The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-05-02
And a Number Injured, Some Fa-
tally, by a Kansas Cyclone,
SWEPT EVERYTHING BEFORE IT.

1t Swept over Narrow Strip of Land
for sixteen Miles, Demolishing Every
House in Its Path-Foresight Saves Many
School Children.
WICHITA, Kan, May "A special from
Halstead, Kan, says About o'clock yes
serday afternoon fearful cyclone devas
tated strip of country several hundred
\ yards wide and at least sixteen miles in
| length killing six persons outright and
| severely injuring several others, while
many have received slight injuries The
| cyclone struck the house of Mrs. Fry,
widow who lived about nine miles south
west of Halsted, completely destroying it
and slightly injuring Mrs. Fry. 1t picked
up the house of John Schultzback and
scattered it in every direction.
The fine two story house of Joseph Weir
was entirely swept away, killing Mrs. Jo-
seph Weir, Grace Weir, aged II; Herman
| Weir, aged g. and 5-weeks' old baby. Mr..
Weir had previously left the house, and
when the cyclone struck it was about fifty
yards away. He clung to a tree, but was
badly injured by flying debris, and viii
die Joseph Weir, Jr. and his sister,
Maud Weir the only ones in the family
who took to the celler, escaped with only
slight bruises.
The home Of E. c. Caldwell, which was
| 100 yards to the west of the Weir home,
was unroofed and one side torn away.
The family escaped by taking to the eel
lar. The next house in the path of the
storm was William Armstrong;, which
was completely wiped from the face of the
earth Mr. Armstrong was killed, Mrs.
Armstrong seriously and perhaps fatally
injured, and Grandma Chaplin, who was
there sick in bed, was killed. About
hundred yards east Of the Armstrong
house the large two story residence of B.
h. Frizzel was picked up as was also the
large two story house of J. f. Frizzel
located just across the road, and both to-
gether with the outbuildings, were COM
pletely swept away, leaving only enough
debris to show that a house stood there.
The families of both the Frizzels escaped
injury with the exception of Mrs. j, F.
Frizzel, who was considerably bruised
about the head
The next place visited was the home of
Captain William White, which was only
partly destroyed, one wing of the house
being torn away. Across the road from
Whites the home of Cyrus Hinkston was
entirely carried away. Mr. Hinkston re-
ceived painful, but not serious injuries.
Spencer Ross house was in the line of the
tornado, and was carried away, as were
also the homes of A S. Powell, j. A.
Comas, Andrew Thompson and Memo
Hege Miss Daisy Neff, at Powells house,
was badly injured, as was Mrs. j. Comas.
At the Hege district school the children
had Just been dismissed. Mr.. Hege saw
the storm approaching. and fearing it's re-
suits hurried the scholars to his cyclone
cellar. His foresightedness prevented an
lawful holocaust for just as the last child
had been safely slowed away in the cellar
the cyclone struck the house over them
and demolished it. As it was not one of
them was even slightly injured. The fury
of the storm seems to have done its worst
about five miles west of Halstead where
all six of the persons were killed.
Those who first saw the disaster coming
say it made very slow progress, travelling
not faster than person could run. 1t
seemed to waver first in one direction,
then in another AS far as heard from,
covering a distance of eighteen miles
across the country from southwest to
northwest, twenty residences, nearly all
of them large ones, were completely de-
r stroyed The loss will fall not less than
$2OO, 900, besides the six deaths and the
injured, two or three of whom will prob
= ably die.
+ Physicians from Wichita went TO the re-
lief of the injured and local assistance is
given to the suffering families. Every
! body in the track of the storm lost every
thing, and outside aid will probably have
to be called for