Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-04-25
KILLED IN CYCLONES
Storms Sweep Through Southern
States Bringing Death.
MANY TOWNS IN WINDS PATH
Wore Than Hundred and Fifty Dead
and Four Hundred Injured by Fatal
Tornadoes-Victims Mostly Colored.
Baby Blown Into River.

Dapy DioWn INTO niVer,
Atlanta, Ga. April 25.-Reports indi-
cate that more than $50 persons We're
killed and about 400 injured in storms
of great violence which passed over
sections of Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama.
Several towns were almost totally
swept away, and the property damage
will run into large figures.
Most of those killed were negroes,
whose cabins were swept away like so
much paper.
NatcheZ, Miss, reports that of sixty
four persons killed in that section only
two were whites.
Late reports from Amite, a small
town in southeastern Louisiana, say
that the town was almost entirely de-
stroyed and the estimates place the
number killed at between twenty-five
and fifty, while at least seventy-fiYe
were injured.
At McLain, Miss. eight are reported
10 have been killed; at Vidalia, La,
one white woman and six negroes are
dead; at Juitman Landing eleven ne
groes were killed: at Purviss Landing,
Miss three whites and nine negroes
were victims of the storm, and reports
of from one to five deaths come from
many towns scattered over the storm
swept area.
Telegraph Wires Down.
New Orleans and Mobile were cut off
from wire communication with the out
side world for several hours. and the
telegraph companies report wires down
In all directions.
The storm swept through Georgia,
but beyond torrential rains. accompa-
MED by high winds and brilliant cleo
trical displays, no serious damage or
loss of life has been reported.
1t is difficult to estimate the loss of
life or the extent of the destruction of
property. for there is little or no COM
munication with the points where the
wind and rain did its greatest damage
In Louisiana it is estimated that a
score of small towns were destroyed or
partly wrecked. They include Amite
City. Arcadia and Independence. Belle
Grove, Melton. I.orman, Pine Ridge,
Quitman Landing, Fairchilds Creek,
Purvis and Lumberton, Miss. are re-
ported seriously damaged by the storm.
In Alabama. Dora was the chief Suf-
ferer. This town is also known as Ber-
l.
among them the wife and daughter of
Section Master Moore. Fifty persons
at the lowest estimate were injured.
Those most seriously hurt were car
ried TO hospitals in Birmingham. Ala.
One woman. a Mrs. McCully, died on
the train. Two other members of this
family were seriously injured. .
Car Blown From Track.
At Bergen cars Were blown from the
railroad tracks and considerable other
property destroyed.
Reports also say that the storm
struck Albertville. Ala. and destroyed
nearly the entire northern portion of
the town. A cotton mill was blown
down.
At Baxter, Miss, several persons
were injured. aud the property damage
probably will reach $1,000. About a
dozen buildings were damaged. among
them wooden schoOlhouSe i'm which
there were about fifty children when
the storm began. Teachers realized the
peril in time TO get the children into
al - m
che roof of the school building and
then blew down the walls
OF the sixty-four deaths reported
near Natchez. Miss. only two, Mrs |
Devereaux Shields and James NickerS |
were white. The first damage done
was at s. ii. Lambdin's plantation. /
seven miles south Of Vidalia. where
Mrs. Shields of Natchez was visiting. I
She and her two young sons occupied .
!. the ssRe bed. 4 beam fell across the .
sSsteat. striking the mother i'm the .
temple. killing her instantly Her sons
were uninjured.
Storms Path Nine Hundred Feet Wide
The tornado proper covered Il breadth .
of 300 feet through Concorlia parish.
la. and swept across the Mississippi .
river. striking Adams county. Miss. at .
Giles BEND. four miles north ~ Nat
chez. where four negroes were killed
and seven injured Continuing north
east. fhe tornado ravaged Pine Ridge.
killing twelve and injuring twenty.
The first Presbyterian church erected
IN the southeast was demolished
The tornadoes followed each other at
intervals of 4 few minutes Each GOV
cred fresh ground with their edges
overlapping. over all The territory GOV
cred By tie storms IL Is said not a ne
gro sbantv is standing When the tor
nSdces were ut their height the air
was rlled with broken b,ardS and fur.
nitnne from the homes ~ the negroes
Articles Of clothing also were borna
away by the wind A roIwrpd baby
was torn from its mothers arms 10
Baxter. La. ard dropped "a its death
In a river. The woman had the baby
wrapped in shawl The tornado
caugft the shawl. and tha mother was
lifted several fee OF the ground tefore
she released her hold in terror
The baby vas carried shout 300
yards. and the mother was almost
crowned in = vain attempt 10 rescue il.
All the storms werp preceded by an in
lsuse humidity. and the air hung mo-
tioniess- Then tha tcrusdoes rushed in
At q speed estimated at eighty 70 = hun
tre1 miles an haur
Greek Cree, p-;,.. c.-5,,