Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-03-20
DEATH AND RUIN LEFT
In the Path of a Cyclone That
Sweeps the Territory of
Three States.
OVER A SCORE OF PERSONS KILLED.
Frightful Fate of the Family of Lewis
Coffee, Near Edwardsville,
Alabama.

l Meagre Details from the Tornado-Swepi
| Restorative Towns Reported Blown
Completely Away-windsor Hotel Ruins
Too Hot to Make Much Progress Digging
| for Victims-Forty-Four Are Still Miss
ing of Those known to Have Been in
the Fire Trap.
Memphis, Term, March Ca special
60 The COmmercial-Appeal from Birm-
| tngham. Ala, says: Additional details of
| Saturday nights cyclone near Edwards
vile were received here late last night.
The following is list of the dead and
wounded so far as known: Dead-Lewis
Coffee. tax assessor of Cleburne county,
and the following members of his fam
lily: Mrs. Coffee; Leila, aged %; James,
aged 20; Lulu, aged IS; Jacob, aged IS:
Deveroe aged S; Dollie, aged 10: Grover,
aged s: John. aged 4: unknown woman,
near Hefiin. Wounded-Bessie Coffee,
aged u. daughter of Lewis Coffee, will
die: Mrs. Runnells, aged IS, will die;
Myrline Stansell. aged 3. will probably
die; Mrs. j. H. Cason, Tom Run
nells. Wood StanseH and An
drew Steipan-all seriously hurt;
Mary Steipan. Lizzie RunnelIs. j. II.
Cason. Georgia Stansell, Gainesville
StanselI, TOsh Stansell and Coleman Stan
sell-all badly bruised. Several other
people were more or less seriously in
jured. but their names are not known.
Storm Was of Terrific Force.
The path of the storm was about geo
yards wide. and it traversed the country
for twelve miles. beginning in the north
ern part of Cleburne county near Iron
City and moving southwark. Those who
saw il say there was a great funnel
shaped cloud and that it bounded along
like rubber ball, rising at intervals
and leaping for several hundred yards
without doing any damage. Then when
it descended it would pick up houses and
crush them to pieces, uproot trees or
twist them off level with the ground and
sweep all before it. Lewis Coffee's res
idence, a strong double log house situa-
ted on a little hill, was in the path of
the storm. 1t was swept away and the
timbers scattered for mile. Ten of its
eleven occupants were instantly killed.
Two of the Victims Beh, AIDED.
Except the body of the baby, which
was found under the ruins of the CHM
ney, the corpses of the victims were
carried half a mile, and nine of them
were found heaped together. Every body
had been stripped of its clothing. One
was twisted around a stump, and two
others were headless. Beside the body
of the father lay Bessie Coffee, the only
member of the family not instantly
killed. She was unconscious with her
arms around her dead fathers neck. She
is unable to talk and will die. In the
same neighborhood the residences of j
w Wilder. j. H. Cason, Andrew Site
pan and Ben Stansell were wrecked and
all their occupants injured. Near Hefin
a white woman whose name cannot be
learned was killed and five persons in
the same family hurt.
Fifty Buildings Were Destroyed.
1t is estimated that about fifty build
ings were destroyed; between twenty
and twenty-five persons were injured
and over a score of farms devastated.
The storm lost its force just south of
Heflin. near which place a dozen build
ings We're wrecked. The path of the
cyclone presents Il terrible scene of
havoc. Timbers of wrecked houses are
scattered in every direction. Some were
carried high into the air and others
We're driven deep into the ground or |
through trees. Many head of cattle were
killed. one dead COW was found with
a shingle driven through her back. But
for the fact that the country over
which the storm passed is sparsely set
tied the loss of life would have been
much greater.
Man and Wife Blown Through Window. |
There were many marvellous escapes. |
J. II. Cason and his wife were blown /
through window as their house was
falling and after the storm found them /
selves in a field 100 yards away. both |
badly hurt. The funeral of the Coffee |
family occurred yesterday afternoon |
and was largely attended. Ten bodies. |
some OF them mangled beyond recogni-
lion. We're buried in one grave.