The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-04-01
CHANDLER STRICKEN.
Oklahoma Town Swept by Ter
rifle Cyclone.
OVER TWO SCORE PEOPLE KILLED.


One House Five Injured People Were |
Burned To Death-The Survivors of the
Catastrophe in a Bad Way and Help Is
Needed at Once.
Guthrie, O. T., April Tornado |
fire and food combined to wreck the
town of Chandler, this territory, Tues
day night about dusk The town had |
1880 inhabitants, of whom over 200 are !
said to have been badly hurt and forty |
to sixty either killed outright or cor
demned to slow death under burning
timbers
Chandler was built on a hill in tall
timber. The trees, thrown down among
the scores of ruined houses, effectually
blocked the wild attempts at relief work
made during the night. All night long
the cries and groans of the injured were
heard through the place, decreasing in
volume toward morning as death ST.
fenced many sufferer here and there
through the wilderness of wreckage.
Chandler has sent for more help and
rescuing parties are going from all sur
rounding towns. The entire business
portions burned after being wrecked. 1t
is now thought that there are twenty
five or thirty more dead bodies in the
ruins
Scene of Desolation.
James Woodyard and wife of Eldo-
rado Kan, visiting there, were instant
ly killed their little daughter was IA
tally crushed and son badly hurt. John
Dawson of Lincoln, Neb., lawyer was
burned to death. The scene is awful
and several of injured are raving crazy.
The main street of the town is mass
of dead and injured people, and teams,
wagons, buggies, trees and debris from
the buildings. Chief Justice Dale. who;
was holding court, ran with his wife to
a hollow and held her behind large
bowlder and both were unhurt.
Every building but one on the main
street was wrecked and burned, includ-
ing the courthouse. postofiice, News ana
| Democrat offices. Lincoln County bank,
| New York store and several hotels. AT
| l o'clock Wednesday morning twenty
( one bodies had been taken from the ru-
! ins at Chandler. In addition To those
dead, dying and injured II Is believed
( that there are a sore or more dead
I buried beneath the wrecked buildings.
Several Of the wrecked buildings have
| taken IRE, anu the uNbi - bhi NV III
ly. Many of the injured have been
burned to death while pinned fast un-
| der the debris.
! Five People Burned to Death.
In one building, il is reported, five in
iured people were burned TO death. and
at another place the incinerated bodies
} of three unknown children have been
taken out. All the "a Clans of the
J town save one met de- 20 the storm
Nearly all the phycic.2ns Of Guthrie
have gone to the scene cf the disaster
The following is the list Of dead so far
! as known: Mr. and Mrs Woodman,
Mrs. Henry Mitchell. Mrs Thomas
Smith. Attorney John Dawson. f. DEM
off, Emma Dressinger, ID. {. Johnson
( and wife, Mrs. Philip Johnson and child
} Mrs. Dr. Lee, A. w Keller and wife,
| unknown man and babe. five unknown
| children. Among the fatally injured
! are: Arthur Jewett, Mrs. Frank Nc
! Cam D. c. Gooding. Andrew Asher
and wife, Maggie Reaves, Mrs. Cullum'
and Jennie Woodworth
The cyclone struck Chandler without
warning about o'clock Tuesday even
ing. It's work Of carnage began before
the inhabitants realized what was upon
| lntf1l, anu dhy hN"'' " ~"NNf~
was left open.
stores Hurled Right and Left.
Tearing through the business district
| stores were hurled right and left, lifted
! high into the air, and tossed In every
| direction. The courthouse, in which
| Chief Justice Dale was holding court,
was taken off it's foundation, and the
building nearly crushed. Passing on
into the residence district. the wind
| leveled all before it. and rushing into
the open country finally spent itself.
| The trail to the left was one of wreck
and ruin most complete. Houses rested
on their tops: streets were made unrec-
ognzable by having been piled with de-
| bris.
Soon fire followed the cyclones work
and here and there bright flames ap-
peared and flared up into the sky. Over
turned stoves had caught, and. unham-
pered, the fire began its work In the
work of destruction. In a very short
time a heavy rainstorm came up; as
night wore on, II developed into del
uge, and while 1t succeeded i'm complet-
ing the dismal scene, probably proved
the savior of the town, for in many spots
II quenched the fires and stemmed the