The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-06-02
GREAT loss or LIFE. !.

Fifty Persoae Hays Bsen Killed The
<Dsmsge to Property Enormous. 81
WELLINGTON, Kan, May 2s.-This
city had a visitation Friday night from
q 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 A few min
utes after 9 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 8 hospital, and
their number is now increased to sixty
three. The number Of the dead is now
reported assbeing fifty All of the finest
buildings are in ruins, and every news
paper Office in the city is wreck. 1t
is now estimated. that the number of
buildings destroyed exceeds 800 and the
ma ority of them are business blocks.
The property loss cannot be less than
$5O0,0o0. Those known to be dead are:
Leonard Adamson, Mrs. William Asher,
Frank D. Campbell, Michael flaming,
laborer; Walter Forsythe. Lieut.. VIII
liam French, of the Salvation Army;
James E. HASTE, Ida Jones, dining
room girl at the Phillips house; -
a.
Salvation Army; Mrs. Susan Slasher,
burned; Kittie Strain, unknown man
supposed to be commercial traveller r.
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 Epson.
"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. It 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-r room girl, was found and iden-
titled
10 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
heap of mortar. Michael Tanning,
laborer, was killed there.
The streets are Uttered with tin roof
ing, cloth awnings and broken timbers.
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
1t 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 sou ares
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 at
the Phillips house, where a ball was in
progress when the cyclone burst. The
dancers were given little opportunity
to escape from the topping structure.
AS the building began swaying in the
force of the terrific gale the people in
the crowded ballroom made a
frantic rush for the doors.
The stairways and halls were
Immediately filled by the crazed
men and women, who tore at each other
in their mad rush for the open air.
With the crash of the walls about and
over them there arose a great wall of
despair from the imprisoned and
doomed multitude. AS the timbers
crushed down upon the strug-
Cling merrymakers their hoarse
cries were throttled in their
Threats by the weight of the mass of
timbers above them. Then came the
silence of death and insensibility, only
to be followed moment later by the
shrill blasts of the tempest as it rushed
on to other destructive work, and the
agonized shrieks of the injured or dying
who were pinned down in the mass
of debris Those who escaped from the
building began Immediately the work
of rescue.
A meeting of the Salvation Army was
in progress in a hall near the Robinson
block. The falling walls of this build
ing crushed the hall and many of the
soldiers were injured. It is known that
two OF them were killed and it is prob
able when the wreck has been cleared
away it will be found that manv
more persisted.
1Nbo 1;ek