The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1913-04-02

Inc tornado struck Omaha Sunday
at about $3.50 p. M, entering at Fifty
fourth and Center streets, the extreme
southwest, sweeping diagonally across
the city to the northwest, going over
the bluffs at about Fourteenth and
Spencer street, demolshing the Mis-.
souri, Pacific rOundhouse, leveling the
big trestle work of the Illinois Central
across Carter lake, wrecking some
buildings and the Rod and Gun club
and vanishing.
The path OF the storm reached for
a length of some six miles with a
width from two to six blocks.
1t resulted in 100 deaths, to which
should be added seven in Ralston and
eleven at Council Bluffs; injured, $50,
not fatally; totally demolished $50
homes; partially wrecked 1850 other
homes; eleven churches, eight schools
and number of small stores and
shops; rendered $500 persons home
less and destroyd or damaged prop
erty valued at $5,000,0OO, on which
approximately 100000 in tornado in
Surance was carried.
Weather Presaged Terrible Storm.
Preceding the storm the weather
was cloudy and unsettled, growing alb
normally warm toward evening with
Intermittent hail and rain. For hours
the barometers showed the lowest
registration. A showr of rain, sue
ceeding hail, ushered in the tempest,
and a torrent followed it from sky
of faint yellowish hue, soon deepen
ing into red with rising tongues OF
flames from buildings set afire by the
storm. But little while and the
rain ceased, nightfall was utterly
black, darkness everywhere, as all
electric and gas street lights went out,
then the mercury began to fall, and
within an hour and a half the air was
biting, steadily growing colder through
the night.
Thousands Of people saw the fatal
funnel-shaped cloud rise out of the
southwest and many watched it
throughout it's course. 1t was of dull
greyish color and seemed to emit
smoke as it came on it's mission of
death. But those who saw it, while
perhaps, haunted by the vision, will
never forget that horrifying roar ac-
tanned, deep, terrible rumbling like
the grunt Of some hideous monster in
distress, and it vibrated with sort
of hum as if keeping time to its ter
rible velocity. Nearer and nearer it
comes, more depressing and deaden-
ing and sickening the sound In the
epic speech of the Roman poet, "thun-
der roars from pole to pole, the sky
glares with repeated flashes and all
nature threatens them with immedi-
ate DEATH"
Personal Experiences, Observations.
Some have tried to describe this
tornado cloud as many great engines
rumbling on abreast to destroy city.
Remarkable experiences have been
related by those who stood and gazed
at what they believed to be their
doom.
Many charmed by the glamor, or
transfxed by fear, or bewildered be-
yond fright, stood still and gaZed at
the fleeting inferno, while others fled
for refuge to cellars or lay PROSTATE
upon the ground, and some of both
were taken, and some spared. Cellars
did not prove a sure retreat in every
case. Many became in tWinkling
the dark chambers of death.
The first trace of the tornado with
in Omaha's limits was at Fifty-fourth
and Center streets. From there it
travelled north, veering slightly to the
east, to Leavenworth street. Thence
it traversed a northeasterly course to
Fortieth and Farnam, clearing its
path as it went. At FOrtieth and Far
nam it spread it's ominous wings un-
til they stretched from Forty-second
on the west to Thirty-eighth on the
east, and thus arrayed it tore like a
ravishing demon down to the north.
Apparently it had directed it's course
in a straight line, centering about
Fortieth and Forty-first streets, but
suddenly in new caprice it veered
again little to the east and touched
it's most northern point on the west
at Saunders school, FOrty-first avenue
and Case streets.
Wise folk say cyclones and lorna
does, once they strike lowland, will
keep to it instead of turning uphill.
That is only one of the many vag-
aries people indulge about these phe-
nomena.
Wrecks the Homes Of Wealth.
In veering it mounted the beautiful
heights of Thirty-eighth street crown
ed with costly dwellings, mostly new
and built of solid material. Into their
midst it dipped as in fiendish mockery
of the magnificence puny man had
wrought And it tore through this
region of wealth and beauty as if 1t
were a canebreak, hurting houses or
parts of houses high into the air and
far down the slope of the hill to the
east.
But these cruel wings which had
spread at Fortieth and Farnam en-
comprised that rich row of architec-
tural beauty ranging along Thirty
ninth, from Farnam north to Daven-
port, buttressed by the Josylin castle.
w. A. Smiths new burnt brick res
idence, just north of Thirty-ninth and
Farnam corner, escaped with but
slight damage, but the red stone
home of H. H. Baldrige, the Crofoot
residence, a massive frame structure,
built and once occupied by former
President H. G. Burt of the Union
Pacific; tn Redick place; several 9th.
ers newer and as handsome, were
cruelty handled in this rampage. Cas-
per e. Yost's large grey brick at Thir-
tv-ninth and DaVenDOrt was given q