Evening star., 1927-04-14
TROOPS IN CHARGE
OF TORNADO ZONE
Toll in Texas Town Stands
at So Dead, d Missing :
and ITO Injured.
By the Associated Press.

bS tuS AssoPldte0 EFHSG.
ROCK SPRINGS. Tex. April IL
Military rule today placed relief and
salvage operations here or an ell
cient schedule as the casualty list TN
the tornado that raZed this inland
plateau town Tuesday night stood a,
50 dead 1 reported missing and up
ward of 10 injured
More than 70 of the more seriously
injured were in hospitals at san N
tonic, 120 miles east of here. About
the same number received treatment
in an improvised hospital at Camp
Wood, AZ miles south.
Two women and a child died at San
Antonio late last night. They were
identified as Mrs. Dottie Fleming,
Nicholetta MOntell. Z, and Mrs.
Adams. James Borland, 40, died on
Red Cross train yesterday. while an
unidentified woman succumbed in
one of the 10 Army airplanes sent
from Kelley Field, San Antonio. to
speed removal of the injured.
Uvalde Is Relief Center.
IJvalde, 70 miles southeast and the
nearest main line railroad point, con-
tinued as relief headquarters where
the Red Cross supervised evacuation
Of the injured and dispatched sup
plies to approximately 200 survivors.
Highways weakened by floods and
slippery mountain roads slowed traf'
/ fc from several nearby towns. Al
| though a narrow guage railroad con-
| meets Camp Wood with Uvalde, It
| proved of little value in solving trans
| portation problems. A fleet of ambu'
| Iances and automobiles was used to
remove the injured.
With cavalrymen from Fort Clark
on guard, relief work was we'll or
ganized About 80 Of the dead were
| buried in a hillside cemetery yester-
day. Dynamite was used to dig the
graves while volunteer carpenters
made caskets when a supply from a
nearby town was exhausted. Several
of the dead were still unidentified.
Communication Restored.
Communication was restored when
| field telephone was connected with the
! San Angelo Standard where the mes
| sages were relayed by the Associated
! Press. Assistant Adjt. Gen. Nichols
was the first to use the circuit. He
| offered to send more troops or Texas
| Rangers, but apparently decided the
| detachment of cavalry was sufficient.
Soldiers and volunteers made every
| effort to build shelters for the surviv-
| orc. as only about 10 building were
| IlcH on foundations and most Of these
| were badly damaged.
/ Few persons apparently witnessed
| the approach of the storm. as it struck
| with little warning. Frank Rahmstorf,
| San Antonio, told of watching the
| twister for several miles.
| Rahmstorf said the funnel-shaped
| cloud raced along with it's 'greenish-
| yellow" center set off by black back
ground.
Describes Storms Havoc.
eat 1929 o'clock it broke" he said
Just a swish and a roar, then havoc
and pandemonium. The cloud dipped
and seemed to grasp the city. For six
minutes It ragged and rOared. l took
refuge in the Valentine Hotel and man.
aged to seek refuge under heavy tim
bers and escap ped unhurt.
II could see trees. human beings.
houses and large buildings hurled
about like so much chaff. Scantlngs
were lifted and driven through the
bodies of victims who sought to escape.
1t resembled more a battle field in
France than q peaceful Texas town"
The tornado swept virtually every
| thing from an area Of approximately
| four square miles. 1t seemed to GEN.
r, ter here.
Rain and Wind Continue.
Rain and wind that followed the
| twister continued in Texas yesterday
| to cause damage at widely separated
| places. Upward of a dozen towns re-
| ported more than a score injured and
| heavy damage from high winds.
| Two churches were destroyed at
| Robert Lee in southeast Texas. a baby
was killed and farm buildings wrecked
at Watson community between Dallas
and Fort Worth. Houses were also
damaged at Ballinger, Lufkin and At
| lanta, while several were injured in
| Bell and Denton Counties.
| A high wind swept northeast Texas
last night, Gripping communication
| lines. No one was known to have been
| killed.