The herald., 1896-04-27
Spread Abroad by a Cyclone in
Kansas
FIVE ARE KILLED OUTRIGHT
Three Persons Are Fatally and Sevsns
teen Seriously Injured
The Wounded Lie All Night, Pinned Down
by Debris and Drenehsd BY the
Heavy Rala
Associated Press special wire.


Special to the Times from Topeka says:
Five person at least were killed out
right, three fatally and seventeen more
or less seriously injured, and great de-
struction of property was wrought by q
cyclone which passed over Clay county
last night.
The dead are:
Frank Patterson, wife and child.
Mrs. Ole. Halverson.
The injured belong to the families OF
John Morris, F. Welkin, Peter Ander-
son an H. Gardner.
Passengers on the Rock Island train
from the north this afternoon brought
partial details of the cyclone. 1t start
ed about six miles south of Clifton and
went in a northeasterly direction for
twelve of fifteen miles, then lost It's
force by spreading. 1t passed about half
way between Clifton and Morganville.
Its track varied from $50 yards to a
quarter Of a mile in width. 1t tore
through a farming community and left
nothing standing. Houses and barns
We're wrecked. trees torn UP and broken,
fences leveled and haystacks blown in
lowed by a terrific rainstorm which
lasted several hours, flooding the devas-
tated district.
Thecyclone took the people unawares.
There had been indications of heavy
rain all day. with local showers, but no.
learned the victims were in their
houses and the most of them had re-
tired. The storm struck Peter Ander-
sons house at $3.50 o'clock. This was
about mile from the starting point.
The house was demolished in an in
stant Every member OF the Anderson
family was injured. When they had ex-
tricated themselves from the debris
they discovered that Anderson's grand
child was missing. The dead body Of
the child was found this morning in
ravine half a mile away. 1t evidently
had been carried there by the wind.
Anderson alarmed the neighbors who
lived out Of the track of the storm and
search was made for the victims, but
little headway was made in the rain.
ganville for doctors, but it was day
light before they arrived and the ex-
tent of the injury and damage was not
known. At noon today it was thought
that all the victims had been found.
A large number of cattle and horses
were killed, and fruit in the storm
track was ruined. 1t is impossible at
this time to estimate the damage to
buildings and other property.
Heartrending tales of suffering are
told by persons who visited the scene Of
the storm. Many Of the injured lay all
might pinned down by wreckage or
paralyzed in the mud. awhile others
crawled or hobbled across the country
to neighbors' houses. In several in
stances people were lifted into the air
by the cyclone and carried for a dis
tance and then suddenly dropped. Build
ings were lifted up and then hurled to
the ground with force enough to de-
molish them. The wife and daughter Of
John Morris were reading when the
shock came. The house was divided.
The women managed to get out. when
the wind picked them up, carried them
200 yards and let them down safely on
pile Of straw just away from the
storms track.
The people for miles around today
gathered at the different points where
damage had been done and rendered as
sistance in every possible way. The con-
ductor on the Rock Island train said
that the track of the storm looked like
a piece of ground which had been lev
eled with a roller. Half a dozen tefe-
graph poles were torn down where the
cyclone crossed the road. Telegraphic
communication between Topeka and
Clifton was cut off from the hour of the
storm until 9 o'clock this morning. 1t IL
said much damage was done in the Vi
cinity of Palmer, Washington county.
but the details cannot be learned.
the number killed in last nights cyclone
at eight. There are rumors OF other
deaths south and west OF Clifton, and IL
is feared that when communication with
the stricken towns is re-establlshed tnat
the loss of life will be shown to nave Deen
great. The wires to many points are
down and bu tmeagre details are OBJ
tainable at midnight The pecuniary
loss west of Clifton at one point is esti-
mated at $4,000. indicating that the
total loss will aggregate high.
The journal correspondent gives the
following list of killed.
Frank Peterson, wife and one daugh-
ter.
Eli Balthazar and wife.
julius Trembly.
Jesse Ham.
Mrs. Halberson.
Injured-Daughter Of Frank Peter
son; cannot live.
Frank Wilkinson; cannot live.
Entire family of John Morris, badly
mangled.
Six children of Eli Balthazar. more OF
less injured.