The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-04-08
FORMER HONESDALE BOY SAW
OMAHA TORNADO
ROBERT G. CROSSLEY, SON OF
THOMAS CROSSLEY OF THIS
PLACE, WRITES.
Could See Huge Yellow Funnel Shap-
ed Cloud Pass Through City-Less
Than Ten Minutes Duration
Swept Path Three Miles Wide.

Than Ten Minutes Duration
Swept Path Three Miles Wide.
The following letter was received
a few days ago in compliance to a
request sent to Mr.. Robert G. Cross
ley, son of Thomas Crossley, of this
place, who is in Omaha, Neb., by The
Citizen. 1t is vivid and graphic ac-
count of the tornado which struck
that city on the evening of March
10th, resulting in loss of life and do
ing millions of dollars of damage to
property. In only one other in
stance has it been equalled in the
country.
My Dear Ed
Complying with your request of
the 25th inst, 1 am pleased to fur
nish brief story of the awful catas-
trophe which visited the city of
Omaha and it's environs on the even
ing of March 10th.
At ten minutes to six in the even
ing, at the close of a sultry day, a
tornado struck the city. 1t had the
appearance of a huge yellow funnel
shaped cloud and was accompanied
by roar that was terrific. It's speed
was so great that in less than ten
minutes it had passed completely
through the city from southwest to
northeast, laying waste a strip six
miles long and a quarter of a mile
wide and either partially or wholly
destroying seventeen hundred
homes. Street cars stopped, tele-
phones were out of service and the
a;A 10, H.,
suburb in which l reside we observed
the skyline in the north, east and
south become red as fire started to
complete the work of destruction.
A heavy fall OF rain in the wake
of the tornado doubtless prevented
greater loss of life and property as
thirty-five fires were reported in the
devastated district within as many
minutes and the firemen were unable
to get their engines within fighting
distance of the flames and stumbled
through the wreckage carrying their
hose on their shoulders only to find
water plugs covered by tons of de-
bris. To add to the horror, victims
of the disaster, over the entire storm
swept area, pinned under the wreck
age, were pleading for rescue before
the flames should reach them.
At Fort Omaha, about mile
northwest of the path of the storm,
Major Carl F. Hartman, commander
in charge, saw the tornado passing
over the city, and, without waiting
for request or formal orders brought
his men, two hundred in number, on
the double quick into the storm area.
This was the first organized aid to
Oh. h. tfraaO
volunteers from the surrounding ter
ritory were working heroically to
rescue the injured and MANNED from
the wreckage. Lives were freely
risked to save life, homes of rich and
poor alike were thrown open to the
sufferers. Within an hours time the
hospitals were all filled to overflow
ing and before day light Monday
morning more than one hundred and
ten bodies had been taken from the
stricken district The list of dead
has since grown to one hundred and
thirty-seVen and more than three
hundred and fifty were seriously in
jured.
Data carefully compiled by the
committee in charge of relief work
indicates that 2,200 persons were
made homeless, 1000 houses were
wrecked and of this number $50 were
totally demolished with an aggregate
property loss of $7,50O,000. Cash
contributions for the relief work to
date amount to $152,000. Five hun
dred automobiles, their use donated
by their owners, are engaged in con-
veying supplies and aid to the needy
and suffering. One hundred twenty
union carpenters to-day donated
their services. School buildings were
badly damaged, eleven churches were
wrecked and three converts partial
ly destroyed. A children's home was
almost demolished and several of the
children, blown through the win
dows, we're killed.
} The work of relief is in charge of
a committee of fifty from which has
been selected an executive committee
of seven. The devastated district
was thoroughly canvassed and rec
ord secured of every family together
with their immediate needs. Six re-
lief stations were established in vari-
Gus parts of the district and from
these stations supplies of all kinds
food, clothing, bedding and furniture
have been freely furnished to those
needing them.
While a week has elapsed since the
tornado the full enormity of the de-
vastation has just begun to be felt.
For several days after the storm
Omaha as a business centre was
paralized while friend sought for
friend and mourning relatives bur-
led their dead.
Never before has Omaha or Ne
braska been visited by so great ca
lamity. In only one or two instances
has it been equalled in the country.
Though the full enormity of the loss
of life and homes is known, the
mourning for lost ones, the grief and
despair over wrecked homes and for
tunes can only be healed by time.
If space would permit unnumbered
deeds of heroism could be told,
scenes pitiful and heartrending de-