her grad
ustiag essay. When tie storm struck,