The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-08
STORMS PLAY FEARFUL HAVOC
MANY LIVES LOST AND ENORMOUS
DAMAGE DONE TO PROPERTY.

The Crops of Hundreds of Farmers
Ruincd-The Entire Eastern Wa
tershed of the Rocky Mountains
From the Nebraska and Iowa Lines
40 Texas Swept by the storm-An
Area OF 200 square Miles Embraced
i'm the Focus of the storm.
St Louis. July 7.-On Thursday morning
las Geographic reports began 10 arrive
in this city Of rains at western points.
These reports grew in numbers Friday
and covered a large territory. indicat-
ing that the entire eastern watershed Of
the Rocky mountains from the Nebraska
and Iowa lines to Texas was swept by a
storm. Friday night the severest blow
came. Reports OF loss of life and de-
struction Of property came with every
telegram and the downpour. which was az
first regarded as a blessing, grew into
a wave of devastation.
Fields Of grain that promised the most
bountiful yield in many years are to-
day bare of vegetation. In several in
stances the seas of rain were abetted in
their work Of destruction by tornadoes.
1t is too early yet to sum up the loss. but
the total must be appalling. and those to
whom the angry elements spared life have
little left to sustain it. The stories Of
storm are so similar that statistical
summary is all there is left to tell.
The storms focus embraced an area of
200 square miles. with the southwestern
corner of Missouri as the center. The
greatest loss of life is reported from Wi
mona, Mo, where eleven corpses have been
found, with as many more missing.
At Baxter Springs, in Southwestern
Kansas, five We're killed and eleven Sc
riously injured by a cyclone that accompa-
MED the storm
One was drowned at Columbus and two
at Ottawa, Kas.
At Van Buren. Ark, q woman and her
child were drowned.
A family of five were camped on the
banks of Fish creek. in the Indian ter
ritory. Yesterday nothing of them or their
belongings was found except a part of
their wagon on a pile of driftwoOd.
AT Thomasville, NO., Where the rainfall
was four inches in one hour, five lives were
lost.
Unconfirmed reports are received of loss
of life, as follows: Three at
tayatteYille, Ark; one at PaOi
Kan; one at Richards, Kan, and six Of a
hunting party in the Indian Territory.
This gives known and probable loss of
foTty-three lives. This total will be in
creased when the receding water permits
a thorough search.
The loss in property can be placed in the
millions. Dwellings, fences and farm
buildings were carried off and wagon and
railroad bridges were swept away
Thirty Of the eighty buildings in Winona
succumbed.
Five residences, a church and ware
house went down at Baxter Springs.
Six bridges went out in Russell county.
Kansas.
About Jefferson City Mo-, many square
miles of growing grain were covered with
debris.
Traffic on the Fort Scott and Memphis
railway is temporarily suspended.
Reports of damage to property other
than above noted come from five points in
Kansas, nine in Missouri, six in Arkansas
and two In the Indian Territory. The storm
spent itself in Illinois, but having lost it's
force, proved a blessing to crops.
The above summaries give only a frac-
ton of the loss in property. The greatest
burden falls upon the farmers, as the sea-
son is too far spent to plant new crops and
suffering must surely follow in the storms
wake.
Details of Individual sufferings and ex-
periences recall the horrors of the Johns
town disaster.