The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1898-01-14
FIFTY PERSONS
Killed by Terrific Cyclone at Fort Smith
Ark.-Many Buildings Were Crushed Like

Tuesday nights storm here, and scores
of dead and wounded are being dragged
from the ruins of wrecked buildings
and throngs of people are searching
for the dead, and CONSERVATION, an
guish and despair is plainly read in
! the blanched faces of all 1t is
thought many more dead bodies
will be found and the list of dead
may reach 80 or more. The greatest
| loss was between Eighth street and
the Catholic church and it is said that
not building is left standing. Sew
! eral brick buildings at Ninth and Gar
risOn avenues were crushed like egg
! shells, and as the second stories were
used for living purposes it is thought
that there will be found the greatest
number of dead. But little effort has
been made to search the ruins of the
residence portion of the city that was
in the storms path. In addition
to the horrors of crashing buildings
the roar of the storm and the cries of
the wounded, fire broke out in num-
Der of places and the department was
unable to cope withthe new danger, and
it is known that one or more bodies
were cremated. The handsome high
school building, just finished at a cost
of 100000, was leveled to the
ground, besides one or two
fine churches. The storm came up
suddenly from the southwest, striking
the city at 11:15 o'clock p. M, and in
almost the twinkling of an eye large
portion of the city was in ruins. Ev-
cry physician in the city was sum-
mOned and all are now busy at work
dressing the wounds and binding the
broken limbs.
At II a. m. Wednesday it looked as
though so persons had been killed, and
the death list was growing hourly.
Hundreds of persons have been in
jured, some fatally and others badly.
The damage to property will run into
the thousands of dollars, as many fine
residences were RACED to the ground.
Owing to the fact that the tornado
after passing through the residence
district did it's worst work in that por-
ton of the business district, in which
the older buildings were located,
the total of damage done does not
amount up very rapidly, although
wholly ruined. For this reason it is
probable the sum of $500, 900 will cover
the loss to the buildings and contents,
including the new $50, 900 high school
! building, which was directly in the
path of the storm and was badly wreck
ed, The debris of many of the build
ings which were in the lodging house
district caught fire, and those unfOr-
! Inmates who were not at once eXtri-
Gated persisted by being smothered to
death.
Add to the fact that many of the
people in the outside district were
killed in the crash of the falling resi-
dences. and it will be seen how the list
of dead rolled up so rapidly. All
houses that can be pressed into service
are being utilized and there are scores
in temporary hospitals through the
city in addition to the regular hospi-
tails, where the injured are being taken.
The morgue is taxed to its utmost
capacity and additional bodies
are being brought in every few min
utes. Altogether the scene at this
place is sickening and horrible. A
heavy rain followed the terrible tor
nadO, and it was probably 20 minutes
before the city awoke to the fact that
it had been visited by a fearful ca
lamity. The fire department was call
ed out and in less than 80 minutes Gar
rison avenue, especially in the vicinity
of the wreck. was crowded with peO-
pie, and willing hands and inquiring
friends were willing to render all the
aid that the emergency required. The
scene in that neighborhood of the
wrecked city was horrible.
Men and women, clad in their night
clothes, from the neighboring houses
were seeking shelter and calling for
aid for some absent member of the
family, or friends who failed to escape
from the wreckage of the buildings in
which they had been living. Men,
women and children sought refuge in
O'Keefe's saloon and were afforded
shelter. In the back part of the saloon
a number of the injured were stretched
out on the floor with only their night
clothes to protect them from the chilly
condition of the night air.
Miss Wood, one of the nurses from
st. Johns hospital, was on the scene,
and did all that could be done to re,
lieve the immediate wants of the in.
jured in the rear of O'Keefe's saloon.
The drug stores were opened and the
clerks were kept busy filling prescrip-
tions and otherwise doing their share
toward relieving the sufferers. The
telephone wires were nearly all down
and it was impossible to com
municate to any distant point in the
outskirts of the city. The streets were
so filled with the debris blown from
the wrecked buildings that it was with
difficulty that carriages could gel
around
The tornado crossed the Poteau river
and swept through the National GENE
terry, laying low the walls and demol
! ishing the residence of r. G. Baldwin
: It's path was about two hundred yard.
wide and for that distance across the
reservation where it struck Garrison
avenue it left destruction in its wake
Telephone poles, lamp posts anC
awnings were swept away as the tor