The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-09
STORM IN OKLAHOMA
LARGE STRIP OF TERRITORY DE-
VASTATED.
CYCLONES WIDTH SO MILES.
IMMENSE DAMAGE AND SEVERAL
DEATHS REPORTED.

The Storm Came Down From the
Kansas Line and Swept Down to
Old OI<Iahoma-A Cyclone Laid
Things Waste in Three Counties.
Two Small Towns Practically De-
strOyed-FieIds of Wheat, Rendy
for the Sickle, Laid Waste and
Much Damage Done to the COun-
try Generally.
Wichita, Kan, June S.-The most dlsas-
trous storm that has ever visited Okla
homa prevailed in Kay county last night.
A tornado struck Billings. Eddy and Ton
kawa, and it covered stretch of coun-
try ten miles wide and thirty-six miles
long, destroying towns, farm houses and
crops. The financial loss will exceed
100000
At Eddy three persons were killed.
The dead are Mrs. Maude McGathey.
Louis McGathey and Robert McGifnn.
The injured are Charles Goldsmith,
skull fractured; John McBrain, leg brok-
en-; Hugh Prather, nose broken; Judd Nc
Williams, head crushed Howard Hama
gan, head badly crushed; Ruby Higg1n-
bothen. face crushed and internal inju-
res; A d. Evans, leg broken.
1t is reported that two persons were
killed at Billings, but this cannot be veri-
fed.
Severe in Eastern Oklahoma.
Perry, o. T.. June S.-The storm which
passed over Eastern Oklahoma last night
was one of the most severe since the OPEN
ing of the strip. A feature of the storm
was the extent of the territory covered.
Sweeping down from the Kansas state
line and covering about fifty miles in
width. the rain, wind and hail swept over
the country as far south as Old Oklahom
The rain fell in torrents from early in the
evening until midnight The fury of the
storm centered in a cyclone at about $50
p. M, which formed at a point near the
Kansas state line and just on the county
lines of Grant, Kay and Oklahoma. The
twister took a southeasterly course ana
was most disastrous in an area of ten
miles square in Eastern Kay county. Tho
little town of Eddy was struck and of the
twelve or fourteen buildings in the place,
all were leveled to the ground, except the
railroad station and an elevator. The peo-
pie of the town sought places of safety.
One unknown man was killed and sever
al persons We're slightly injured by flying
debris
The track of the cyclone between this
point and Tonkawa, a distance of about
eight miles, was laid waste. Five farm
houses with barns and outbuildings were
blown away, but all the occupants es-
capped without injury. Fine fields of wheat
in the midst of harvest were laid waste.
The tail end of the cyclone fell with ter
rible force upon Tonkawa. Thirty dwell
ings and business houses were scattered
like loose timber. The citizens OF the town
had been watching the advance of the
storm and had sought shelter in caves
and cellars. No fatalities are reported a
this point, and only a few persons re-
ceived scratches, which is almost miracu-
lous considering the devastation.
A few miles from this point the cy-
clone seemed to go up in the air and
the country below did not suffer much
from the storm. except by washouts and
a stiff wind, with the hail i'm spots. which
caused some damage to fruit and the
wheat crop.
At Blackwell. a few miles north OF
Tonkawanda, f. II. Crawford, a carpen-
ter working on a house was struck and
instantly killed by lightning.