The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-01-12
STORM SWEEPS
OVER ALBANY
Great Damage Done in the City
and Adjacent Territory.
THE KILLED WERE FEW
Many Buildings Completely Wrecked
and That Scores We're Not Killed
is a Miracle.

Is a Miracle.
A tornado Of terrific force passed
over Albany, Ca, and vicinity We'd
nesday at 1:15 o'clock, coming from
a southwesterly direction and spread,
ing wreck and desolation over por-
lions of a dozen blocks.
Several persons are dead and 9TH
ers will die as the result Of injuries,
while many are more or less seriously
hurt.
Viewing the, wreckage left by the.
tornado9 it = seems a miracle that
score were not killed outright, the
tribute claimed in the way Of human
lives being astonishingly small
The list is still incomplete, owing
to the fact that much of the destruc.
ton wrought was we'll beyond the city
limits.
The storm was Immediately proceed
ed by binding deluge of rain; the
heavens were darkened as at twilight.
and the wind attained a frightful We
locity 1t struck the THAR place, just
southwest of the city, where it killed
a negro boy and fatally injured two
members of the family of Jeff Davis
(colored). The buildings on the place
were completely demolished.
Striking the big plant Of the Vir-
ginia-Carolina Chemical Company, the
storm demolished the two principal
buildings in the twinkllng of an eye
The acid chamber, four or five stories
high. was crushed like an egg shell,
as was the large brick structure con.
tanning the battery of ovens A col
ored employee was killed in the col
lapse of the latter building.
Walker Sanders, assistant manager
of the plant, was standing beside the
negro and received serious injuries.
His escape was miracle.
The track Of the tornado was not
more than Is yards in width, but it
left the face OF the earth clean where
ever its full force was felt
From the guano factory it jumped
to a thick settlement Of negro cabins.
Here twenty-five buildings were COM
pletely demolished. Some were oc-
cupied by as many as a~half dozen
persons, mostly women and children,
and while a great many were injured
not one was killed outright. Furnt
ture, bed clothing, ETC., were blown
entirely away.
In the midst of this group of
houses was the colored Methodist
Episcopal church, large and rather
imposing structure. 1t was complete
ly destroyed, together with It's furnl-
ture
The stormed turned at this point,
and passed almost due east threugh
Residence street, though its full force
was not felts again until several
blocks had been passed over. How.
ever, on Residence street the dam.
age was great. A number of pretty
cottages were unroofed, the deluge
flooding them and running their con-
tents.
The storm descended again at the
intersection Of Washington and Tiff
streets. Here it demolished the par
TALLY completed cold storage plant
of the Albany Artesian Ice company.
It passed. to the plant Of the Georgia
Cotton Oil company, where it demol-
ished the large two-story warehouse,
containing thousands of tons Of cot
ton seed.
Great havoc was wrought in tho
yards Of the Central of Georgia and
Albany and Northern railways
Dozens of freight cars in the two
yards were unroofed. A delivery wag-
on on washington street, was picked
ap, with horse and driver, and car
ried through the air a considerable
distance into the railroad yards. The
driver was seriously injured
Hundreds Of negroes in the city are
homeless, and many have lost all
their household effects. The injured
are being cared for, and efforts are
being made to secure shelter for all.