The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1895-05-31


Thousands Of dollars worth Of fruit
was stripped from the trees by the
fierce and persistent wind and north Of
Wichita an engine was thrown from
the track. thing that has never hap
pened in this vicinity from q like
cause.
Yesterday all the trains on the Frisco
road west Of Wichita were from one
to five hours late. This diarrange-
ment in the running of trains on what
is always considered a model road for
operating on time was caused by the
terrible sand storm. When the train
that left this city after 5 p. m, Mon
day reached point two miles west Of
Bentley the engine colided with a sand
drift on the track that was sevral feet
engine was followed by the tender
which was turned on its side and all
the coal and water dumped upon the
ground. The tender was badly wreck
ed and the engine was damaged con-
siderably. The mail car followed suit.
The front end was yanked around by
the overturnig Of the tender until the
car itself crossed the track horizontal
ly.
BLACK AS EGYPT.
When the train struck the sand drift
the air was so thick with dust that
Egyptian darkness prevailed and the
feet ahead Of them. 1t is no wonder
then that when the engine struck the
drift Fireman Allen jumped for his life.
Engineer Collins was cooler and stayed
with his lever until he had shut off the
steam and the engine turned over. He
then crawled out of the window Of the
cab. He received no injuries beyond a
shaking up. The passengers were bad
ly alarmed. The wind was blowing a
gale that made the train wabble on its
track like steamer on the ocean and
when the engine struck the sand drift
and all the passengers were slammed
up against the backs of the seats they
naturally thought that they had front
end collision with the tail of cyclone.
To a certain extent the darkness that
prevailed justified this conclusion. Very
fortunately no ne was hurt The engi-
neer has been running train for twen-
ty-five years and never before had
wreck. Mr.. Rose. the mail agent. has
been also on train service that length Of
time and never was in wreck.
A wrecking train was sent out Of
Burton at once and a track built
around the wreck, but the ties Of the
new track being rotten the wrecking
train went through them and that
made two engines off the track and
hence the delay of making the neces-
sary repairs. A train was sent down
from Burton which took the paSSen-
gers up to the main line of the Santa
Fe. That was one feature Of the storm.
When the wind is going at 80 miles
an hour it is capable Of cutting good
many capers. The highest velocity ever
reached in Wichita was 81 miles an
hour, and several roofs and smoke
stacks went flying.
HEAT IS VERY GREAT.
The velocity Of the wind was much
greater in western Kansas and in Ok
lahoma than it was here. The sand was
Ring heavily in the vicinity OF Dodge
CITY and the air was thick with dust
In western Oklahoma. Up till o'clock
in the evening there had been no rain
anywhere. The heat became terrific
late in the afternoon. Last week this
vicinity had frost. Yesterday after
noon the thermometer at the Signal
Service Bureau marked "a and $40. in
the shade. The lowest temperature for
the day was "a, recorded early in the
morning.
Waving the discomforts and the
damage to immature fruit there were
no serious accidents in southern Kan
sas and Oklahoma except the railroad
wreck near Bentley.
There is some dispute as to the injury
to the corn. That near the city which
was examined last night was in good
shape and was not whipped to death as
reported. The fruit trees all through
southern Kansas certainly suffered.
The ground under the cherry trees was
red With fallen fruit and the plum trees
were simply stripped.
It was a fearful storm. wearing on
everybody in doors and out. Dust
new in point of duration. Southern
Kansas and Oklahoma have seen such
storms before. but they usually last
but a single day. When they keep up
for thirty-six hours everybody is ready
for the hospital.
NO RAIN TODAY.
There is little chance for rain today.
according to DR.. JOhnson-about one
chance in twenty. Wichita or some
other point in Kansas or Oklahoma may
have a local thunder shower and they
evaporation which makes the condition
favorable to thunder storms. But there
are no Indications for general rain.
WHERE THE AIR WENT.
Yesterday about o'clock in the af-
ternoon a man stood on the corner Of
Main and Douglas. His eyes were full
Of dirt, his were wadded shut with
sand; his teeth were stuffed with dust.
To the south Of him a dark vista Of
dirt. sand and gravel opened up; to
the north there was perpective Of loose
soil; to the west a tangle Of disengaged
real estate. while to the east the land
scape looked as though 1t had been
pulled through a rat-hole and then
This man watched the air and dust
and general conglameratiOn of both,
and then jabbed his hands down into
his pockets philosophically. he said:
"Howling Lucifer! Where is all this
going?"
He had a right to ask 1t. The air
was certainly going somewhere and 1t |
evidently was about two days behind |
Its engagement from the way 1t passed |
the town. Unlike an ordin- |
ary decorous Kansas zephyr the wind |
yesterday didn't slip over the country |
with a gentle sigh. 1t went further |
It got down on the ground and rooted |
Its nose in the bosom Of the United |
States Of America. 1t grabbed the |
plum-trees around the trunk and shook |
the everlasting daylights out Of them, |
h. nj III, LII