The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-08-07
|TORNhDOBS At THE west
Furious Wind and Rain Storms Sweep
Over Several States.
A CLOUDBURST IN ILLINOIS.

Nearly Every Smokestack In Findlay,
Ohio, Levelled---St. Clair, Mich, Hard
Hit; Ono Life Lost and the City Hall
Partly observation-disclosures Damage to
Railroads and Crops In Iowa.
Several lives were lost and great damage
to crops and other property was done by
storms in Middle and Western States.
A dispatch from Findlay, Ohio, says: One
of the most destructive wlndstorms ever
known to have passed over this part OF the
State occurred in and around Findlay, caus-
Ing much damage to property which lay in
its path. All day long the heat had been in
tense and storm was naturally expected.
About o'clock dark clouds appeared and a
slight breeze sprang up from the southwest.
In half an hour rain began to fall and with
scarcely a moments warning the gale
burst forth and steadily increased In
furv until it was nothing short Of q
tornado. 1t was of short duration.
however, lasting only five minutes, but 1t
swept everything movable before it. The
rain was blown along In such volume that
person could not distinguish objects few
feet away. Several houses were unroofed, but
the occupants escaped serious injury. The
south wall and portion Of the roof Of the
Huber School building were demolished.
Hardly a smokestack In the city was left
standing. The fire tower ut the central
engine-house was blown down, and
In falling smashed in portion OF the
stables, the horses narrowly escaping. Por-
tions of the spires Of the First Methodist and
Lutheran Churches were blown away.
Nearly every awning and sign In Main street
was either partially or totally destroyed.
Several large plate-glass fronts were broken.
A large wagon Of the American Ex-
press Company was blown over while
crossing Main street, and the driver was
slightly injured. Hundreds Of fruit and
shade trees were broken Off like pipe stems,
rendering some streets impossible. The
storm did not extend far beyond the city
limits, and consequently nc damage was
done In the oil fields or to growing crops.
A dispatch from Lewiston, ILL.,, says that
cloudburst in that neighborhood did great
damage to growing crops. Samuel Shaw,
well-known citizen. was killed by bolt Of
lightning. Several thousand feet OF
the narrow guage railway were washed
away by the downpour OF rain.
Severe storms occurred In various parts OF
Illinois and Indiana At McComb, ILL.,, light
ming struck a shed In which eight men and
sixteen horses had sought shelter. John
Barclay, Jr., was killed, and Roland McAlis-
ter and William Gale severely shocked. At
Logansport, Ind, Edward Carson. a farmer,
was killed by lightning. Several barns were
burned and cattle were killed. At Peoria,
ILL.,, the heaviest rainfall In forty years oo-
cured. Joseph Summers was drowned In
Coles Greek, near Peoria.
A fatal windstorm, accompanied by
heavy rainfall, burst upon st. Clair, Mich.
soon after 1 o'clock p. m. For several
weeks prayers had been offered for rain.
Before the storm had spent itself a child had
been killed, two men injured, and much
property destroyed. The City Hall
of trees were blown down, roofs were
taken of buildings by the dozen, two large
craft were blown aground In the river, and
general confusion reigned. The eleven
months old child OF Elmer E. Black was
killed instantly by the wind wrecking the
Black home. The horse Of Joseph Dam was
blown into the river, and in attempting
to rescue it he sustained serious injuries. A
horse belonging to julius Belknap was also
blown into the river. together with shed
which the wind set down in Pine River.
Joseph Goulait, a workman at Belknap's
brickyard, was injured by a flying brick.
The roof was torn off the Hotel Cadillac. A
liberty pole now stands upside down through
the roof Of one ofthe largest store buildings
In the city.
Rain. wind and hail storms over large
parts OF Iowa did much damsgeto crops and
property. In the north part OF the
State a storm swept strip twenty-five
miles wide in Palo Alto, Emmett and Kos
suth Counties, and small grain was badly
damaged. The corn will recover except In
places where 1t was beaten down by hail. In
the middle OF the storm strip was section
about FIVE miles wide, in which there was q
fierce hailstorm, and there the damage to
crops was immense. In the eastern part OF
the State another storm did almost as much
damage. 1t started just east Of Des Moines
and swept over the country as far as the Miss
lssippi River and south to the State line. At
Brooklyn there was a waterspout which
amounted to four-inch fall OF water In
about an hour. 1t covered a wide section
and the streams were flooded. Bridges were
carried out and there were many washouts
on the railroads. At Keokuk the storm was
almost tornado and many buildings were
unroofed and other damage done. There
was more or less hail and crops were bady
Injured. The Rock Island "fyer" Yves
ditched near Iowa City by a washout, and
the fireman had his leg broken. The pas