Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-25
FURY OF TORNADO.
SEEN FROM TRAIN
Terrorized Passengers Wit
ness Havoc Wrought by
Terrific Wind.
HOUSES TORN TO BITS;
INJURED TAKEN ABOARD
Heartrending Tales Of Suffering and
Miraculous Escapes Related by
Eye Witnesses.

CHICAGO. March 25.-Stories replete
with thrills and pathos were related here
by eye-witnesses of the great tornado
which swept over parts of Nebraska,
Iowa and Illinois Sunday night, killing
and injuring hundreds.
Terror stricken. the narrators of these
stories had sat fascinated in the coaches
OF Chicago, Burlington and Quincy rail-
road train, watching a great dark cloud
skipping Enthusiastically in its work Of de-
struction. In several villages they helped
pick up the dead and dying.
The wounded and the slain were placed
on the plush-covered seats and in the
carpeted aisles Of the cars until the train,
which had passed through the beginning
OF the track Of the whirlwind that struck
Omaha. reached the latter city.
Escapes Seem Miraculous.
On the way the injured poured heart
rending tales Of suffering and vivid de-
scriptions of escapes which seemed to
them miraculous. William Coon, presi-
dent Of an automobile company of Lin
coin, Neb-, gave a graphic description
as he viewed it from the platform Of the
observation car.
For miles, he said, ''it seemed as If
the train were being pursued by the
storm. We were approaching Ralston,
Neb., when first noticed strange cop
per-colored cloud mounting toward the
sky. Before that 1t had been clear.
The cloud grew rapidly and was trav-
the form of a funnel and the air was
filled with a curious noise. very piercing.
Then the funnel seemed to grow black,
and the smaller end-that near the ground
was about a half mile In diameter:
1t swished across the railroad track, and
swept toward the little town.
Houses Collapse Like Paper.
"Then the storm struck the town.
paper. The roofs went sailing away and
the sides fell in. The, passengers sat as
though glued to their seats when the
cloud struck. Then, as they comprehend
ed the desolation wrought cry of horror
went up from every one. 1t was terrible
sight
Then the engineer brought the engine
to a stop, and the passengers ran over
to the wreckage of the houses. We could
hear the groans OF dying men and the
walls and shrieks Of injured women and
children. / entered a house, or rather
what had been house, and beneath me
lay q woman. / looked and / knew that
she was dead. We got all of the injured
out OF the ruins and brought them to the
train.
1--WE ware about to leave when our at
tention was called to little house some
distance from the others. 1t had been
wrecked and moved from it's foundation,
but we found mother and her little
baby lying upon a bed uninjured.
Left Safely in Basement.
zone man was in basement. His
house was carried away bodily, and he
was left standing with very surprised
look on his face, uninjLred.
There was "a big thrashing machine
standing near one of the houses and
when the cloud struck it it shot straight
I'D into the air and was carried about
forty rods. Houses were rolling and tum-
bling along the ground. l saw boxcar
carried along by the terrific air current
for a quarter of mile. When it split
open six or seven men. who turned out
to be part of a repair gang. dropped out
Some OF them lay very still, while others
feebly crawled about.
1.-The next station our train passed
through was Benson, where the scenes
were still more appalling. There were
several large factories there and they
were all strewn in heaps. We picked up
a lot OF injured, and l don't know how
many dead we left behind Then the
cloud wheeled and made toward South
Omaha.
Stop to Pick Up Injured.
1--WE were not far behind, but our way
was blocked by the debris the tornado
had thrown on the tracks. There, too,
we stopped to pick up the injured. There
were some with their limbs torn off. and
all were bleeding"
Another passenger was Mrs. George j.
H. Aldervent of Syracuse, N. Y, who
boarded the train at Lincoln. She still
showed traces Of the experience through
which she had passed.
"When the houses began to fall" she
said, II saw little girl dressed in white
start from one of the houses and run
down the street with her hands above
her head.
Just then the side of house came
soaring through the air. and. shooting
suddenly downward, 1t struck the child
and buried her beneath it. 1 closed my
eyes; could look no more"