Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1899-05-04
The KIRKYILLE TORNADO.

A gathering storm that had been
threatening all afternoon broke upon
this city at that hour, and a path a
quarter OF n mile wide and as clean as
tho prairie was swept through the
eastern portion OF the city,
Among the first Of tho buildings
wrecked was the elegant $40, 900 resi- =
dence Of Mrs. Mary Hensley, in the
southeastern part OF the city Not a
vestige Of II Is left, The Catholic
church, fine brick structure In the
northeastern part, was unroofed and
otherwise damaged. Tho large dwell
ing OF Judge Andrew Ellison, In the
same locality, was stripped OF its sec
ond story. lie and his family and
John Doneghy took refuge In the col
lar and were saved Tho residence OF
II, Lowell, just outside Of town, was
twisted into heap OF ruins and three
OF his children buried In tho debris
and killed, otker largo residences
were lifted from their fou ndations
and literally torn into klndling wood
Twenty-Five doctors from Moberly,
Macon and other points along the
line OF the Wabash railroad came TO
Kirksvllle In response TO urgent calls
for medical assistance, The visiting
doctors co.operated with the local ply
slcians and the work Of caring for the
wounded was expedited.
The scenes that met the gaze OF the
rcscucrs we're horrlfylug, An aged
man and his wife had evidently been
eating tho evening meal when the tor"
nado 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 seen. Several
Of the dead were found In spots which
would have been tho center of the
house had not tho building been
blown to splinters. This was the case
with Mrs. Banschott, who suffered n
most terrible death,
Her headless body, with its arms
clasping her lifoloss baby, was dis
covered on tho floor OF the house,
which was left as raised platform in
an open field. The head was as nicely
severed rs II 1t had been done with q
knife, and was about twenty feet dis
tent Two children had been lying Ia
a cot in one OF the destroyed homes.
Tho house was carried away, but the
floor OF the first story and the foun-
dation were left, the wind lifting the
house from the stills and tumbling 1t a
long distance. The cot on which the
little ones lay was lifted up with
them on It and carried fully block
and q half and set down on the
groun. Neither Of the children was
hurt.
Dr. Howells, his wife and three lit
tic boys crouched in their home in o
group. Tho house was demolished,
the father left dead, the mother badly
injured and the children more or less
hurt.
Mrs. W. W. Green and her daughter,
Miss Bessie, student in the state
nyrmal school, were crushed in their
home and their bodies were found far
out among the wreclsage. The litae
son Aubrey was found severely In
jured
The Weaver family of eight saw the
storm coming, but stood calmly by
the chair Of John G. Weaver, the aged
invalid father, The grown sons might
have run with their wife and baby out
of the storms path. The house was
torn to fragments, The old man was
crushed in his chair and the others
were knocked scnscless. Ella Weav-
er's legs were broken. The aged
mother was not hurt, Joseph Weaver,
his wife and baby and brother Samuel
were bruised.
The Webster family Of three were
carried in the debris OF their cottage
for several hundred yards and were
dropped, not badly injured. Blue
Parschott, n Wabash railroad section
hand, came homo after the storm and
found his wife beheaded, with her
dead babe in her arms. He was dis
covered an hour later with one dead
form embraced in each arm, crazed
wi1h grief,
While John Mccall was holding onto
a sapling on the outskirts OF the
storm, u 19.year-old boy, John Geb'
hardt, came down on him from the
sky, He caught and saved the boy,
whose home had been demolished two
blocks away,
At Henry Nichols farm, just out Of
town, in the path of the storm, an
other man was seen carried up 100 feet
from the ground. The body has not
yet been found,
A. j. Glasee and his wife met death
in each others arms. Rubbish from
the house covered them entirely. lie
was retired capitalist. In his
pockets were $4,000
The Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Brig.
ham, we'll known In Methodist Epis
copal circles for evangelical work
were crushed by flying missiles Mrs,
Brigham will die.
SHORT $4,000.
KANSAS CITY, Mo, May Ia