The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-04-07
ALMOST .BLOTTED OUT.
CHANDLER WITHOUT WARNING,
TORN BYACCYLOkE.

The Town Demolished and Many Lives
| Lost-Not Enough Coffins for the Dead
Houses Hanging to Trees-A Terrible
Calamity.
GUTHRIE, Okla, March 31.-Chand-
Ter, an interior boom town fifty miles
from Guthrie, is mass of ruins. at
6 o'clock last evening cyclone, deal
ing death and destruction to every
thing in its path, swept down upon
the town and almost completely wiped
it off the face of the earth. Of the
1,500 inhabitants, twenty-five were
killed outright and fully ITO were in
jured. OF the latter it is thought ten
will die and twenty-four others are
in a dangerous condition. The re'
mainder of the population is homeless.
The Presbyterian church, Mitchell's s
Hotel and two other buildings are all
that remain standing. These have
been turned into hospitals. The prop
erty loss will aggregate half million
dollars. There are not half coffns
enough here to bury the dead.
The storm came from the Southwest
almost without moments warning
and sweeping across the town, first
demolished the business district, then
laid low the residence portion, and,
passing on, spent itself into the open
p2airie.
The wrecks of many of the build
ings took fire and in short time an
awful holocaust followed. Many Of
the injured buried in the ruins were
burned to death before help arrived.
The people were slow to recover from
the shock Of the calamity and not un-
til noon today did anything like sys-
tenn prevail in the work of relief.
At II o'clock tonight particulars are
still meagre. Save one slow. working
telephone wire out of Chandler, and
but one telegraph wire from Guthrie,
the town is practically cut off from
the outside world. The storm broke
upon the city suddenly. The sky was
| clear an hour before. Shortly before
o'clock mass of dark clouds gath
cred in the, southwest and whirled
| north. 1t soon developed into fun
nel-shaped monster and bore down
upon the outskirts of the town. As
the mass touched the ground the roar
was deafening. The funnel split as it
hit the southwest border OF Chandler;
which is situated or a hill overlook.
ing the Cow Creek Valley, and then
turned north. Before escape was pos
sible the cyclone had passed through
the town, tearing through the business
districts. Stores were hurled right
| and left or lifted high into the air and
dashed into every direction. Chief
Justice Dale of the Oklahoma Supreme
Court was holding court in the court
house, which was crowded. He ran
with his wife to a hollow. The two
were protected by large boulder and
were unhurt.
Others in the court house did not
fare so well. A moment later the
structure was twisted around and
hurled into the street. complete
wreck. One of the occupants was
killed outright and a dozen others
were injured. Further down Main
street the Lincoln County Bank build"
ing was toppled over and was envel-
oped in flames. Before aid could reach
them five unfortunates were burned
to death. Still further down the street
three children suffered like fate.
A mass of people, dead and injured,
horses and wagons and buggies of all
kinds, transformed Main street into
funeral pyre. Passing on into the
residence district, the cyclone toppled
over dwelling after dwelling, turned
houses on their tops and piled streets
high with debris.
a. two.days old baby was carried
four blocks and not injured, while the
mother was crushed in her bed. When
an effort to send for aid was made it
was found that all communication
with Guthrie was secured.
A brief idea of the nature of the de.
vastation wrought, together with an
appeal for aid, had been sent to the
neighboring city, 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 was re-
stored and the appeals for aid met
prompt response and additional res
cuing parties were sent out as the eX.
tent of the damage became known.
The night in Chandler was one of
indescribable horror. With many of
its inhabitants, dead or dying, and
the remainder too badly injured or
unable from fright or because of the
darkness to render assistance no order
prevailed. Rain poured down in tor
rents. The injured in many cases lay
in the wrecks of their homes until
daylight made it possible for them to
help themselves, or when aid from
surrounding towns arrived.
At o'clock, twenty dead bodies had
been taken from the rMus, while doz-
ems more or less seriously injured had
been removed to places of safety. But
one of Chandler's physicians escaped
uninjured and even after aid from
Guthrie arrived there was a scarcity
of surgeons. Only two were able to
do anything last night, and one of
these, DR.. Walcott, with blood strea-
ming from a sightless eye, worked
until he tainted.
Daylight brought hundreds of peo-
pie from surrounding towns and men,
women and children assisted in caring
for the injured. Little progress was
made, however, and it was not until
noon that an organized effort for allie
yiofircr the SIIffaripO of tho in niurod
was begun. THE four remaining build