The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-29
UTTER DISTRESS 1T NEVTO
Fifteen Dead and Over Thirty Injured
Lancaster Devastated.


Chillicothe, Mo-, April 2S.-Scenes of
utter distress and desoIation were pic
tured to-day in the little tornado-swept
burg of Newtown, forty miles north, on
the st. Paul railroad. A day of cease
less search among the ruins and work
for the injured and suffering followed
despair. There are about fifteen dead
and over thirty injured, while half Of
the place is in ruins and fifty families
are homeless. Twenty persons are re-
ported missing. Ambulances We're busy
all day bearing the dead, dying and in
jured. On the border of the storm the
clouds We're dun gray bur the core was
inky black. It's roar deafened every
body in it's path for the minute, and
most of those who escaped unhurt re-
port having been rendered unconscious
for brief periods.
The Weaver family of eight saw the
coming death cloud, but stood calmly
by the chair of John c. Weaver, the
aged father, who was an invalid. The
grown sons might easily have run with
wives and baby one hundred yards out
of the storms path The house flew
into fragments. The old man was crush
ed in his chair; the others were knocked
senseless. Miss Ella Weaver's legs
were broken; the aged mother was not
hurt. Joseph Weaver, his wife and
baby and brother Samuel were terribly
crushed.
Lancaster, Schuyler county, was bod
lily torn up by last nights storm and
many persons are reported killed and
injured. Tho wires are all down and no
accurate reports have been received.
Bridges on the Omaha Kansas City
and Eastern railroad have been washed
out, and the Rock Island tracks in this
vicinity are in bad shape. In trenton
a portion of the Christian church was
blown down and the telephone system
throughout Grundy county has been
badly wrecked. Many houses were
blown down, but no fatalities are re-
ported.
The storm struck Newtown at 6;15 in
the evening, coming from the south. 1t
came without warning and few were
able to take advantage of their storm
cellars Striking the eastern end OF the
town, it cut clean swath 500 to 6OO feet
wide through the best portion of the
place. sweeping everything, before II.
Over three hundred houses We're torn to
splinters. On one street alone row or
ten houses was entirely demolished.
Here scarcely any one escaped death or
injury, The walls of buildings fell with
crash that sounded above the roar OF
the storm, burying people in the ruins
Frame buildings were twisted and lifted
from their foundations; others were ut
terly demolished, pieces of them being
carried for miles. Others shifted in their
positions, apparently unhurt; one was
turned squarely around, while another
was turned upside down.
Samuel Desper, at the appearance OF
the black cloud started with his family
for a neighboring cellar but the house
was blown down over them just as they
reached the door. His two daughters !
were caught with him by the timbers
and killed instantly His wife was Sc
riously injured, but is still alive.
The storm lasted five minutes. When /
it had ended the sun came out for a !
few minutes and shone brightly over
the scene of ruin. Numbers of citizens I
piled the ruins incessantly, answering
the cries Of The injured from this place +
and that, carrying the dead to the depot /
and the wounded to places of safety.
Houses of the survivors were thrown |
open to the unfortunates and all posi-
BILE was done to allay suffering. Chilli
cothe sent a squad of physicians, who
aided the NeWtown rescuers.
When morning broke the search was
begun with renewed activity and has
been kept up all day. Nigbtfall found
the searchers still at work With no
of the actual number of dead
and wounded The storm blew down the
wires in and about town and
washed away the bridge over Medicine
creek, a small stream south of town, and
demolished the Chicago, Mil"
vaukee and st. Paul depot, stock yards
and dozen stock cars.