The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-04-13
Destruction Wrought in Towns
From Lakes to Gulf.
MANY PEOPLE WE'RE KILLED.
Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Ne
braska Bore the Brunt.
Ypsilantls Mich.s Struck BY . Cyclone
and Business Houses Smashed-Ths
Loss to Property 10 Enormous-
MesgeR Reports Received.

DETRoIr. Arril IA tornado struck
Ypsilanti about O'Clock this evening and
caused heavy damage in the business sec
ton by demolishing almost all the build
ings and several residences. As far as can
be ascertained, no one killed. but quite =
number received injuries. 1t is impossible
to obtain any news from the town, as all
the telegraph and telephone wires are
down. An Associated Press representa-
tive saw II. Mason, manager of the Cen
trail Telephone Exchange st Ypsilanti, and
obtained some particulars of the damage
done. He said:
About O'clock the tornado struck Ypsilanh
and swept through its center, leaving dcstruc-
ton in tts path. Al far ~ can remember,
twelve or fifteen Of the principal business blocks
in the city were demolished and others had
their roofs torn off and were other wise damaged.
Several dwellings were also wrecked, but
heard of nobody being killed. Quite . number
OF people were injured, but 1t is not known how
many, or the extent OF their injuries. Every
thing was in confusion when left. and 1t was
impossible to get anything more definite than
what l tell you.
The Cleary business college and Curtis
carriage factory are in ruins and the Haw-
kins house and Occidental hotel are
badly damaged and the roofs of
half the stores were blown Off.
Twenty store fronts were also smashed
in and on Huron street rubbish is
piled ten feet high. The postoffice build
ing was demolished and the mail scat
tered in the streets. All the telegraph,
telephone and electric wire are down,
leaving the city in complete darkness and
everybody up watching property that has
been exposed to the storm. No one was
hurt severely.
Royal Oak. q small town ten or twelve
miles from Detroit, on the Detroit, Grand
Haven & Milwaukee railroad, had touch
of the storm. The railroad men on the i'm
coming trans report that they were de-
layed near there by cars being blown from
the track.
YPsILANrI, April 1a-At a. m. this
morning there is nothing particularly new
about the tornado. The work of clearing
up is going on as rapidly as possible. No
dead bodies were found. though it
is thought that some people were
killed and few probably in
jured. No names are obtainable
tonight. There was no tornado insurance
carried in this city. Many more dwellings
in the residence portion of the city are
down than was at first supposed and the
loss of property is estimated now to reach
500, 900 more. The streets are torn up and
blocked by fallen trees.
PoRr HURON, April 12.-Reports from
Chesterfield bring news of great damage
there. The cyclone struck few minutes
after o'clock. Two freight cars stand
ing on a side track were blown
square across the main track just
a few minutes ahead of the Toronto ex-
press. The engineer saw the freight cars,
but before he could slacken speed he ran
his train into them with q great crash.
The express was thrown into tho ditch
and three coaches piled upon each other.
The baggageman was the only one seri-
ously hurt. The passengers all miracul-
ously escaped.
KANSAS CITY, April 12-As communica-
tion gradually becomes opened up with
the small towns and hamlets throughout
Kansas and Missouri which the cyclone
swept yesterday the real extent of the dis
aster becomes known. 1t Is impossible to
get the names of victims, however. and in
most instances the accounts Of the des-
truction are incomplete. Fifteen people
are known to have been killed and thirty
or forty injured, while numberless houses,
as we'll as smaller property, were de-
stroyed. Much stock was also killed,
fruit trees broken and twisted and
haystacks scattered. In Kansas Par
ker, Q hamlet ten miles south Of
Independence. was almost totally de-
stroyed, many houses demolished and
many others badly wrecked. Walnut. in
Crawford county, suffered severely in
wrecked houses, but there was no loss of
life. Dispatches from Hiawatha state
that the storm wrought great havoc in the
northeastern portion of the state, several
towns being more or less damaged and
manv lives reported lost. The towns of
Willis. Garnet, Everest and Powhat.an
were partly demolished and several
people injured. Near Robinson. f.
2. Holton was struck by lightning
and killed. At Muscotah several
houses were unroofed and Mrs. Burns and
baby badly injured. The cyclone, enter
ing Missouri. struck successively the small
towns Of Mayview, Page City and Higgins
vile, where, after doing considerable dam
age, it spent it force. At st. Joseph it
caused considerable damage and several
people were killed. but most of the people
saw the storm coming IN time to get into
cyclone caves and escaped injury.
Sr. LOUIS, April 12.-As the telegraph
and telephone wires are repaired and COM
munication once more restored, reports
are being received of the ravages Of Tues
day nights storm. The wires all over are
still prostrated, but enough has been
learned to show that no section escaped
the storms fury. Salem, Strasburg, Steel
vile, Rolla, Page City. and other places
report not only destruction of property.
but loss Of lite, while Nevada, Mexico and
various other places report trees, out
houses. fences and roofs blown away. The
same is true of Southern and Central Ii.
linois, Springfield, Jacksonville. Dam
vile, Centralia, Olney. Vandalia, Cairo,
and various other places reported Darns
and other ANAL buildings destroyed and
much live stock killed. but no loss of
human life is reported. Northern Arkan-
sas also suffered, though not to so great an
extent. The property loss in this city will
be great. aggregating over 500.
Trains from all sections are from one to
three hours late today. The death list for
the state reached over twenty-five and IL
cannot be foretold how much it may be
increa ased as communication is re-estab-
lished.
SALEx, NO., April IA regular cyclone
visited the northern part Of this county
last evening and trees. fences. houses and
barn. were demolished and nine persons
killed and fifty injured. several of whom
will probably die. The greatest loss OF