The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-03-27

people were hurrying out on the
road, north and south. with few be-
lodgings clutched in their arms, more
for protection against the storm than
anything else, so far as I could see.
"I went directly to the schoolhouse,
after running and walking two and
half miles, and the first thing / saw
there was the bodies of about twenty
little children laid out on mattresses
and blankets. There was no one there
TO claim them, so thought the people
whom | had seen on the road were
their parents, but l learned later that
the children's parents had been killed
or injured, and those who were not
dead were being hurried by automo-
bile, special relief train and ambu-
lances to hospitals in Carbonate and
Duquoin.
THE principal of the school was
there trying to identify the bodies OF
the pupils. He also was worrying
over the safety of two girl teachers
who were unaccounted for. The prin-
cipal was bloody from his injuries and
staggered in his walk. He had barely
escaped with his life.
Carried Bodies From Ruins.
"About twenty-five bodies of school
children were piled up just outside the
Fairgrounds, and a search was being
made for others in the ruins. While
stood there they took some OF the
bodies away and brought others OUT OF
the building, which by then was a
mass of smoldering ruins, fire having
destroyed what the cyclone did not.
1.-The hallway Of the school had
caved in, and what few rescuers were
on hand were trying TO uncover other
bodies of pupils and locate the two
missing teachers.
81 walked out beyond the school
grounds and near the city limits saw
the bodies of two babies, apparently
about six or eight months old. They
were dead and their baby clothes had
been torn from them.
Sees People Fleeing Town.
"Every tree that was left standing
and every fence had garments, bed
clothes and household goods hurled
against the west side of them. This
indicated the storm travelled eastward.
/ saw furniture, automobile tops and
clothing scattered everywhere. and
saw many people fleeing from the
town with hardly any garments.
1.-The business section was practi-
cally destroyed by fire and wind and
nearly every home was fat on the
ground.
II saw about forty automobiles piled
up In one big pile and thought this
was q garage that had been struck.
"Then l saw another car just out
side of town that looked like the PEG
pie were trying to get away, but had
failed. The car had blown from the
road over to the railroad right of way
and was wrecked, but I could find no
bodies.
Firemen Aid In Rescue Work.
81 offered what help 1 could, and
they told me the bodies were first
taken south TO Carbonate, but that
the hospital there was soon filed and
they then took the injured to the Du,
quoin hospital, north of De Soto.
Automobiles were stretched along
the hard roads north and south of
De Soto for nearly three miles, short
time after the cyclone.
"The fire departments Of Duquoin
and Carbonate were sent to De Soto,
but they were unable to do anything
and the firemen pitched In to do res
cue work. / could see them digging
the bodies out of the schoolhouse and
other buildings.
II met two girls on the road on my
way back to Tamaroa. Their faces
were bleeding and their clothes were
torn. One of them said: How did
you get out, and the other answered,
Il climbed out of the window and
said, how did you get outY The first
said, I don't know They were wan
dering up the road and seemed not to
know where they were going"