Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1899-05-05
MISSOURI CYCLONE
KIRKSVILLE AND NEWTON BADLY
WRECKED.

At the Former Place Two Hundred
Houses Were Demolished and Many
Persons Killed and Injured-Newton, u
Smaller Place, Suffers Worse in Pro-
portion.
K1RKsv1LLE, No., April 29.-As re-
suit of the tornado that swept through
the eastern portion of this city, demol-
ishing half of the residences and Office
buildings, 200 families are homeless
rad nearly so dead bodies and 70 in
jured persons have been recovered from
the ruins. More than dozen of the
injured will die. Although rescuers
have been searching the ruins ever since
the storm spent its fury many are still
missing and it is thought that consid-
cradle number of the unfortunates were
consumed in the flames that broke out
soon after the storm had ceased. The
work Of rescue continues, but it may be
days before the total number of victims
is known.
Through the Residence Section.
The tornado struck the city about 6
p. M, cutting clean path one mile
long and 600 feet wide through the res
idence section. Buildings were demol-
ished or twisted apart and scattered to
the four winds. A conservative esti-
mate places the aggregate amount Of
damage at 100000.
For time the people in that portion
of the town not touched by the storm
were panic-stricken, but as soon as they
recovered their wits they Immediately
went to the aid of their unfortunate
townsmen. Calls for help were sent to
surrounding towns and were quickly
responded to. Twenty five doctors from
Moberly, Macon and other points along
the line of the Wabash railroad came to
Kirksville in response to urgent calls
for medical assistance. The visiting
doctors co-operated with the local ply
sicians and the work of caring for the
wounded was expedited.
d0rf11ylng scenes Presented.
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 CT the dead were found at
spots which would have been the center
of their buildings had they not been
blown to pieces. This was the case
with Mrs. Punschott, who suffered
most terrible death. Her headless body,
| with her arms clasped about her lifeless
baby, was discovered on the floor Of the
house, which was left as raised plat
form in an adjoining field. The head,
as nicely severed as if it had been done
with knife, was about 20 feet distant.
Children Miraculously Escape.
Two children had been lying in cot
in one of the destroyed houses. The
house was carried away, but the floor of
the first story and the foundation were
left, the wind lifting the house from the
silIs and tum bling it a long distance.
The cot on which the little ones lay was
lifted up with them on it and carried
fully block and a half and set down
on the ground. Neither of the children
was hurt.
Along the railroad track between the
depot and Kelloggs crossing, a distance
of half mile are, scattered the wrecks
| of many homes.
A meeting of citizens was held dur
ing the afternoon at which committees
were appointed to systematic the work
of clearing away the wreckage, provid-
ing shelter for the homeless ones and
raising funds for their temporary care