Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-03-20

Birmingham, Ala, March 19.-Ad-
ditional details of last nights cyclone
near Edwardsville were received here
late to-day. The following is a list
of the dead and wounded so far as
known:
Dead-Lewis Coffee, aged 55, tax as
sesor of Cleburne county, and the fol-
lowing members of his family: Mrs.
Coffee, aged 46; Leila, aged %; James,
aged 20; Lulu, aged IS; Jacob, aged 10;
Deyore, aged 8; Dollie, aged 10; Gro
yer, aged 6; John, aged 4. and an I'M
known woman, near Holm.
The Wounded are Bessie Coffee, aged
IL. daughter of Lewis Coffee, will die;
Mrs. Runnells, aged IS, will die; Myr-
line Stansell, aged 5, will probably die;
Mrs. J. H. Cason, Tom Brunnels, Wood
Stansell, Andrew Steipan, all seriously
hurt; Mary Stephan, Lizzie Brunnells,
J. H. Cason, Georgia Stansell, Gaines
vile Stansell, Tosh Stansell, Coleman
Stansell, all badly bruised.
Several other people were more or
less seriously injured, but their names
are not known.
The path of the storm was about 200
yards wide and it traversed the coun-
try for twelve miles, beginning in the
northern part of Claburne county, near
Iron City, and moved southwark.
Those who saw it say that there was
an immense cloud and that it bounded
along like rubber ball, rising at in
tervals and leaping for several hum
dred yards without doing any damage.
Then when it descended it would pick
up houses and crush them to pieces, up
root trees and twist them off level
with the ground and sweep all before it.
Lewis COffee'S residence, a strong
double log house, situated on a little
hill, was in the path Of the storm. 1t
was swept away and the timbers scat
tered for a mile Ten of its eleven Oc-
cupants were instantly killed. Except
the body of the baby, which was found
under the ruins OF the chimney, the
corpses of the victims were carried
half mile, and nine Of them were
found heaped together.
Every body had been stripped of its
clothing. One was twisted around
stump and two others were headless.
Beside the body of the father lay Bessie
Coffee, the ony member of the family
not instantly killed. She was uncon-
scious and her arms were around her
dead fathers neck. She is unable to
talk, and will die.
In the same neighborhood the resi-
dences of j. w. Wilder. J. H. Cason,
Andrew Stiepan and Benz. Stansell
were wrecked and all their occupants
injured. Near Heflin a white woman,
whose name cannot be learned, was
killed and five persons in the same fam
lily hurt 1t is estimated that about fif-
ty buildings were destroyed; between
twenty and twenty-five persons were
injured and over score OF farms de-
YaStated.
The storm lost its force just south Of
Hef1in, near which place a dozen build
ings were wrecked The path of the
cyclone presents a terrible scene of
havoc. Timbers of wrecked houses are
scattered in every direction. Some
were carried high into the air and 9TH
ers were driven deep into the ground
or through trees.
Many head of cattle were killed. One
dead COW was found with a shingie
driven through her back. But for the
fact that the country over which the
storm passed is sparsely settled, the
loss of life would have been much
greater.
There were many marvellous escapes. j.
H. Cason and his wife were blown through
a window as their house was filling, and
after the storm found themselves in
field a hundred yards away. both badly
hurt The funeral of the Coffee family oc
CURED this Afternoon and was largely at
tended Ten bodies, some of them man
gled beyond recognition, were buried in
one grave.
Several negroes are missing from the
visited section.
Another cycloe struck in extreme north
Alabama, blowing down a number of
small dwellings, at Hazel Green, and still
another visited the southeastern section
of the State demolishing the little town
of Sellers.
ATLANTA, Ca, March ia special to
the Constitution from Waynesboro. Ga,
says a cyclone passed over Burke county
as 3 o'clock this morning. In the vicinity
of Waynesboro. four people were killed.
Several houses were demolished and much
damage done.