Evening star., 1905-05-09
HAVOC FROM TORNADO
Twenty-Four Dead and Many
Injured in Kansas.
M MARQUETTE STRUC OK
ONE SECTION OF TOWN ENTIRELY
WIPED OUT.
Cut Clear Swath Through Southern
End-Followed Hot Spell
The Dead.

-
four persons are known, to have been
killed and thirty-five were injured in a
tornado, the most destructive in the his
tory of central Kansas, which swept over
this portion of the state at midnight last
night.
One large section of Marquette, where
the principal loss of life occurred, was
entirely wiped out.
Reports from surrounding country show
that the destruction to life and property
was widespread and the list of dead and
injured is growing constantly. store
room belonging to Olaf Olson a furniture
dealer, has been converted into tenn
porary morgue and at 9:30 twenty four
dead bodies had been brought in.
Following the storm the utmost con-
fusion prevailed, and it will be some time
before the actual extent of the storm is
known.
The Swedish Lutheran and Methodist
churches and the opera house block were
wrecked and dozens of residences were
rendered into scrap heaps. The business
portion escaped damage.
Aid was asked of other towns and ply
SiclanS were sent from Salina and many
nearby places.
Cut Clean Swath.
The tornado struck the southern end of
the town and cut a clean swath one hun
dred yards in width through it's entire
length. Coming as it did at midnight, all
the people were caught without mo-
ment's warning. heavy rainstorm had
preceded the wind, and after the tornado
passed a scene of complete desolation
followed
The tornado broke up the town with
great force, wrought its terrible havoc
within few minutes time and continued
mi n ha IA oir1p 1trI nrtf Of Nor
quette and caused further damage.
In Marquette many residences were COM
pletely demolished. the wreckage being
carried away entirely while others We're
picked up bodily, moved a short distance
away and dropped to earth.
Many of the victims were killed as they
lay asleep; others, MANNED and bleeding,
awoke to find themselves buried in the
wreckage of their former homes.
Following the storm came a lull. Soon
cries of the injured and frightened people
could be heard on every hand. Men with
lanterns appeared here and there among
the wreckage and as quickly as possible
the work of rescue was begun. Progress
was slow because of the darkness and it
was some time before anything like a syS-
tematic effort could be made to remove
the injured and before aid was asked Of
neighboring towns.
When daylight broke over the town it
found the entire population in a state of
panic Business was entirely suspended
and every one who escaped injury turned
his attention toward aiding the wounded.
The tornado seems to have formed three
miles south of Marquette, and did not spend
its TO. ce until it had passed many miles
north of the town. In Marquette the res
dence portion west of the main street SUI
fered the principal damage. The houses In
the course of the tornado were all, with
two or three exceptions, completely wreck
ed In this section there were number or
modern residences of which only one, the
hcme of R. A. Thompson, was left stand
ing.
churches were among the first buildings
struck, and they, together with the par
sonage adjoining the Methodist Church,
were demolished.
Yesterday afternoon was hot and op-
pressive Late in the evening a terrific
rain storm broke over the town. The rain
continued to fall in torrents until midnight,
when the tornado struck. Within less than
five minutes it had wrought it's terrible
work and passed on. Telegraph and tele-
phone wires were carried down, and it was
several hours before the outside world could
be apprised of the plight of the city.
1t was not until o'clock that physicians
and surgeons began arriving from surround
ing towns. In the meantime, dozens of
volunteers set to work 10 clear away the de-
bris and extricate the dead and injured.
The Swedish Lutheran parsonage and sew
eral private residences were turned into
temporary hospitals. The dead were taken
to a storeroom near by.
An Associated Press reporter made the
rounds of the different places today In
one room in the Lutheran parsonage he
found six injured and in an adjoining room
were five bodies of persons who had died
from injuries after they had been brought
in In half a dozen other houses similar
conditions found. DIR. Lund, The
Lutheran pastor, passed about among the
suffering, ministering to their comfort,
while thirty or forty other persons, work
ing under his direction, cared for the in
jured at other points.
When the missing in Marquette had been
thoroughly accounted for, the searchers di-
rected their attention to the surrounding
country. Soon half dozen wagon loads of
dead and injured had been brought to town
from the district adjoining Marquette on
the south.
There were many narrow escapes from
death. The infant daughter of Charles
Salon was lifted in her bed and carried TO
the middle of the street. receiving only a
few scratches. Salon and his wife were
seriously injured
The mattress upon which the baby daugh-
ter of the Rev. Smith lay was doubled up
In such manner as to cover the child and
protect it from falling timbers. In spite
of the destruction of the Smith house the
entire family escaped uninjured
Mr.. and Mrs. o. S. Ellvin were carried on
their bed distance of 500 feet and laid
down without being seriously injured.
List of the Dead.
The known dead are: Gus Anderson. TIL
lie Elerson, Mrs. A. V. Anderson Mrs FL
mer Hultgren Blanche Swltzer Lena
Switzer, Nina Switzer, Anna Coulson. NJ.
p. Nelson, wife and three children A.
Sjogren. sr., Olaf Hanson and wife, Gott-
fried Nelson. wife and child, Elmer Nelson.
Mrs. POSTER and child. Charles Roberts
unknown woman.