Iron County register., 1899-03-23
IN.|0lQE CYCLONE VICTIMS.
awful Tale of the Cyclone WniSH
Struck Near Edwardsville,
Eastern Alabama.
FEARFUL FATE OF THE COFFEE FAMILY.
Ten Collins i'm Row and the o''
Survivor Dving-The Cloud
FunneI-Shaped and WAS Turh
ed by ~ MOuntasn-side-

Twelve persons are known 10 ia
been killed, and something like twice
as many injured. Great forest trees
We're picked up and blown about IKE
straws, and houses were torn INTO
fragments.
The Dead.
Mr.. and Mrs. Lewis Coffee ana
eight members of their family.
Unknown woman near Holm.
The Wounded.
Bessie Coffee, aged -; will die.
Mrs. Runneli. aged IS; will die.
ATvrtiline Stausels. aged ); will prop
ably die.
Mrs. j. H. .Cason, internally in
jured.
Tom Runnell,serious.
Wood Stausels, serious.
Andrew Steipan, badly bruised.
Mary Stiepan, badly bruised.
Lizzie Runnell, dangerously IN
jured.
j. II. Cason, critical.
Georgia StauseIs, serious.
Gainesville Stausels, badly wounded.
Tosh Stausels, severely hurt.
Coleman Stausels, badly bruised.
Several other persons were more or
less seriously injured, but their names
are not known.
1t is estimated that about tifty
building were destroyed,nea Edwards
Vile, between twenty and twenty-five
persons were injured, and over score
of farms devastated. The storm lost
its force Just south of Hetlin, near
which place a dozen buildings We're
wrecked.
Except the body of the baby which
was found under the ruins of the
chimney, the corpses of the Coffee
family were carried half n mile. and
nine of them were found heaped to-
gether. Every body had been stripped
of its clothing. One was twisted
around a stump, and two others were
headless. Beside the body of the IA
ther lay Bessie Coffee, the only MEM
ber of the family not instantly killed.
She was unconscious. and her arms
were around her dead fathers neck.
Edwardsville is in the extreme east
ern part of Alabama. The cyclone did
its worst work along a strip about
four miles west of the town. The
greatest sufferers were Lewis Coffee
and his family. AS the clouds gath
cred all of the members of the family
sought refuge in their well-construct-
ed og residence. Scarcely had
they closed the doors against the wind,
when the house was lifted into the
air 1t was blown and bumbed along
the ground as though it We're an
empty box car, and was finally torn
to pieces. Mrs. Coffee, his wife and
eight children were killed. The cloth
ing of the bodies were torn into
shreds by the wind, and even socks
were blown from the feet of the un-
fortunates. The path of the storm in
that section of the state appeared to.
have been about n mile in width. and
to have widened for six or seven miles.
1t did not touch any towns, but played
havoc in the farming community
through which it passed.
Awful Funeral Scene.
1t was an awful sight that was to be
seen this morning at the rcsiGence Of
d S. Baber. at EdwardsviIle. Ala,
when the remains of Mr.. and Mrs.
Lewis Coffee and eight of their chit
dren-Leila, aged %; James, 20; Lulr,
IS; Jack, Is; Dollie, 10: Daveroe. :;
Grover. 6, and John, 4-victinnS of last
nights cyclone, were being prepared
for burial. The bodies were incased in.
neat cofains and placed in swo rows in
the front room of the house. Many
were the people from all parts of the
county who came to see the dead This,
afternoon the funeral procession. con-
sisting of ten wagons, each bearing u
box, and as many more carrying reia-
tives and friends of the family, wendad
it's way to the Primitive Baptist church
and graveyard, two miles AWAY. One.
grave was prepared for all the bodies.
and into it they were placed side nv,
side.
The cyclone which struck near Ed
last night about 6 o'clock
was funnel-shaped and had much
force. The home of Mr.. Coffee stood ON
a little hill. The large log house was
picked up bodily and dashed 10 pieces.
while the inmates were hurled un and
down until life was extinct, finally 20
land at least 200 yards away. When
help came all but one were dead. Bcs-
sic, daughter, aged 12, is now near
deaths door. The baby was MISSING
and it was first believed lhat the cv-
clone had carried it off, However. To-
day it was found covered nv the chi-u-
ney.
The residence of ]. W. Wilder wa4
next destroyed, but none OF the family
was at home at the time Nnt.row Stis-
pans home went down next. Mrs. Site
pan and her little baby were caught
beneath logs and both seriously in.
iured. j. III. Cason's residence was next
torn asuider, and he and his wife. Mr.
Runnel, his mother-in-law, and Tom
my and Lizzie Runnell were cn hur.
Turned by n Mountain.
The cyclone at this point bro...
against mountain and went towarI
eight miles east of her,
where Hooper's big grist mill was
blown down.
Another cyclone struck i'm the ex-
treme north part of Alabama. bloyv;ny
down number of small dwellings, AZ
Hazel Green, and still anothe. visited
the southeastern portion of the stat--
the little town of Sellers
The blowing down of telegram nol,.
ana the sWoiien condition of fhe
streams render 1t difficult to secure
correct information of the damage
dcne, and the next few DAYS will lile:v
develop other deaths, as dreadful as
that which happened to Coffee.
report from Hefiin saws thar n
woman, name unknown, was kilIe,; I've