The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-05-28


Charleston, lying 10 miles cast Of
Mattoon, with 5000 population, suf
fered larger loss in proportion 10 its
size than Mattoon, the known dead
| totally 81, with 80 or more missing
| Scores were injured in Charleston al
so and some business buildings were
wrecked, including the Maple hotel
| two railroad stations, three grain ele
| vators and lumber yard.
The twisting wind chose its victims
in spots, and reports from the rural
regions indicate that small loss of
| life occurred out side Mattoon and
Charleston and only at separated
places. Sweeping through Modesto,
east of Mattoon, where much damage
was done, the storm was worse, drop
ping on the north part of the city.
Leaving unscathed the business sec
ton and barely touching the indus
trial plants. the whirlwind lifted its
tentacles until it reached Charleston.
There the tornado again gripped
the earth and tore away substantial
buildings. crushing out the lives of
two score or more human beings,
amid falling houses, hurting timbers
and swapping trees The storm fit
fully wore itself out in the north
western corner OF Indiana, causing
more havoc here and there as 1t
hoped along an erratic course to its
disappearing points.
Fire broke out in Mattoon, but as
calm succeeded the windstorm, it was
soon put out without any serious dam
age For hours there was a confused
rushing about of the survivors in the
stricken area, seeking relatives and
friends Efforts to send for help were
thwarted by the collapse of wires. but
finally a messenger was dispatched to
Champagne by automobile so that
relief train arrived before midnight.
Later an uncertain wire to Springfield
was made workable, and militia was
sent to aid in guarding property and
helping the homeless. Before dawn
order had been established. 4 TEN.
porary operating room was set up in
hotel Beds for the injured were
placed in the public library, the Odd
Fellows home and in various churches
and school houses.
Thousands of bandages, prepared
by the United States hospital aid So
ciety for use, were distributed to the
hospitals Hotels prepared and dis
tributed free barrels of coffee and
restaurants served meals gratis to
the homeless 10 strengthen them in
the search for lost ones. The storm
swept path four blocks wide and 35
blocks long in North Mattoon, causing
an estimated loss of S2000.000.
Leyeling all the modest homes of
those living in the wind-swept zone,
the tornado rushed through Dodge
Grove cemetery. turned over hundred
OF tombstones and demolished the
public stone mausoleum. Vast dam
age also was done in an area border
ing the swept zone and twice as large
as the 140 blocks laid waste. In this
area, however, houses were merely
shipped of chimneys, denuded of
porches, or twisted awry on founda-
tiOns, and few persons suffered death
or injury.
A few small factories standing in
the storms path were also damaged
or demolished, but the better residen
tial quarter and all the main business
part of Mattoon escaped damage. ex-
cept from flying planks and broken
hurled by the wind in some
instances for miles.
A patriotic freak of the storm at |
Mattoon was the carrying of flag
pole from the home of G. NJ. Metcalf
four blocks to the space swept clear |
of the home of Raymond Coon, where
the staff was planted in the soft
earth with stars and stripes still
flying.
Five persons are known to be dead,
several hundred are injured and many
houses demolished as the result of
the storm, perhaps the most destruc-
tive ever known in this section of the |
state, said a Valparaiso Qnd) dis
patch last night Great numbers of
livestock lie strewn about the fields |
of the various farms devastated by |
the ornado
The towns of Hebron and Kouts |
were directly in the path of the tor
nado and the extent of the rayages
thNAN 10 nv hApNhs lIt lOMHS are 4
cut off from direct communication. 1t |
is considered probable that a number |
of those injured will die
According to survivors, the cyclon- |
ic cloud seemed to strike the ground |
a short distance west of Hebron and |
swept away the buildings on several |
farms after destroying the entire west |
side of Hebron. The tornado shattered |
a big grain elevator, unroofed the |
Hotel Gordon and then swept due east |
to Kouts, whore 80 buildings were |
wrecked, including several churches |
and big elevator and creamery.
Estimates of the property damage |
place the amount at $2,000000 or |
more. The towns of Lowell, Crown |
Point, Shelby, Cedar Lake and the
adjoining territory near the Kanka- |
kee river were also visited by the tor
nado. The property damage is ex-
tensive. Communication in most di-
rections is cut off, but enough is
known to make an estimate of 40 in
iured and no fatalities.