The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-04-13
Sees Cloud Coming and Throws
Throttle Open.
HIGH BANK AIDS HIM.
Train Rocks ON Wheels as
Shelter Is Reached.
Dipping Motion of TWister Saves
Additional Damage.

Lawrence, Kan, April 13.-The cool
head of the engineer on the eaStbound
Santa Fee train No 2 probably saved
the lives of the passengers on his train.
By the aid of a lightning flash he was
enabled to see from his cab the SAT-
from colored cloud approaching behind
and little to the right of him, and the
outlines of trees stripped of their bark
were visible.
The engineer opened the throttle
wide, and began a race for life. The
twister gained rapidly on the line of
fast moving cars, and about half
mile west of Lawrence the train rock
ed on it's wheels, so that the man in
the engine thought the storm was upon
him. The climax to the incident is that
the train dashed under the protection
of an embankment near the Kaw bridge
just as the storm passed over little
ahead of the engine.
There were some pathetic scenes
along the path of destruction. For ex-
ample the house belonging to F. S.
Fenstemaker, in North Lawrence, was
transformed into kindling wood. Today
the whole family which had a miracu-
lous escape from the jaws of death, was
on the scene working in an endeavor
to find a few personal belongings in the
midst of the ruins.
Children Thrown Seventy Feet.
1--WE were in the house at the time
the storm struck u.s., said Mr.. Fenste-
maker, anu Tic 1OuI CIIII0ICi ClQLS3 SO
their mother. There was an awful roar
ing and Whistling sound. Before we
realized it the house was being lifted
into space. My wife and three of the
children were blown to a distance of
go feet from the house, and the small
boy who was in someway snatched
away from his mother by the wind was
picked up 20 feet from the house. L
was pinned under the wreckage. None
of us sustained injuries beyond
~, irr1Hn 1r0 hn1nino
in our difficulty
A dozen other families were made
homeless in this district.
In North Park the tornado fell upon
the great elm trees with all it's fury,
tearing them up by the roots, twisting
them with ease, and stripping them of
their bark.
AS the electric light plant was put out
of commission for the time being there
will be no cars running for possibly two
or three days. Lawrence will probably
be iceless for a week, due to the dam
age done at the ice plant.
Woman's Close Call.
What was probably one of the mar
rowest escapes fromadeath occurred at
the New Eldridge hoteL Mrs. H. T.
Hutson had gone toyiEer room which is
on the southwest corner of the north
wing. l5 tz1
A vivid flash of lightning, and pc
culiar rumbling noise warned her thai
a storm of an unusual nature was ap-
preaching. Knowing. that her daughter
and other children in the front part of
the building were timid in a storm, she
joined them. She had no more reached
the front portion of the structure when
a terrific crash came The building
trembled, and then the entire north
west corner tumbled in. The bed in
which Mrs. Hutson had been lying was
bent to the floor and buried beneath d
ton Or more of debris.
The six hundred block on Massa-
chusetts street was a scene of dilapida-
ton. The broad thoroughfare was filled
with splintered wood from the nearby
business buildings, telephone and cleo