The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-04-01
CHANDLER WIPED OUT.
Only Four Buildings Left in the
Thriving Oklahoma Town.
TWENTY KILLED, Ito WOUNDED.
The Cyclone Came without Warming.
and Before Escape Was Possible Had
Swept Through Adds to the


and Before Escape Was Possible Had
Swept Through-Fire Adds to the
Horror. and Several Were Cremated.
I Guthrie, o. T., April 1.-Chandler, an
interior boom town, so miles from
Guthrie, is q mass of ruins. At
A'elock Tuesday evening cyclone
twept down~upon the town and almost
completely wiped It from the face Of
the earth. OF her 1900 inhabitants 20
were killed outright or burned to death,
f.nd fully ITO were injured. OF the lat
.er II is thought ten will die, and "a
hthers are in dangerous condition.
The remainder OF the population Is
homeless The Presbyterian church.
Mitchells hotel and two other build
ings are all that remain standing, and
these have been turned into hospitals.
The property loss will aggregate $780,
400. There are not half collins enough
asrp to bury the dead.
The people were slow to recover from
the shock Of the calamity, and not un-
Ill noon yesterday did any thing like
system prevail in the work of relief.
Particulars are still meager. Save one
ulow working telephone wire out of
chandler and one telegraph wire from
authrie the town Is practically cut off
from the outside world.
The storm broke upon the city sud
denly. Shortly before 6 o'clock a mass
VI dark clouds gathered In the south
west and whirled north. They soon
developed into funnel shaped mass
and bore down upon the outskirts OF
the town. As the tornado touched the
ground the roar was deafening The
funnel shaped cloud split as it struck
1.-The northwest border of Chandler,
which is situated on a hill, and one
half went through the town and tho
other went north Before escape was
possible the cyclone had swept through
the town. Buildings were crushed or
lifted high into the air and tossed In
bvsry direction.
Chief Justice Dale, of the Oklahoma
supreme court, was holding court in
the court house, which was crowded
1ie ran with his wife to hollow, aud
tho two. protected by boulder, es-
G3psd unhurt. A moment later the
structure was twisted around and
Grashed into the street, a complete
wreck One Of the occupants was killed
outright anu ii uuZell Oliltls luJuleu
Furtnel down Main street the Lincoln
bounty bank building was topped over
and was soon enveloped in flames
Here, before aid could reach them, five
lnfortunates were burned to death
while pinioned down by heavy timbers
Htill further down the street three
children suffered a like fate.
Passing on to the residence district
The cyclone toppled over dwelling after
dwelling, turned houses on their tops
and made the streets unrecogniZable
A 2-days- old baby was carried four
blocks and not injured, while the
mother was crushed in her bed.
The trail the storm left was one of
wreck and ruin. With the first real
ization OF their predicament over, the
uninjured and able bodied found them
selves. from fright and confusion, well
nigh helpless to render aid. Finally,
when an effort to send for aid was
made, 1t was found that all commune
cation with the outside world had been
cut off, the telephone office being
among the buildings destroyed. II was
several hours before Communication
with Guthrie was established.
The nature of the catastrophe, to-
kether with an appeal for aid, had
been communicated to the neighboring
.. ely when the wires snapped and
Chandler was again shut off. In the
meantime, however, a train bearing
physicians and others left for the scene.
The wire came up and appeals GAME
= prompt. and additional rescuinG par
Hes were sent out as soon AS the eX-
rent Of the damage became known.
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ne'p' anu .ag III the "r"chs OF their
~ -, u'','' 10y 'bn' "'u"e 1t poSs,"'c
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', 'ui,. gu, Tui'uine 'o"iS a'l'Neu'
mp u, Wv no'p''"'S were erected
~ ut Wv u"'"' 'uil"'es "eIe caieu lor aH
s, "' p""S'p'e' Al CLOCK ~ dead
pVe" h'u p'e'l taken from the ruins
n"iie uo|enS Vi persons more or less
nsr''u"'y lnJuFea hau Deeh removed to
Piaces oi SURETY b"t one oil Chandlers
PnsSiciat.S tScaLcu uhlhJured' ana even
aher ala from IulhFle arrived there
WAS scarcity OF surgeons only two
were apie 10 90 any thing Tuesday
hBht, anu one OF these DR.. Walcott.
Whh olood streaming from a sightless
eye WORKED uhtli he talnled.
Queer sigh'S greet the eye on all
siaes. Zen trees nave houseroof
hanging on each' and clothing and
nousehold goods are scattered in the
streets' Dead horses, COWS and other
animals are to be seen everywhere.
while pile OF ruins has piano perch
ed on top of 1t. Many Of the citizens
wander about the streets, dazcd at
the calamity, and almost on the verge
OF insanity at the loss Of family and