The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-11-10
RNAD0 III MARYLAND LEAVES DES0LATI0N IN WAKE
IS Killed and Two Score Hurt
by Windstorm--11 School Pupils
Among ead--BuiIdlng Is Crushed

l
and Power of Disturbanc.
"Details Are Tragic
La Plata, Maryland, Nov. 10. -lF-
5; DesolatiOn remained in the wake to
day of "a tornado that wrecked hayo,
and destruction yesterday along
path at times 500 yards wide through
portion Of southern Maryland, kill
ing l5 and injuring two score, mostl,
school children, here, and scvcrcl,
injuring four more ut Cedarvillc. ri
miles northeast of here.
Sweeping up from out of the Poto.
mac, the disturbance swoopcd anc
twisted internationally but concen.
trated its fury upon the school house
here where 81 pupils, teachers and
attendants were gathered. Eleven Of
the children were killed and most OF
the others injured when the wooden
walls Of the building were seized and
flung flat.
At least a dozen farm houses and
barns in the path were levelcd Ia
the earth and the damage was csti.
mated ut thousands of dollars. The
loss of life was small in comparison
to the strength and power of the dis.
turbance because it passed through
sparsely settled regions.
The school house was the only
place in the region where any appre-
ciable number of persons was gath
cred.
Its contents. human and inaninrate,
were strcwn over radius Of more
than q quarter Of mile.
Bodies Carried $50 Feet
Some of the children had been
blown ut least 750 feet. Other bod
les were impaled against some tree
in mute evidence Of the storms dew
ast2tiOn.
There had been, according to Miss
Ethel Graves, % year old teacher OF
the elementary class which consist
cd Of IS Of the younger children, no
warning and no time to anticipate OF
avoid the shock. Cut and bruised
about the eyes, nose and head, she
refused medical attention until she
knew everything possible had been
done for her charges.
1T was just few minutes before
) O'clock" she said, "that I heard "a
runnbling noise and the wind seemed
to increase tremendously. was get
ting ready to take the children to
some safer place when the glass from
all windows blew out.
THE frightened children were
grouping themselves about me when
it seemed suddenly as though they
and everything in the room about
me had been jerkcd UP by some un
seen hand.
"Then we all were flying in the
air. 1t seemed as though some Of the
children and parts Of the building
passed me several times.
II lost consciousness and | do not
know how much later it was when
recovered.
II saw Wilson Bowling and asked
him to take the baby that was living
across my body. When he picked up
the poor child, shc was dead.
Clothes Torn OFF
"Others about me were dead, some
others were badly injured. and many
of them had their clothes torn from
their bodies"
Miss Mary Carpenter sat crying at
her post in the telephone office. No
relief was possible-the tragedy had
bereft her Of her associate in the cx-
change.
Immediately after the storm struck
she set ito work to get into communi-
cation with Washington and neigh
boring "oints. She succeeded and
aid in the form Of ambulances and
medical assistance was despatched
immediately from the capital.
Into the telephone exchange pour
ed frantic calls for aid, frantic APP
pcals from parents as to the fate
Of their children, frantic inquiries
from inside and outside the town con-
cerning its occupants and the extent
Of the tornado damage.
Each name that passed over the
wire meant death or injury to some
friend or acquaintance Of Miss Car
cried but she continued
for long hours to plug through the
calls.
Every Family Affected
into each home in the community
the hand Of tragedy reached and scat
tered death or injury to it's occu
pants or relatives and friends, but
through some quirk, the tornado
avoided the center Of La Plata, which
embraces only four square blocks.
At Cedarville, which has IS occu-
pants, train on the Washington
and Point Lookout rail
way was stopped by fallen tree.
Owen P. Grimes, q brakeman, heard
screams from his home, so yards
away. He ran to the house to find
Mrs. Grimes under an overturned
stove which crushed her hips. Her
lress was in flames. Two of the three
children also were injured.
At Baden, two miles from Cedar
vile, r. F. Ward went to the back
door Of store to watch the storm,
and the wind swept him away with
the door. He was dropped, uninjured,
but the wind took his trousers.
Among the many stories Of the
told by relief workers, one
dealt with the family Of Mr.. and Mrs.
Willie Bean. Utter poverty prevent
ID the family from purchasing shoes
Tor Alice, the six-year-old daughter,
and this kept her away from the
school room in which the disaster |
,entered. But the same utter power
y. relief workers pointed out, raises
The question ~ to where thc family
will obtain money 10 bury Edward,
The 10-year-odd SOP who was blown
from the school room to hds death, |
md how will the family care, they
ssk, for Theresa Estolle, aged 8, who |
vas 20 badly injured she may die. |
Che father ts unable to work becansAl
81 broken lAg and .only two Of the |
Deven children are old enough to
work.