Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1893-07-13
THE IOWA TEEe 3.
Awful work Of O Tc-a-co -tscr
Po.noros, II.
sovensy-four rersons .-ii'ei n1d wany
More Fatally Injorsd a scrnn OF
Desoiat,on aud sorrow 4 Night
OF Horror The Victims.

PoArRoY, To-, July s-scventy-fow
dead. half as many more fatally in
lurcd and 1850 with broken limbs, cut
and bruises more or les severe. Thi
Is whas the tornado OF Thursday nigh
accomplished in the mattsr of casualty
In northern Iowa. The town of Pome
roy is one of wrecs. There is scgrcsl
house left standing.
About fifteen acres OF debris con'ti
tutcs now what was thriving village
Splintcrs are all that remain. Pomc
roy Is part and parcel of the prairie
the death-dealing wind having lef
barren and dcsolatcd everything al
far as the eve can reach. Scarce
ly tree remains. Piles OF broker
timbers and an occasional piec,
Of furniture are all that can be fount
of what was once the largest building
in the place. Two hundred and fifty
houses were in all destroyed, and Tho
money loss of these and their content,
is placed at 100000.
Thursday night in Pomeroy was on'
that win never be forgotten by thos,
who were there. Darkness followed
quickly in the wake of the tornado
and those who escaped death and in
jury were compelled TO grope their way
among the ruined homes, guided alone
by the cry of some poor unfortunate
who was pinned under the falling tim
bcrs. Almost every light of any de
scription whatever was destroyed, ant
the people from Fort Dodge and the
surrounding places failed to bring Ian
terms with them. The search for the
victims therefoN was necessarily slow
ill morning came.
The tornado-for such IL was-camt
from the northwest All of those who
saw It agree that IL was not of the fun
nel-shaped sort, but came bounding by
there like a huge bali. 1t was Of q
dark green color and was accompanied
by terrific noise. There are thos
who saw it approaching when FAR on
Of town. Most of the people became
panic stricken. They ran out
Of their houses and filed up the streets
crying and shouting till struci
by the timbers or whirling trees.
The cyclone was but of few min
utes' duration and was followed by a
terrific rainstorm, which continued at
intervals throughout the night. The
path of the storm seems 10 be an eighth
# mile in width and twenty mile,
Tong.
Fairfield. in Cherokee county, wal
visited, swelling the total number
Of dead fifteen. Eight more are re
ported killed at Storm Lake, and many
other places give notice OF one or mors
deaths.
Gov Boies arrived yesterday after
noon and took charge of the whole af
| fair.
The governor said the situation wal
far worse than he had expected. He
| ordered more tents from DeS Moines
and said he would have a company OF
more of soldiers on the grounds The in
tense heat made II impossible TO keeI
the bodies of the dead, and those who
were not claimed by relatives or friendi
and by them buried or taken away by
noon were placed in the graveyard by
the officials. Forty graves were dug
and filled with dead up TO o o'clock las,
evening. At that hour the fitting Ian
terms in the cemetery showed plainly
that the work OF burial was still going
on. Hundreds Of willing hands dragge
the dead and dying animals, Will
which the ground seemed literally
strewn, TO points on the outskirts o
the town, piled them in big heaps anC
covered them with the remains o.
houses and applied the torch. Fully I
dozen of these strange bonfires wer'
kept going all the afternoon.
Whole families were in many in
stances wiped out by the tornado an,
houses that contained all the way fron
four TO eight persons, not more thai
one escaped alive. Husbands hav
been left without wife or children
Children are left orphans and tber
are fifteen or more women in Pomero,
who have neither husbands nor chill
1ren left.
LIST or THE KILLED.
II is impossible TO obtain list Of in
jured, but an almost complete list o
the dead follows:
AZ Pomeroy Ms B ,ssi1 Banks, Mrs Dahl
,rcn, Mrs Near Thomis Hlrman1, An1re'
J. Wiikinsoa. John Anderson, Mrs. JJhn An
ierson, Mr. Hughiit Mr.. and MrS Slas b.,
ion Mr.. aud Mrs selling and son, Mrs. Fran
Johnson Ben jimin Davis, Miss Lille Kieicr
Roy Is inks. Miss FIR ST. Mr.. and Mrs Arnold
Mrs Marie Adams. Mrs Harand Mrs C. II
Jorge Banker +. o Davis Miss Ollie Luni
green, Miss Katie D1yg Mrs o Brien an
.hild, Mrs B. G. Hiwlowe, Mrs. Tdbcrt tw
children Cf John BE. e.kley.
Three miles east Of Pomcroy the folowny
Mrs DuWith J. T. Lundgreen, Snas Weston
Mrs D1hlgren, Mr. Hewlett and wife. A Fol
Key, Henry Geike, Ms Quinlan and babJ
Miss Allie Maxwell.
A short distance from POmerOy The follOwin
lead we're found; Miss Tillic Johnson Bib
Dlhlgrcn. Grocer Black. u years Old; Georg'
Black. years old; Della Black II years Old
samuel Maxwell, Richard George, unknox
BOY.
Five miles southeast Of Fonda ave Wer
killed; Mrs, Morton and three children. job
Detwiler. Two were killed near Quimby; Sir.
Icl neux MrS Lester
Abou I'VE miles south OF Aurelia were IN
iollowing fatalities; Samual Burch ami vii
and three children, John johnson, Lille al
leila slattery, Swcdc girl, name unknown
John Peters
Southwest OF Storm Lake Eve were killed
Jacob GFetur and child man named Boiml
and TWO unknown. Five miles south OF NeWe
family OF three were killsd names unkaowE
Fight with n Lion.