Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-07-08
FRIGHTFUL HAVOC.
Wrought by the Cyclone Fiend
at Pomeroy.
ITS PATH THICK WITH CORPSsS
The Town Annihilsted and Nothing
But Debris to Mark
Its Site.

Fifty. three Instantly Killed, Seventy-fiye
Fatally Wounded and $50 in the Hands
of the Doctors with Broken Limbs and
Mangled and Bruised Bodies-TerribIe
Fury of the Tornado as Evidenced by Its
Work on the Dead-Lists of the Victims,
Killed and Injnred-Storm Freaks.
PoMERoY, Ia, July S.-Fifty-three dead,
seventy-fve fatally injured and $50 with
broken limbs, cuts and bruises more or
less severe. This is what the tornado ac-
complshed in the matter of casualty. The
town of Pomeroy is one complete wreck
There is scarcely house left standing.
About fifteen acres of debris constitutes
now what was a thriving village. Splint-
ers are all that remain. Pomeroy is part
and parcel OF the prairie, the death-dealing
winds having left barren and desolate.
Scarcely tree remains. Piles of broken
tlmbers and an occasional piece of furni-
ture are all that can be found of what were
once the largest buildings in the place.
Two hundred and fifty houses were in all
destroyed, and the money loss on these and
their contents is placed at $4,000
Dead ana Dying Everywhere.
Everywhere about Pomeroy after the
storm were dead and dying people; dozen
men were digging graves in the burying
ground on the hill just north of their vii
lage, and the hearse was kept busy carry
ing the victims of the storm to the last
resting place Doctors from dozen or
more places hurried through the streets
in l-.. FOL L. ,f-
diers carrying coffins. Special trains from
all the surrounding towns brought thou
sands who were ready to fake part In the
work of caring for the dead and wounded.
Clothing, food and medicines were shipped
in by the ton. Soon order was brought out
Of chaos, relief corps were organized and
things were going along in business-like
shape.
eyer-to-be-EOrgotten Night.
The night of the disaster will never be
forgotten by those who were here. Dark
ness followed quickly in ne wake of the
tornado, and those who escaped death and
injury were compelled to grope their way
among the ruined homes, guided by the
cry of some poor unfortunate who was
pinned under the falling timbers. Almost
every light of any description whatsoever
was destroyed and the people from Fort
Dodge and surrounding places, who were
the first to reach the scene, failed to bring
lanterns with them. The search for the
victims therefore was necessarily slow till
morning came. 1t was not tilr the first
streaks of light appeared in the east that
the enormity of the disaster dawned upon
the people.
Looked on a Scene "f Ruin.
They looked out where once city stood
and saw nothing but timber strewn
prairie. Every residence TO the south of
the railroad tracks had disappeared and
the spires of seven churches were nowhere
to be seen. Pomeroy hal wealth of
shade trees, but nothing WAS to be seen of
them save a broken and twisted mass of
limbs and roots. Horse, and cattle lay
dead in the streets, pigs $: uck in the sides
of horses, and dead cats and dogs and
chickens were scattered over the ground.
Human Blood, Means Sobs and Shrieks
Pools of human blood mingled with the
mud at every turn, show ng where some
victim of the tornado had been tossed after
| the life had been crushed out of him. The
| air was full of means and sobs and shrieks,
and every other face M, On the street was
stained with tears. The people in pomeroy
seemed powerless to do anything for the
sufferers, and it was not until morning
when the people from outside towns ar
| rived that anything was done toward re.
covering the dead and caring for the
wounded
| Sici.eninE Scenes in :hc iiorgue.
The scene in the improvised morgue was
ghastly one Billiard tables were turned
into slabs and on these the maugled re
mains of the dead were placed The floor
was badly sunlen in Chelniddle, and here
the blood as it dripped from the tables ran
in small streams, soon with the, assistance
/ of the water from the rapidly melting ice,
forming puddle of gore up to the top of
the attendants shoes On the tables were
bodies without heads and bodies without
arms; bodies whose legs had been blown
away by the cyclone, and bodies with
| heads Hhat had been crushed beyond
recognition by the falling timbers On
one table lay the remains of an old woman
a hole rs big as mans fist torn in the
rear part of her head. Close 10y was a
baby not more than year of age, one of
its legs gone and its little arm mashed to a
| jelly,