The Saint Paul globe., 1899-04-29
though his loss by the cyclone amounts
to $30OO
CUT LIKE A KNIFE.

Among the first of the buildings wreck
ed was the elegant $4,000 residence Of
Mrs. Mary Hensley, in the southeastern
part of the city. Not a vestige of 1t Is
left. The Catholic church, a fine brick
structure in the northwestern part was
urroofed and otherwise damaged. The
large dwelling of Judge Andrew Ellison,
In the same locality, was stripped of its
second story. He and his family and
John Donoghy, took refuge In the cellar
and were saved The residence of H.
Lowell, just outside of town, was twisted
into heap of ruins, and three of his
children buried in the debris and killed
Other large residences were lifted from
their foundation, and literally torn into
Endling wood
For time the people in that por-
ton of the town not touched by the
storm were panic-stricken, but as soon
as they recovered their wits they I'M
mediately went to the aid of their un-
fortunate townsmen. Calls for help were
sent to surrounding towns, and were
quickly responded to. The wounded were
carried to the homes of hospitable neigh
bors, and given immediate attention
twenty-five doctors from Moberly, Macon
and other points along the line of the
Wabash railroad came to Kirksville last
night IN response to urgent calls for
medical assistance. The visiting doctors
" ToPSA otCd Will tie local physicians, anu
the work of caring for the wounded was
expedited
Hundreds of persons visited the strick-
en- district today and a large number Of
sightseers came from neighboring towns.
The special officers would not allow any
one without authority to go through the
ruined district. Kirkville streets have
been hub deep in mud ever since the first
spring shower, and the rain that followed
the tornado has made them impossible
for wagons. This state of affairs hinder
the work of gathering the dead, and
makes the compilation of complete list
of victims impossible for the time being
All business has been suspended and the
only stores open are those dealing in
drugs.
HORRIFYING SCENES
The scenes that met the gaze Of the
rescuers were horrifying An aged man
and his wife had evidently been eating
their evening meal when the cyclone
struck and carried their home away.
They had clasped each other in their
arms, and were found dead on the
ground some distance away from where
their home had been. No trace of their
house has been found. Several of the
dead were found at spots which would
have been the. center Of their buildings
had they not been blown to pieces This
Was lHe case WITH MIS-. FdnSCnOtt, VINO
suffered a most terrible death Her
headless body, with her arms clasping
her lifeless baby, was discovered on the
floor of the house, which was left as
raised platform In an adjoining field.
The head was severed as if it had been
done with a knife, and was about twenty
feet distant. Two children had been ly-
Ing in a cot in one of the destroyed
houses. The house was carried away
but the floor of the first story and the
foundations were left, the wind lifting
the house from the sills and tumbling it
long distance. The cot on which the
little ones lay was lifted up, with them
on 1T, and carried fully a block and a
half and set down on the ground
Neither of the children was hurt Along
the railroad track between the depot and
Kellogg's Crossing, distance of half a
mile, was mass of debris. The wrecks
of many homes were scattered along the
ground, and trees were filled with bed
clothing and other household goods.
THOUSANDS HOMELESS.
Mayor Noonan, assisted by number Of
citizens, opened an intelligence bureau at
noon. Messengers were sent through the
stricken district in search of persons who
were known to have resided in that sec
ton of the town. Every citizen made 1t
his duty to report at the bureau of infor-
persons missing. In this way some little
degree of order was brought out of chaos
BY o'clock it was said at headquarters
that the injured so far numbered seventy
four, with about dozen cases which are
sure to result fatally. The list is not
complete, however.
There are two undertakers in Kirksville
and together they had all they could do
taking care of the dead
A meeting of citizens, at which tha
mayor presided, was held this afternoon
at the opera house Committees were ap-
pointed to systematic the work of clear
ing away the wreckage, providing shelter
for the homeless ones, and raising funds
for their temporary care. There are at
least LOCO homeless persons in Kirksville
BABIES UNFRAMED.
The freaks of the storm were MANY.
but one of the strangest occurrences was
the finding of a grooming baby in a field
far away from any house. The child
was scarcely scratched. The baby has
not been identified. Another baby has
been found bruised to death by the vio-
lence of the wind. This baby also has
not been identified.
Among the horrors of the storm was
the finding of a corpse of a sixteen-year-
old girl, with two by four scantling
driven through her body. The body of a
little child was found with the limb of a
tree sticking through it's neck.
The district visited by the storm had
been recently built up and most of the
houses were new. Many had been put
up with borrowed money, and as re-
suit, scores are not only houseless, but
burdened with debt, for only very few of
the buildings were insured against wind.
The relief committee secured donations
of over $1,000 within short time this
afternoon, but the calamity is so over
whelming that outside assistance will be
needed. The mayors of ST. Louis, Kan
sas City, Quincy, ST. Joseph, Sedalia, Mo-
berly, Macon and several other towns
have already telegraphed offers of as
sistance There is some talk of petition
ing the legislature for state aid.
No arrangements have yet been made
for the burial of the dead.
Every member of an entire family,
with the house they dwelt in, is unac-
counted for, and it is believed that all
have been killed. These are Franklin Nc
Clay and wife and daughter, and Miss
Cora Miller, of Brashear, Mo-, who re-
sided with the McClays.
DISTRESS AND DEsOLATION.