People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-06-03
HEARrIEYDTyG SCENES

face and left it there.
HEARTIENDIyG SCENES
Harry Woods talked to an EAGLE re-
porter. THE whole thing was rendered
thousand times worse, " he said, "from the
fact that at the time so many husbands
were down town when 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 aud the women and
children in turn supposed their husbands
were buried in the ruins down town.
Everybody consequently thought that sv.
erybody else was killed. All this confusion
was worst COMPOUNDED by darkness, black
as pitch. i Was stopped by women a half
dozen times, who took me for their hus
bands. People were crying, men anG
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
hwere safe. Ipassed 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
fTell me about my baby; give me my
baby" The men were then working verJ
hard TO liberate the baby. A little further
on, met two men supporting poor Sasher.
HIS head had dropped on his chest and bis
legs were tottering. His mind was gone
| went over to where a group Of men,
women and children stood watching and
waiting. 1t 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 and | did mol
hear sound. II there was any curiosity
to know whose bodies had just been carried
past, 1t was not expressed in audible
words. Every lip seemed to be sealed b,
the calamity, and every mind subdued."
FANC1ED 1T WAS COMING AGAIN.
Mr.. NJ. j. Mahon told the experience O
his wife and daughter, Miss Maude, to tn,
EAGLE reporter. II was down town; m,
wife was down stairs and my daughter
was in the upper story preparing her grad
uating essay. When the storm struck
my wife called for Miss Maude, but il wm
too late. Miss Maude was carried abouts
block. She found herself on her knees
and locating herself, hurried back and
heard her mother moaning under the
house. She went TO work bravely ano
cleared the wreck away and got my wife
out and then lead her over to her brothers.
home. Mrs Mahon could not realize what
had happened Her nerves We're shattered.
Every time An engine would whistle, she
would start up and say, There it is againI
Let us go home 1t was some time before
we could get her TO understand that she
had no home TO 90 to-"
HOW IT FEELS.
The EAGLE reporter took particular
pains to inquire Into the sensations OF the
people who were said to be carried" by
the tornado. The truth is, nobody could
be found who mad gone through such an
experience who could tell whether they
were carried by the wind or just run along
the ground. Charles Willard, whose case
was the most remarkable, was questioned.
Where was you, Mr.. Milliard. when the
storm came?"
Il had stepped into Conrad's restaurant
to get out Of the rain. when the house
collapsed and was pinned down. Then
rTas released and carried away by the
Mind"
Were you carried, Mr. Milliard, that ia,
did you know You were in the air"
mo, sir / do not remember thing, be.
tween the time when WAS Frustrated and
when l found myself on my knees twd
blocks away"
Then you might have been run along
the ground"
Yes, that it true. But the reason l be-
lieve my transit was in the mir, is because
between the place started aud the place,
lfell, there are trees, houses. hedges and
wells, which had | been on foot, might
have barred further progress on my part.
OTHER EXPERIENCES.
Mrs. DR.. Parker, who has furnished
rooms up stairs across the street from the
Phillips House was watching the storm,
VI walked TO the front window" she says!
land looked out. / could see the barbeJ
across the street in the shop, shaving jim,
HASTE. walked around the room once
and came back again and everything was
swept away. 1t was done that quickly"
jim Hastie and the barber were both
killed.
Mrs. e. H. Winters. the wife Of the chief
train dispatcher, was carried out from
their house into the yard. Mrs. Winters
saw hard coal stove pass over her head.
She and her husband were both pinned
down. While they wel- $rying to extri.
cate themselves, something fell close to
them with dull thud Later investiga-
ton showed their narrow escape. 1t was
the square piano-forte, up side down. The
tornado took Mrs. Winters shoes and
stockings and her wedding ring off.
John Beck, a farmer living one mile
west, said he watched the storm. There
were four funnel shaped clouds at each
point of the compass. After while they
all came together with roar and dipped
three times and then disappeared.
Little Sumner Brown was among those
who was carried away by the wind. He
was sleeping soundly in bed and when be
awoke he wa, under pile of boards .
block away from home.
W. H. Tucker, the proprietor of tho
Phillips house. was on the first floor o.
that hotel. He is powerful man and be
bumped his back and bore up partition
wall that started to fall in. Under him be
put his wife and child, and although thu
strain was terrible, be held the heavy wall
up till help came
Sam Davis, who drives the baggage.