Omaha daily bee., 1899-07-06
DEADLY FUNNEL VIEWED BY MANY PEOPLE

Telegram.)-A destructive cyclone passed
Ainsworth two miles to the north this after
noon, killing one woman and tearing houses,
barns, fences and bridges into kndling
wood.
The cyclone seemed to form about fifteen
miles northwest of Answorth. The motion
OF the funnel-shaped cloud was most dis
tinct and was witnessed by the entire popu
lation. 1t was first noticed about o'clock
and was headed in direct line for this town.
finally passing just north and breaking about
three miles east
It's first destructive work was on the farm
of John Strohm. four miles northwest OF
Ainsworth. demolshng everything In sight.
Luckily the family took to a cave and no one
was injured.
1t next struck the house OF William Lock-
miller, mile to the east. Mrs. Lockmiller
had sought refuge in the cellar with her
three smallest children. Her oldest not
coming and fearing he might be killed in the
barn. where he was working, Mrs. Lock-
miller started to call him just as the cyclone
reached them. AS she arrived at the door
the house moved from its foundation
and she crushed into llfeless mass
and her body nearly severed in twain at the
waist. The children however, we're unhurt,
| the funnel doing no further damage than
| moving the house a few feet, tearing off
portion of the roof and hurling the porch q
distance away.
/ The farm of Rev. T. w. Delong, about
two miles north of town, was next visited.
Here the funnel remained almost stationary
for a few moments, while it's tail swung
around to the east of the house, striking the
stable. corncribs and sheds and whirling
| them in confused mass over the prairie to
the north leaving the house intact. A mo-
ment later, however it enveloped the house
in cloud and when 1t cleared away not
| even the foundation was left standing.
Family Have Narrow Escape.
Rev. Delong and family, consisting of wife
and three children, had taken refuge in the
cellar and were unhurt.
| On went the cyclone, tearing down fences
and uprooting small trees and shrubbery in
its way till it reached Bone creek bridge on
| the Meadville road, which also disappeared.
A little later the storm reached farm house
belonging to George Brown, tenanted by
| Charley Trotter, two and half miles north
east of Ainsworth and two miles east of De-
| longs. Here it made so complete wreck
of the house that not a vestige Of it re-
NAMED Fortunately Mr.. Trotter and family
left home for Answorth a short time previ-
ously. James Strohm, farmer living few
| hundred yards away, seeing the storm ap-
preaching, with his family took refuge in
Mr. Trotter's cave and, though within few
feet of the demolished house, were unin-
! jured The storm left stable and stock with
not thing harmed
The last place visited was an untenanted
house belonging to w. II. Hurting of Aims
| worth mile further on. The wreck was
complete, the house being strewn over the
prairie for hundreds Of yards some of the
beams being carried a long distance and
driven five and six feet into the ground,
while slivers were standing in an upright
position like sentinels, as far as the eye
could see. At this point the cyclone dis
solved into black cloud
Destruction of Property.
All crops were completely destroyed and
much stock killed in the course of the
storm
Had the section OF country visited been
thickly settled the loss OF life and property
would have been appalling.
Never in the history of Ainsworth have
| its people had such a scare. 1t seemed
ages till the citizens felt sure the funnel
shaped demon would pass around the town
and numberless times all felt so sure the
town would be totally destroyed that men,
women and children sought the best places
of safety possible
Owing to the fact that Ainsworth held
no celebration July and nearly its entire
population were at places outside the track
of the terrible hailstorm Of that day, no
fatalities occurred among the people so far
as heard from, although 1t covered terri
tory several miles in width, by perhaps
twenty-five miles in length. The loss of
stock, however, reaches up into high figures.
while the damage TO crops and property
cannot be estimated at present