The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-03-21
INJURED TELL
OF H0RR0RSIN
GREATT0RNAD0
Stories Reveal Suffering OF
Victims and Miraculous
Escapes from Death

Benton, Ill.,, March 21.-Chats with
injured people brought to Bentor
from the Parrish storm area, re-
veals stories of horrors and pathos
some Of them telling of miraculous
escapes from the storms wrath ant
bearing out all but unbelievable
facts.
The family Of Everett Parks, re-
siding u half mile from Parrish, is
authority for one of these stories
Mrs. Parks is receiving treatment
in the Christian Church relief hos.
pital here and on the cot with he1
is her six months old baby, Imogene
The mother has slight fracture in
her skull and the baby's face is Gu,
and bruised. Little Margaret.
years old, and her brother aged
four, are at the home of Benton peo.
pie where they are being looked
after and their minor injuries
treated. The father yesterday after
noon was able to leave the relief
station. Little Margaret earnestly
tells of the things she saw.
"The sky was dark and the wind
commenced blowing, oh, so hard"
she said. eve were scared and be-
fore we knew it we were blown away
and our house was ruined. When
woke up my mother was holding
me tight in her arms and we were
way out in the fields. A great big
plank was on me and my dress was
gone. A nail or something had torn
my underwear. Daddy picked US up
and we went to Parrish and then
they brought US over here on the
train"
The little girls father said that
he and his family were carried a
quarter of a mile from their home,
u did not remember anything after
the storm struck until l found N.Y.
self holding fence post a quarter
of mile from the house." he said.
Il happened to glance over my
shoulder and saw my little boy in
the air only few feet above the
ground and coming directly toward
me. I reached and was barely able
to grasp him by the leg. l pulled
him down to ME, and held him un-
til the storm had passed. Then
picked up my two other babies and
led my wife to Parrish. a half mile
away. We were picked up at Par
rish and brought to Benton"
Mary Melvin, seventeen, is on a
cot near Mrs. Parks. Her mother
and five brothers and sisters were
with her in the home near Parrish
when the storm struck. When asked
what the family did to. escape the
storm, Miss Melvin said:
1--WE didn't do anything. We had
no idea it was as bad as it turned
out to be. When the wind started
to blow SO hard we tried to hold
the windows and doors to keep them
from being blown down. While we
were at this the house was lifted
up and carried away and we were
dropped several hundred feet away
from where our house stood. !
came to myself and got up but !
don't remember anything from then
on until l seemed to wake up sitting
on the porch at neighbor's home
Miss Melvin suffered a broken col
lar bone and several injuries Sof q
minor nature. Her father, Jim Mel
vim. was away from home and the
only member of the family to es.
cape injury.
Numerous narrow escapes, many
of them miraculous, were related to-
day by survivors.
Several were hurled through the
air for yards and yet lived to tel
their experiences.
II saw the tornado coming an.
warned three others in the office t,
get out" Otto Bagley, C. B. & 9
yardmaster said. "Just as
was leaving the building the rush O.
wind picked me up as If ! were ,
feather, twisted me around, and drop
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