The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1917-01-05
Loss of Life Is Reported to
be Heavy as Result
of Tornado.
HUNDRED KILLED
OKLAHOMA, is REPORT
Thirteen Children Die i'm School
House Many Towns
in Ruins.

~ IoiE@uo swept more llilH SIN
cities in Arkansas last night, leaving
death and destruction in its wake. ac-
cOrding to dispatches to The Tribune.
Reports from Memphis say Success,
Ark, was wiped out. 4 dispatch from
Little Rock early this morning re-
ported that DanvilIe, GAINESVILLE and
Russellville were also badly damaged
and that number of people had been
killed. Other cities were struck by
the storm. but the loss WAS not heavy.
H. II. Washburn, the wcll-known
conductor on the HOxie. last night re-
ported to The Tribune that heavy
damage had been done by the wind
in the lower Missouri counties and all
along the Hoxie line in Arkansas. He
had also received a report that Sue
cess, Ark. had been blown away.
A dispatch to The Tribune last night
from Oklahoma City, places the num-
Der of dead in the cyclone which swept
that State yesterday afternoon at 100
or more. The message says: ''The
tornado swept a path four miles wide
through Southeastern Oklahoma. Sew
eral schools were destroyed and it is
impossible to ascertain the number Of
dead pupils. Featherston, town of
1000, was devastated. Farm houses
and buildings throughout the course
of the storm have been carried away.
Rescue parties in automobiles are
searching the storm-ridden district for
survivors.
at is known that eleven children
were killed at Vireton, when a school
building was wrecked. 1t will not be
possible TO determine the number of
dead until the searchers have cOmplet-
ed their rescue work"
Telegraph and telephone wires are
down throughout the territory in Ar
kansas which was swept by the storm,
and it is impossible to learn the. ex-
tent of the damage A man living
near Success, Ark, communicated with
Memphis that the city had been. re-
duced to ruins.
Relief expeditions have been organ
lied and are hurrying to the stricken
cities. Little Rock reported that phys
icians and nurses had been dispatched
to the towns.
The steady downpOur in the Cape
last night again flooded the streets
in all parts of the city, but nowhere
was there any considerable damage
done. Although the rain was Just as
heavy as a week ago. Broadway and
other streets were not damaged. A
few of the wood blocks were again
torn up.
The north side of the tunnel over
the c. G. & y. tracks on Good Hope
street caved in last night at about 10
O'Clock and covered the tracks with
debris. The Street Commissioner was
called out and placed red lantern
around the cave-in in order to warn
pedestrian of the danger.
A lake was formed at the interser-
ton of Spanish and Independence
streets, where the water rose far above
the sidewalk and threatened to enter
the stores on the corner. The water
came down Broadway in torrents and
against made the street impossible
for at least an hour. Several cellars
along Main street were flooded and a
gang of men were kept busy until
late after midnight pumping the water
from the easements.
The intersection Of Broadway and
Middle street was filled with water
that had stagnated because the sewer
could not carry off the water from the
street. Some Of the streets in the
outlying parts of the city were so sog-
gy that they were not fit for traffic.
As result of the heavy rain ali
southbound trains were late. The
evening train arriving from St. Louis
was more than two hours behind the
scheduled time. The trains we're tiert
up by the heavy rain.