Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-02
SWEPT BY A CYCLONE
Twenty Dwellings Destroyed and Six Lives
Lost
The Foresight of a School Teacher
Saved the Lives of All the
Children.

A tornado devastated a strip Of country
several hundred yards wide and at least
sixteen miles in length near Halstead,
Kan, yesterday afternoon, killing six per-
sons outright and seriously injuring several
others, while many have received slight
injuries.
The storm struck the house of Mrs. Fry.
who lived about nine miles southwest of
Haistead. destroying it and slightly injur-
trg Mrs. Fry. 1t picked up the house Of
John Schultzback and scattered 1T in every
direction. The two-story house Of Joseph
Weir was swept away. killing Mrs. Weir.
Grace Weir. aged eleven; Herman Weir,
aged five, and f1ve-weeks-old baby. Mr..
Weir had previously left the house, and
when the storm struck 1t was about fifty
yards away. He chung to a tree, but was
tadly injured by flying debris and will die.
Joseph Weir, jr.. and sister, Maud Weir.
the only CneS in the family who took to
The home Of E. C. Caldwell. which was
enc hundred yards to the west Of the Weir
home, was unroofed and one side torn
aW ay. The family escaped by taking to
The next house in the path of the storm
was William Armstrong;, which was de-
molished. Mr.. Armstrong was killed, Mrs.
Armstrong seriously and perhaps fatally
injured. and Grandma Chaplin, who was
there sick in bed, was killed.
More Destruction.
About 100 yards east of the Armstrong
house the large two-story home of B. E.
Frizzel was picked up, as was also large
two-story house Of ]. F. Frizzel across the
read. and both. together with all the out
buildings, were swept away, leaving only
enough debris to show that a house uad
stood there. The families of both the Friz-
Zeis escaped injury, with the exception of
Mrs. ]. F. FrizzeL who was considerably
tiufsed about the head.
The next place visited was the home Of
Capt. VIM. 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.. Hfnkston received 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, ]. A. Comas
and Rev. Thompson and Memo Hege. Miss
Daisy Neff at Powelrs house was badly
injured, as was Mrs. ]. Comas.
Hurried Into Cyclone Cellar.
At the Hege district school the children
had just been dismissed. Hege saw the
storm approaching, and, fearing its re-
suits. hurried the scholars to his cyclone
cellar. His foresightedness prevented an
awful loSS VI HE, LOT just as tne ldSt cnllQ
had been safely slowed away in the cellar
the cyclone struck the house over them and
demolished 1t. 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.
Near the Frizzel home dead horses. cattle.
hogs and chickens are scattered all over
the wheat field.
Those who first saw the disaster coming
say it made very slow progress, travelling
not faster than a 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 dwellings,
nearly all of them large ones, were COM
pletely destroyed. The loss will fall not
less than $2O0.0O0, besides the six deaths
and the injured. two or three of whom will
probably die.
Physicians from Wichita went to the re-
lief of the injured. and local assistance Is
given to the suffering families. Everybody
in the track of the storm lost everything.
and outside aid will probably have to be
called for
Halstead is town of 1000 Inhabitants.
in Harvey county. in the south central
part of Kansas, on the Little Arkansas
river, nine miles by rail from Newton.