The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1909-03-12
80 KILLED
In Cyclone Which Wiped
Out Brinkley, Ark.
100 Persons Injured and 1000
Houses Wrecked-Relief
Funds Needed.

Fun0S Nec0e0.
Brinklcy, Ark.-Brinkley is wiped out
The proud and prosperous little cit,
of 1000 people is a tangled mass O
wrcckage. Not a building in the bust
ness section of the city has been lief,
intact, not a residence but that has suf
fered in a fearful cyclone which swept
the place Monday night, leaving deatl
and ~desolation in its wake.
More than twenty-five people are
known to have persisted in the storm
Working with determination, relief com.
mittees have recovered the bodies OF
half a score of white people, and man
more may be beneath the debris 1t is
Impossible to account for every one, and
it is entirely probable the death list
may yet grow.
Damage Enormous.
The property damage lis enormous.
Conservative business men estimate the
damage at more than ST, 000, 900. More
than 1000 houses were wrecked, or par
TALLY wrecked, by the great wind. Every
business house is in ruins, every church,
save one, is destroyed, and there is
hardly a home that has not at least suf-
fered the loss of roof or wing.
The Roman Catholic Church, standing
directly in the path of the storm, alone
escaped damage or destruction.
Face to face with the greatest catas-
trophe of their lives, the citizens of
BrinkIey fought a short, decisive battle
with despair, then bravely set to work
to live down the blow to their hopes
and ambitions.
First Work One of Mercy.
Their first work was one of mercy.
Mayor Harry jackson took command
the relief committee, DR.. f. d. Nc
knight was assigned to the position of
OF the doctors committee. Be-
fore it was hardly day, relief commit
were coming from all directions.
Each brought physicians. and nurses,
armed with medicines and supplies,
1ager to help in the work.
Early in the day it was reported the
food supply was likely to give out, and
he committee set manfully to work to
meet this new difficulty. But while the
work of the storm was complete-hardly
/ stone a left standing upon a stone
he destruction was not of that kind.
the debris it will be possible to dig
,ood to feed the homeless hundreds in
he hour of the disaster.
Tents for shelter are needed. Hun |
lreds of people are homeless. They are
lot complaining-their duty has been
to them and nobly they are
working for the relief of the suffering. |
Iany of them will be without shelter
nd they must stay in the open, as they
i'd the night of the storm, when the
rind carried their homes from over their
leads.
In the few houses still standing it is
'ell nigh impossible to start a fire, be-
ause chimneys were among the first
Kings to go and the situation is terrible
I the extreme.
The Catholic Church and the Green
,e building, the latter minus a roof in
arts and otherwise damaged, have been
into hospitals, and here the
are working with the injured.
lany of the citizens are badly hurt, but
etermined to help those worse off than
lemselves, have refused to 90 to the
,mporary hospital.
The Arlington Hotel, with so guests,
as totally destroyed. So was the South
n Hotel, the Brinkley Hotel and the
ely Hotel. The big plant of the Ar
ansas Cotton Oil Company is a total
reck, and the plants of the Brinkley I
Company and several other manu-
cturing enterprises have been de-
{
The blow lasted but for a few minutes, i
1T it's work of destruction was COM
etc. Everybody recognized the awful t
ss of the disaster from the very start, j
ID it was but a few minutes before
essengers were ON their way to the out c
lie world to notify neighboring towns a
ID get help. a
First to Respond. /
Forest City was the first to respond. e
fore o'clock a special train reached o
re, bringing with it the. entire fire. r
hting apparatus of the little town, but il
was not needed, although the iremen t
It no time in getting at the work of #
There was no fire following the T
'rm; the work of the wind was com il
tie. d
Most of the dead were caught in the c
ecked buildings, and crushed almost 81
rond recognition. The family of Isaac o.
was almost completely wiped out. z
his wife and their two o Rus =
!, aged l6, and Raymond, aged 12, !.
instantly killed. Miss Mnrlie Reed, 5,
laughter, alone escaped death, but she m
seriously injured.
Governor Goes to Brinkley.
Rock, Ark.-A special call was &C
de to Gav. Donauhey from Rrinklcv