The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1896-05-20
CYCLONE In TEXAS.
Almost q Hundred People Lose
Their Lives.
Denton and Grayson Counties Swept by
the Awful Storm - Partial List
of the victims-Heavy Prop
erty Loss.

branches Of the ash, oak and orange
trees Of Denton and Grayson counties
to-day. A cyclone, the most terrible
northeastern Texas has ever expert
eiced, dashed ont lives and wrecked
homes in the village Of Justin and the
cities Of Denton and Sherman Friday.
Almost a hundred persons are dead. AS
many more are missing. To-day was
to have been observed by the ex-confed-
crates of Sherman as Decoration day,
but instead of this IS new graves will
be prepared in the city cemetery for
victims of terrible and appalling ca
lamity.
The Victims.
Following is list of the known dead
in this city:
R. L. Burns. wife and two children;
Mrs. Otto Paulding and two children;
T. Fl. Montgomery. wife and two children:
John Ames, wife and two children; Rev.
Mr.. Shearer; eight members OF Pearce and
Richardson families at Wakefield farm:
child of Mrs. Craighead. Mrs. Burns and
two children, Mrs. James Davis, Mrs. John
Fields, Lucinda Lake, cOlored: Charles
Cox, colored: Eliza Cox. colored: Rosina
Lake. colored: Sloan Ballinger, colored:
Katie Ballinger. colored: William Neicker-
sons four children, colored; Wright Clark
and three members Of his family, colored:
Mrs Athens; eighteen unidentified dead at
the city hall: DR.. Sadler. who has not been
seen since storm, believed to have been
killed.
At Justin w. j. Evans was killed. At
Gribble Springs a list of II deaths is re-
ported.
Many Buildings Demolished.
At least so houses are totally wrecked.
Most of them are small cottages, except
in Fairview and Washington avenues,
where the handsome residences of l.. f.
Ely, Capt. j. c. Stalter, Mrs. Pat Mat
tingly and James Falls also succumbed.
The loss will reach at least $15O,O00 and
but little, If any, of it was covered by
cyclone insurance.
The devastation in spots where the
cyclone was the worst is complete.
Trees were stripped of their foliage
in some places, while in others they were
uprooted. Houses, once the pride of
the city, are in some instances entirely
gone, and in others only pile of rub
bish marks the place where they stood.
Story of an Eyewitness.
Mayor Tone, of Denison, who is here,
gives the following account of the cy-
clone:
ST was on the courthouse square about
five o'clock and heard roaring wind COM
ing from the south. The next thing knew
the air was thick with mud and small
specks resembling ashes. The cyclone did
not strike the courthouse or Jail, but fol-
lowed up Post Oak creek The roaring did
not continue over two or three minutes
During all this time it rained hard. In
about five minutes rumors began to spread
that many lives had been lost, and the re-
ports grew worse and worse as time passed.
BY nine o'clock so dead bodies had been
brought into the public buildings and
searching parties are out for more. Dead
children have been found in trees, under
leveled houses and in Post Oak creek. An
iron bridge over Post Oak creek was twisted
into scrap iron."
Disasters at Other Points.
Another storm of similar nature
passed about six miles west of the city
at about the same hour. Several houses
were blown down and many persons in
jured. Their names cannot be obtained.
At Carpenters Bluff, on Red river, it
is reported that six persons were hurt.
five seriously. Buildings and other
structures in the way were demolished.
Six persons were injured, one of them
fatally, by cyclone which passed near
Mound Ridge. A stretch of country
about eight miles in length and 100
yards in width was devastated. Samuel
Bass, farmer, was fatally injured and
his house demolished. Five others,
whose names are unknown, were more
or less seriously injured.
The storm struck Sherman without
warning on the southwest corner of the
city and cleared path 100 yards wide
along the west end of the town. Houses.
trees, fences and everything went be-
fore the terrible force of the cyclone.
The negro part of the town suffered the
most severely. There are probably 80
negroes killed. Ten bodies have been
picked up in Post Oak creek. The food
OF rain which attended the storm was
severe. The town is a mass of mud and
floating debris. There is much diff
Guilty in finding the dead and injured.
Cattle in the fields were blown hither
and thither and many of them killed
outright. Keller, a small town to the
north of Justin, was almost entirely
wrecked by the cyclone, and it is re-
ported that only one house in the ham,
let is now standing. All that section of
the country Immediately north of these
two towns was left in ruins by the
storm. The railroad track north of
Justin is also reported to be torn up
and twisted all out of shape, showing the
terrific velocity of the wind. Water
was scooped out of the creeks by the
wind, and every section of the country
lying in the path of the cyclone is laid
in waste. The path of the cyclone was
possibly ten miles wide by 100 long,
;ndr;pU from, repOrtS