Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-06-02
DESTRUCTION AND DEATH.

The City of Wellington, Has. swept
Through It's Northern Portion by
Cyclone, and the Horrors Thereon sup
pIemented by F'ire-Hundreds of DIVER
lfngs, Business Houses, Churches ana
School-H Houses Demolished or Bahly
Damaged, and, Worst of All, a Terrible
Loss of Human Life Atheists the Fury OF
the Visitation.
WELLINGTON, Kas., May 2S.-Nell1ng-
ton was struck by a terrible cyclone
last evening. and the entire northern
portion of the city was destroyed.
4 bout fifty people were killed and 10
injured, but the confusion is so great
that the exact loss of life cannot yet be
stated definitely. Among the dead are:
Mrs. William S. Asher.
kittie Strain.
X. Silva.
Walter FCrsythe.
Ida Jones.
The Wellington hotel and the Phil
lips house. the largest hotels in the city.
were completely wrecked. and the ruins
of the Phillips house took fire. Many
of the guests were doubtless burned to
death.
A heavy storm of wind and rain pre-
ceGled the cyclone by about half an
hour. A few minutes before o'clock
the cyclone struck the city, coming
from the south. There were no pre-
monitory signs. Everybody was in
doors and the cloud passed with its de-
structive rush and awful roar unseen.
Washington avenue, the principal
business street. is lined on both sides
for blocks with ruins.
To add to the horror of the scene. fire
broke out among the debris of Col.
RObinson's block, and a woman, Mrs
Susan Asher, is supposed to have per
ished in the flames, and the Monitor
Press and Voice printing offices lie a
tumbled heap of bricks and mortar.
Just across the street laborer
named Tanning. was taken out of the
ruins dead. and there are supposed to be
other bodies in the ruins. Hundreds o.
dwellings are either totally destroyed
or more or less damaged. The city i:
in darkness. as broken mains made i
| necessary to shut down the gas work:
to prevent destruction from fire.
Hon. James Lawrence. candidate fol
attorney general. has an arm broken.
Walter Forsythe was taken from the
| ruins dangerously wounded, and HI:
brother, Edward. was buried for al
hour before his release.
Seven bodies have been taken out O.
the Phillips house, and large force O
men are hard at work removing the de
bris. Two members of the Salvation
| army are expected to die from injurie:
received.
At Squire Smiths house seven per
| sons are more or less injured.
The streets are Uttered with tin roof
ing cloth awnings, broken glass ant
| timberS.
Everybody on the streets is carryin!
lanterns. and it is impossible to get a
! the exact facts.
The destruction is simply awful ant
every minute adds to the horror of TIN
situation. The Standard and Mail of
fees are wrecked. The opera hous
| and dozens of the best business build
ings are useless. Fine school building
| and churches are ruined and the los
will foot up into many thousands o
dollars.
No reports have been received from
| other points.
Wellington is the county seat of Sum
ner county, and has a population o
over 10000 inha bitants. 1t is in tn
middle of thickly-settled agriculture
| district. and is the most prominen
| town in Southern Kansas.
Mrs Asher and Miss Strain wer
sisters. They were killed by the col
| lapse of the Asher & Kirk factory, an
| that structure.
| Silva and Walter Forsythe receive
fatal injuries in Conrad's restaurant
Ida Jones was a dining-room girl in tn
Phillips house and was instantl
killed. Her body was the first to b
taken from the ruins of that building
Grand Army hall has been converte'
into hospital, and hundreds are nov
employed in the work of carrying tn
! dead and injured to places of safety