The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1908-05-01
300 PEOPLE REPORTED
KILLED IN CYCLONE
Over a Score Of Southern Towns
Wrecked.

Atlanta, Ga. Especially "A wind
of cyclonic proportions swept over
portions of Louisiana. Mississippi
and Alabama. leaving trail of dead
and injured. The number of killed
is estimated at $50 and the number
of injured at about 400.
Most of the dead are negroes. Per-
haps a dozen white persons were
caught in falling buildings and eth
er fatally injured or SO seriously dis
abled as to require medical attention.
The loss of life was chiefly in the
quarters of colored persons, where
the wind destroyed their cabins,
burying the occupants in the debris.
or in the farming sections of the
country, where trees were uprooted,
telegraph and telephone poles torn
up and general destruction became
an encore to storm which swept
with almost tornado fury through
the country.
New Orleans and Mobile were cut
on from wire communication with
the outside world for several hours
and the telegraph companies report
wires down in all directions.
The Wrecked Towns.
In Louisiana it is estimated that
a score of small towns were destroy
ed or partly wrecked They include
Amite City, Arcadia and Independ-
ence. Bell Grove, Melton, Lorman,
Pine Ridge, Quitman Landing, Fair
childs Greek, Purvis and Lumberton,
Miss, are reported seriously dam
aged by the storm.
In Alabama, Dora was the chief
sufferer. This town is also known
as Bergen. Four or more persons
were killed, among them the wife
and daughter of Section Master
Moore. Fifty persons at the lowest
estimate were injured.
Tnose most seriously hurt were
hurried to hospitals in Birmingham,
Ala. One woman, Mrs. Gully, died
on the train. Two other members
of this family were seriously injured.
At Bergen cars were blown from
the railroad tracks, and considerable
other property destroyed.
Reports also say that the storm
struck Albertville, Ala, and destroy
ed nearly the entire northern portion
of the town. A cotton mill was
blown down, the storm ranging
northward, doing much destruction
to life and property. An uncon-
firmed report from this section gives
the death list as from so to 35, with
scores of persons injured.
State Militia Sent.
A special train was sent from Biz
mingham carrying physicians and
squad of State militiamen to the dis
trict. Aid is also pouring in from
all other directions.
From Meridian, Miss, comes a re-
port that Mrs. John Minniece and her
child were killed outright and JohL
Minniece was seriously injured,
while number OIL other pc sons
were hurt, and there was consider
able destruction of property.
Richland and Lamourie, La, were
struck by the storm anu nearly a
fifth of their population injured.
Winchester, Miss, small town,
is reported wiped out, though only
two persons are known to have been :
killed.
Natchez, Miss, reports so are
known to be dead in the Northern
Louisiana storm. Hundreds of plan
tation cabins are reported destroyed
In this section.
Mobile reported nine dead in Hat
tiesBurg, Miss, but this has not bsen
confirmed.
Churches Demolished.
At Mason, Tenn, the Methodist
Church was blown down, and the
parsonage adjoining that structure
destroyed. The Presbyterian and
Churches were both prac-
tically destroyed and several houses
we're blown down.
In Memphis the wind reached
of 60 miles an hour. 1t up
rooted shade trees, blew down tele-
graph and telephone wires and forced
in plate glass windows.
Richland and Lamourie, La, which
arc close together in Rapides parish,
we're apparently struck by the same
Richland has 500 ;nhabi-
tants, while Lamourie is much snail
sr.
At Baxter. Miss, about a dozen
buildings were damaged, among
them wooden school house in which
here were about so childran when
he storm began. Teachers realized
The peril in time to get the children
INTO places of safety. The wind lifted
0ff the roof OF the school building
md then blew down the walls.
At Amite, a small town in South
eastern Louisiana. the dead are es-
imated by physicians at from % to
81. Correspondents on the scene,
however, assert that not more than
/ dozen were killed, but that so many
suffered fatal injuries that the list
will reach %.