Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1895-05-09
GENERAL NEWS ITEMS
BRIEF CHRONICLE OF VARIOUS
OCCURRENCES.
and Illinois Visited by Awful Cyclones
and Several Towns Devastated-FulIy
100 People Killed.

Dispatches from Sioux City, Ia, Hal
stead, Kas., and other western towns,
tell of frightful destruction of life by
a series of cyclones which visited sew
eral states. Telegraphic communica-
ton was so interrupted that it was
some time before the damage could be
estimated with any degree of accuracy.
The storm, widespread as it was, APP
pears TO have been true cyclone in
places and in other parts of its terri
tory partook more of the nature of a
tornado, and in others, even where
damage was considerable, was not
more than gale of wind, with severe
| hail and rain. The severest cyclone
had its course for IL or Is miles in
Sioux county, la. The same storm, or
another one, touched at Sibley and
did great damage there. In South
Dakota, even where there was severe
destruction, there appears to have
been no real cyclone with the swirling
funnel-shaped clouds.
From Sioux Center and other places
in Sioux county, estimates come that
no less than 20 have been killed and
two or three times as many injured.
AS the path of destruction was alto
gether IN the country, definite infor-
nation is difficult TO get. Everett
Arnold, aged II, was struck by light
ming and killed at Creston. North of
lreton, George and Anna Marsden
were killed. The schoolhouses in
which they were teaching, two miles
apart, were demolished. Four miles
north of Sioux Centre 27 homes were
demolished A curious feature of the
cyclone was the accompaniment of
electrical violence and many deaths by
lightning are reported. The towns of
Sioux Center, lreton, Orange City,
Perkins, Doom, Hull, Sheldon, Alton,
Ashton, Sibley and LeMars were in
the path of the cyclone and all were
damaged more or less. The storm
was followed by furious wind and
rainfall.
A pitiful feature of the disaster is
the number of youthful lives lost.
Three school houses near Sioux Center
were destroyed, while school was in
progress, and at each one from three
to ten children were killed or injured.
Many of the children were carried
from quarter to half a mile before
they were dropped. Two little daugh-
ters of John Roster, farmer near
Sioux Center, were picked up as they
were leaving the school house and
dashed into wire fence, where both
were killed. The two sons of G. III.
Haggie, at the same school house, had
their legs broken and received other
injuries, from which they will die. In
Osceola county, Ia, Mrs. John
Waterman was killed. A joist fell on
her neck. She held her baby in her
arms, and the baby escaped injury.
John Coughlin, wife and ten children
were all saved by taking refuge in
cyclone cave. They lost their house,
household goods, barn and had a horse
killed
The village of st. Charles, ILL.,, was
visited by cyclone with fatal results.
The old stone postoffice building, oc-
cupied by Mrs. Church as millinery,
store, was blown down and Mrs.
Church was killed. Two young ladies
had apartments in the building and
one of them, who is missing, is sup
posed to be in the ruins; the other,
Miss Augusta Anderson, was killed.
The falling walls caught and killed
passing horse, and the driver was seri-
ously injured.
A fearful cyclone devastated a strip
of country several hundred yards wide
and at least 16 miles in length, near
Halstead, Kas., killing 10 persons out
right and seriously Injuring several
others, while many have received
slight injuries. Twenty -four houses
and one school were completely de-
molished, and but for the cyclone eel
lars of the farmers the death list
would have been very large. Dead
stock was scattered everywhere. The
loss in that locality is fully 100000.
Sutherland, Ia, Manitowoc, Wis,
and Neillsville, Wis, were visited by
death-dealing cyclones, and in each
place no less than five houses were de-
stroyed and from two to five lives sac
rificed.
In summing up the results of these
storms a careful estimate places the
number of lives lost at 1903. The prop
erty damage can only be roughly
guessed at. Probably 5000, 900 would
cover it.