The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-06
STONE PLACE WRECKED;
 MANY MAY BE INJURED
Gale Strikes in Several Towns of
 Alabama.
Heavy Property Loss In Rolling Fork Miss, Stuttgart, Ark.s Monroe, La, and Ennis, Tex.--Cy- clone Leaves Death la
 Its wake.

Concentrating in fury. the heavy wind of yesterday afternoon struck the Wire Road. at a point nine miles from Montgomery. smashing Into houses. and causing the death of three negro tenants on the plantation of Ben Stone, and the injury of more than dozen others. The tornado came at about $ o'clock.
 Meagre reports of the tornado were received in Montgomery, and the iden- tity of the negroes killed and injured could not be aScertained. The tele- phone line to the scene of the storm was out of order. but 1t was ascertain- ed that none of the white residents of the vicinity of the nine-mile post were injured. t3
 The residence of Mir. Stone was dam aged, the wind carrying away the roof and a portion of the porch; the resi- dence of Mrs. Herbert suffered damage, the porch. roof and chimneys toppiing in the gale. The residents, however, escaped injury, as the houses with stood the wind.
 The tornado, as far as could be ass certained, was restricted in scope. Be- yond playing havoc in the immediate vicinity of the Stone and Herbert homes and the woods and fields nearby,
 
 throughout the country regions. espe- ciaIly in q line across the County from the northwest, was heavy, but not in such degree as to effect serious dam age except in the Wire Road. Mes- sages from MeGehee's and other places In the south and middle districts of the County showed that the heavy wind had wrecked no damage there.
 Traan As Delayed.
 The train from Selma. on the Wes- tern Railroad. was delayed two hours last night, the tornado impeding pro gress by blowing several trees across the track at about the acena Of tho death of the three negroes. Bey0nr that. however, there was no damage 70 railroad property or progress in thta section of the state Nor was tele- phone or telegraph wires injured, ex- cept near the Stone plantation on the Wire Road. where the tornado gath cred and burst.
 The wind concentrated in a narrow path, according to the meagre reports, and crushed through the woods and the clearinGs which contained tho Stone and Herbert plantations. Trees, and fIimsy negro cabins went down be- fore its force. Six or ei&ht of the cabins oil the stone plantation were destroyed, and the inmates. who had gathered in the houses during the storm, were buried in the debris. About sixteen negroes were assembled all of whom were more or less severe ly Injured, and three of whom were crushed to death. It may be that up- on later and more complete reports from the scene. the list of injuries may become larger.
 The white people of the Stone and Herbert homes gathered at the resi- dence of L. C. Young, near the nine mile post, and remained throughout tho night. After th1 first message to Montgomery the telephone communica- tions with the Young house were brok- en, and no further details could be learned.
 Montgomery caught one edge of tho wind and felt the blow for several minutes at about 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon. but the gale was of no suf- hclent force in the city tO wreak dam age.
 MontgOmery's unsettled weather eI Friday was the result of the movement of a storm center from over Iowa. east. ward to the Lake regions, with outer lines of disturbance dipping southward to Texas.
 This storm movement was causing brisk to high winds and rains over the Lake regions, and the central and some of the southern districts yesterday, and reaching far south. brought to Mont gomery a day of gloom and rain.
 And It will cause. as an aftermath. some cold weather. No, not cold weather as cold weather goes, but still a chill that to be different from the warmth of Thursday and Friday.
 The thermometer will be somewhat lower tonight than last night, the.cold to be accompanied by fair weather which should begin to show up this morning