Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-05-21

VIC piiuSe gang we ndQ JUST nnlSn-
ed job on one bridge and had start
ed for Heizer when the dust storm
blew up. 1t blinded the engineer, E.
B. Bailey and the fireman, Albert Ir-
win. / saw the twister coming and
yelled to the engineer, but be couldn t
hear and besides was blinded with the
dust. Before we could escape the cy-
clone struck the train and the next I
knew I was fifty feet from the track
/ pinned down under a lot of lumber
with an iron jack resting on my legs.
The pile driver and the piling cars
were heaped up and the engineer,
Ackley, was willed under them. The
way car was blown to pieces and
scattered for two miles around. The
other men were lying around, some
pinned under pieces of timber. The
least injured of the men went to the
assistance Of the others, while Nichol-
son, although badly injured, went to
Heizer for help"
School district No. IL last year
built a new school house and this
building was torn to pieces. This is
in the Cell neighborhood.
From there it struck the Henry Ga
gleman place and tore down the big
barn on the place. One of Hans
Jurgeson's horses was killed in the
wreck Of the barn. A number of men
had been working the road in the
neighborhood of the Gagleman place
and wheh they saw the twister COM
ing put their horses in the barn for
shelter. The animals were covered
with the broken timbers of the barn,
but only the one animal was killed.
At the Hans Jurgeson farm, his new
barn, erected about three years ago,
was shifted somewhat from its foun-
dation and slightly wrecked.
The path of the storm at this time
was about due east. After leaving
the Jurgeson place it went northeast
and struck the Gus Fem and L. B.
Coss barns, near Heizer. After wreck.
ing these two it struck the work train.
Telegraph and telephone poles were
broken, wire fences torn down and
trees uprooted in the path of the
storm.
Just before the train was struck the
storm stripped potato patch south
of Heizer, cleaning it as though il
had been swept. Pieces of the straw
carried away were found sticking in
the bridge timbers and in the faces
and bodies of the men belonging to thu
work train.
i The storm next took the barn of
the Diffenbacher farm and then strucl
the Carney ranch, now owned by Geo
Walker. At this place the mos
serious damage of the day, except tn,
wreck on the railroad, was done. TIL,
. house and barn were on a hill Their
and the storm swept the place almos
. clean. Mrs. Walker and the children
were at home alone at the time, ant
seeing the storm coming, hurried int,
the cellar of the house. The hous
was torn down about their heads an,
piles of wreckage left in the cellar
: but they were not hurt. The barn wa
also torn to pieces. Chickens wer
killed in great numbers and the plac
| literally stripped. The storm car
ried a great mass of the wreckage her
; as far east as the Woestman grove
:. and there trees were torn up an
t some damage done. Mr.. Walker wa
4 away from home at the time, bu
| near enough to see the storm. He
: Of the opinion that there were tw
4 storms. One wall Of the house on hi
: place was left standing and he wen
there expecting to find the member
. of his family dead. 1t was the mos
| welcome surprise to find them aliv
7 and well and the misfortune suffere
: from the storm was momentarily fol
gotten.
!, Near the Walker place, the storr
:, caught VIM. Beck, a veterinary SUI
S geon from Missouri, who was trave
in gthrough the country and he rt
e ceived some severe bruises, but wa
S not badly hurt. He was brought
J. St. Rose hospital for treatment.
Several years ago a cyclone visiste
r Barton county and did some littl
e damage. The severest damage at ths
b time was done on the Will Welc
e farm, northwest of town.
|, Many conflicting reports have com
|, into Great Bend about the extent {
e the cyclone damage. With the wirt
+ down last night it was impossible
r get correct report.
;- Cal Talbot of this city, was at IL
VI Cell farm west of town when the c,
e clone struck. "We saw it comm
l. Just in time" said Mr.. Talbot. "