River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1896-05-21
A CYCLONES WORK.
Over a Hundred Persons Lose Their
Lives In Texas.
The City of sherman Feels the Brunt OF
the Storm Northeastern Kansas
and Southeastern Nebraska
Suffer from Tornado.

The City of sherman Feels the Brunt Of
the Storm Northeastern Kansas
| and Southeastern Nebraska
Suffer from q Tornado.
Sherman, Tex, May 16.-Dodies of
dead children are hanging on the
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 out lives and wrecked
homes in the village of Justin and the
cities of Denton and Sherman Friday.
Almost hundred persons are dead. As
many more are missing. To-day was
TO have been observed by the x-confed-
crates of Sherman as Decor ton 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 a list of the known dead
in this city:
r. L. Burns. wife and two Children;
| Mrs. Otto Paulding nnd two children;
| James Nicholson, wife and two children;
l. l.
John Ames, wife and two children; Kew.
| 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 eek, colored; Rosina
Lake, colored: Sloan Ballinger. colored;
kate 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 list Of IL deaths is re-
ported.
Many Buildings Demolished.
At least so houses are totally wrecked
Most of them are small cottages, except
in Fairyiew 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 $l50,000 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:
81 was on the courthouse square about
| five o'clock and heard a 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, hut fol-
| lowed up Post Oak creek. The roaring did
not continue over two or three minutes
| During all this time IL 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 80 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 a similar nature
passed about six miles west of the city
at about the same hour. Several houses
were blown down and many persons in
| iured. 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 a 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 30
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 n mass of mud and
| floating debris. There is much diff
Guilty in finding the dead and injured.
Deaths Number 100.
Sherman, Tex, May fisherman was
visited Sunday by more than 10000 per-
sons, some coming through curiosity,
others to help take care of the wounded
and curry the dead. Thousands in
| sreeted the track of the storm. Physi-
clans have now organized a regular
corps of nurses and the wounded are
receiving the best possible treatment.
The death list now reaches 105. Con-
tributions are coming in from all parts
of the country. They arc very much
needed All contributions should be
sent to c. II. Smith, chairman of the
relief committee. l.. II. Montgomery,
| n furniture dealer, whose family, con-
sisting of his wife and three children,
persisted, is now confined in the Jail
raving maniac.
News has just been received in this
city by Drs. Hastings and Morrer, of
| Howe, Tex, who went with the Car
penter's Bluffs searching and relief
| party, who state that at Carpenters
Bluffs, five are dead and eight more
seriously injured.
Kansas City, Mo-, May 10. = Lates:
news of the deadly tornado which swept
| through northeastern Kansas and por-
| ton of south eastern Nebraska Sunday
afternoon and night places the death
list at Is. Thirty-six persons were in
| iured The storm did many thousands
| of dollars damage in various towns
through which it passed, besides at
| present incalculable damage in the in
| tervening country. Many who escaped
! instant death are manned for life, and
in numerous instances the injuries are
expected to result fatally.
Many Towns Suffer.
The storm covered large scope of
country. Seneca, Sabetha, Oneida,
! Perm, Frankfort, Reserve, Baileyville.
Barnes, Spring Valley and several other
| places were in the deadly path.
The wreckage was not confined to the
/ towns. In the country districts the
loss of life and destruction of property
was equally great. Chaos prevails
| throughout the stricken district, and
in the confusion it is impossible to OBJ
tain a complete list of the dead AMI
| injured at the various places. The prop
erty loss cannot be estimated with any
degree of accuracy at this time. There
| is no doubt however. that the storm is