The Somerset reporter., 1908-04-30
Tornado Damage in the South.

The dead, more than 200, the in
jured, at least 800, these were thc
grim facts which came to light last
Saturday when little Of the wreck
age of Fridays tornaHo in Louisiana
Mississippi and Alabama had beer
cleared away. The tornadoes LASTED
altogether u hours striking promis.
cuously one town after the other from
before daylight Friday until mid Lat
ternoon.
Many hours after they struck, trains
bearing nearly 200 injured CANE
crawling cautiously out Of the lorna
do district, leaving behind them one
town, Purvis, Miss, utterly demolish-
ed, five others practically blown
away and d little villages in more or
less acute stages or ruins. With the
wounded came the details Of one Of
the worst wind disasters in the his
tory Of the Gulf States.
First it became known that negroes
comprised most Of the dead and bad
y wounded, that the picturesque
darky cabins, noted for their fimsy
happy 60 lucky construction, had
been converted by the wind into
wholesale death traps II was in the
fall of these cabins which went down
almost without warning that most
of the negro deaths occurred.
The identified white dead early
Saturday numbered a. In addition
it was reported that four whites had
been killed at McCallum, Miss, which
would bring the white death list up
to 46. The number of negroes killed
was between $50 and IT'S. The towns
which suffered the worst damage be %
sides Purvis were Amite, McCallum
McLaurin and Winchester, Miss, and
Albertville, Ala.
The following fifteen towns were
more or less damaged:
Richland and Lamourie. La; Win
gate, New Augusta, Columbus, " alls,
Braxton, Belle Grove, Melton, Lor-
man, Pine Ridge, Quitmans Landing,
Fairchild's Creek and Wahalak in
Mississippi and Bergen, Ala.
! The most of these places are mere =
ly collection of few stores and
dwellings, SO that the property losses
will not reach large figures.
/ NO ESTIMATES OF PROPERTY
damage have yet been made. The
destruction of Purvis, Miss, occurred
at O'Clock Friday afternoon and was
all over in d few minutes. OF 200
dwellings only seven were left stand =
ing. The courthouse, the only other
building in town to withstand the
wind was Immediately packed with
dead and injured and served as the
only available hospital within many
miles. G. w. Cromwell of Jackson,
Miss, in attempting to describe this
storm said that all he could realize
was that the air was full of flying
timbers. These timbers dealt death
to many persons who sought safety
in the open air, while the falling of
walls was a still greater peril TO those
who remained indoors.
! One child is said to have been
kneeling in prayer, her uncle bending
over her in an attempt TO shield her
but despite his care, timber which
did not touch him, killed the little
girl. Scarcely one brick of the
schoolhouse was left on another.
School had been dismissed only a mo-
ment before the tornado struck. In
field near the town a farmer who
was blowing, saw the storm APP
preaching and managed to get the
members of the family outside and
behind stumps before the wind struck.
The house was blown away but
none of the farmers family was in
jured. One of the children killed is
said to have been lifted high III the
air and while still we'll above the
ground, to have been struck by a
heavy flying timber which caused its
death. When the storm was over, a
special train bearing II physicians
and 15 other persons went to Purvis.
Meanwhile a second relief train start
ee for Lumberton.
One train was stopped by woman
WAVING A RED CLOTH. =
When the engineer ran ahead to see
what she wanted, the woman tainted
and the engineer found that the red
color of the cloth was caused by
blood A search revealed her home
near the railroad and three members
of her family were found dead anc
four injured.
A man who drove into Purvis re
ported that he saw the bodies of sew
eral dead, whom he took TO be ne
groes, lying beside the road. A
nightfaIl, what was left of the tow
was put under martial law, a militi;
company preserving order.