The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1899-05-04
DEATH LADEN STORM
HAS MANY VICTIMS.
KirksyiIIe. Mo-, Devastated and
a Hundred Killed.
WHOLE FAMILIES WIPED OUT.

Injured Difficult Owing to Confusion.
Kirksville, Mo, April q The
sky emptied it's fury IL a gigantic
cyclone upon Kirksville, the town
made famous by osteopathy, at G:2O
o'clock to night when the east side
of the town was wiped from the
map. A broad, clean path, nearly a
quarter of a mile wide, lies through
the town as smooth as virgin prairie.
Probable 400 homes, where an hour
ago families were asking divine bless
ings upon their evening meal, are
now scattered as fragments some
where beyond the town in woodland
and prairie.
It is probable a hundred people
were killed The known list at =
o'clock reached thirty-one. A thous-
and were injured. It will be long
after daylight before any adequate
conception of the destruction to life
can be had. It is the record of the
st. Louis and Louisville cyclones all
over, as fatalities are upon everyone s
lips; each blanched face on the street
reports new calamity.
The dead go far as known are:
William S. HowelIs. senior student
American School of OsteopathY; Mrs,
w. II. Sherbourn, wife of senior
student of American School of Oste-
opathy; James Weaver, Sr, retired
contractor; Theodore Brigham, re-
tired merchant; Ed Beeman, boy;
Mrs. w. w. and Miss Bessie Green,
wife and daughter of W. W. Green,
who is at Durant, l. I Mrs. Henry
Ellington, Mr. and Mrs. A. W.
Glaze; Mrs Ben Green, Mrs. John
Larkin, Sr., Mrs. L. Mahaffey. Mrs.
G. Woods, Mr.. and Mrs. A Little,
Mr. and Mrs Joe Woods, Mr.. and
Mrs. A. ". Rainschett, Mr.. and Mrs.
c. A. Gibbs, A. G. Baal, James Gun
ningham, Mrs. Mitchell. Reported
killed: Mr.. Peck, Mr. Anderson, Mrs.
Stephens, DR.. Billings, Col. Little
and family, Mrs. Penschott and
child.
The cyclone approached Kirksvllle
from the southwest. At distance
it seemed to be making for the fair
grounds, and people at the American
School of Osteopathy, on the west
side of town, watched its coming
for two minutes, in fear that it was
bearing down upon them. Before
reaching the town limits it veered
further east, however, and cleared
the state normal school without
touching it. Pattsrsons extensive
nursery, just west, was swept down |
to clean soil. The course from that
on was through a well built up see
tion of the town, made up mainly of |
new houses and very largely popu- |
lated by students Of the normal |
school and the American School OF
Osteopathy. Marcus Wards young
ladies seminary was 200 yards east
of the storms path A hotel building
close to it was demolished. A score
of guests stood upon the porticos
and in the dining room Of the Still
house, half mile west of the storm
path, and saw it sweep terriica!ly |
through the town, terrified at the
manifestation of ruin and death it
was wreaking.
Roofs blew ahead of the blast like |
leaves, seemingly far in front of the
revolving clouds and full hundred |
yards in the sky. Now and then a
great branching tree would toss up
in the arms of the blast high over
the city and spin on ahead like
wheat straw out of threshing ma
chine. People are found on every
side who tell of human forms sweep
ing skyward as birds and from the
list of missing among east side
families the story seems credible.
One horse was blown out of the
shafts of road wagon which lodged
against the front of a house in the
edge of the wind track. No enc
knows what became of the animal
Members of households disappeared