Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1892-06-04
GREAT LOSS OF LIFE.

Fifty Persons Have Been Killed The
Damage to Property Enormous.
WELLINGTON, Kan, May 2s.-This
city had a visitation Friday night from
funnel-shaped cloud which plowed
its devastating track through the busi-
ness part of the town, with immense de-
struction Of property and heavy loss OF
life. A storm of wind preceded the cy-
clone about half an hour few min
utes after Q o'clock the cyclone struck
the city, coming from the southwest.
There were no premonitory signs.
Everybody was indoors, and the cloud
passed with its destructive rush and
awful roar unseen. Jefferson avenue,
the principal business street, is lined on
both sides for blocks with ruins.
AS fast as the injured are found they
are being conveyed to the grand army
hall, which serves as hospital, and
their number is now increased to sixty
three. The number of the dead is now
reported as being fifty. All of the finest
buildings are in ruins, and every news
paper office in the city is a wreck. 1t
is now estimated that the number of
buildings destroyed exceeds 800 and the
majority of them are business blocks.
The property loss cannot be less than
$4,000 Those known to be dead are:
Leonard Adamson, Mrs. William Asher,
Frank ID. Campbell, Michael Tanning,
laborer; Walter Forsythe, Lieut.. Will
liam French, of the Salvation Army;
James E. Hastie, Ida Jones, dining
room girl at the Phillips house; -
McAdams, y. Silva, - Sims, cadet,
Salvation Army; Mrs Susan Slasher,
burned; Kittie Strain, unknown man,
supposed to be commercial traveller
The injured whose names were
learned are: Guy Colby, Edward For.
sythe, Matte Hodges, Carrie Mitchell,
Mrs. Murphy, Charles Stone, Richard
| Weaver, James Lawrence, candidate
for attorney general.
Among the missing are: Prof. Mayer,
Bert Upson.
A ball was in progress at the Phillips
hotel and the guests were nearly all
there when the storm broke. Seven
bodies, all unidentified at II o'clock,
had been taken from the ruins. At
midnight another body was taken
from the Phillips house so bad
| ly crushed that it has not yet
been identified. 1t is supposed to
be that of a commercial traveller who
was guest at the house. 1t is report
ed that there. are three more persons
buried in the ruins of Conrad's restau-
rant and men are now at work there
and at the ruins of the Phillips house,
where the mangled body of Ida Jones,
a dining-room girl, was found and iden-
titled.
To add to the horror, fire broke out
in the debris of Cole Robinson's block
and Mrs. Susan Slasher was burned to
death in that house. A solid block of
brick buildings containing half dozen
stores and the Monitor office is in a
heap of mortar. Michael Tanning, a
laborer, was killed there.
The streets are Uttered with tin roof
ing, cloth awnings and broken tim bers.
The destruction is awful, and every
minute adds to the horror of the situa.
ton. The Press, Voice, Standard and
Mail offices are wrecked. The opera
house and dozens of the best business
buildings are useless. Fine school
buildings and churches are ruined. The
cyclone did not do much damage until
it reached the center of the town. On
Jefferson avenue it destroyed the
Lutheran church but only unroofed the
residences Its most furious work was
done within the compass of four squares
bounded by jefferson avenue, Avenue
c, and Seventh and Ninth streets
Every building in these two squares
was demolished, and wrecked
The most appalling scene was that al
the Phillips house, where ball was ir
progress when the cyclone burst. The
dancers We're given little opportunity
to escape from the topping structure
AS the building began swaying in the
, force of the terrific gale the people il
the crowded ballroom made
frantic rush for the doors
/ The stairways and halls wer,
Immediately filed by the crazet
: men and women, who tore at each othel
in their mad rush for the open air
= With the crash of the walls about ant
z over them there arose a great wall o
t despair from the imprisoned ant
l doomed multitude. AS the timber
, crushed down upon the strug
Cling merrymakers their hoars,
5 cries were throttled in thei
r throats by the weight of the mass o
t timbers above them. Then came tn,
silence of death and insensibility, onl,
to be followed moment later by tn,
, shrill blasts of the tempest as it rushed
. on to other destructive work, and th
= agonized shriells of the injured or dyinl
!. who We're pinned down in the mas
of debris. Those who escaped from th
!, building began Immediately the worl
of rescue.
, A meeting of the Salvation Army wa
= in progress in a hall near the Robinson
block. The falling walls of this build
!. ing crushed the hall and many of tn
soldiers were injured 1t is known tina
two of them were killed and it is prob
able when the wreck has been cleare,
away it will be found that man.
more perished.
: The list of those more or less serious
t ly injured is appalling, and include
( many of the most prominent people i