Democratic Sentinel, Volume 3, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 June 1879 — Destructive Tornado. [ARTICLE]

Destructive Tornado.

. A tornado marked by terrible death and destruction recently swept over a wide stretch of country, beginning in Western Missouri and extending over a portion of Northern Kansas and Southern Nebraska. The town of Irving, Kan., was nearly destroyed. At that point the storm took on the character of a cyclone, and leveled everything in its path. About forty buildings were destroyed, fifteen persons killed, and over forty wounded, many beyond hope of recovery. In the neighborhood of Frankfort, Kan., four or five farm-houses were blown over and several persons injured, and in the town several houses were destroyed. At Beatty, Kan., a number of houses were demolished. At Centralia, Kan., several houses were unroofed, and one house and barn blown down, trees uprooted, fences laid flat, and great damage done to crops. At Dennison Mills, Neb., a Catholic church was blown down, several houses damaged, and one lady severely injured. At Manhattan, Kan.. a store in which fifteen people had taken refuge from the storm was blown down, and a woman and child killed. Near Lee’s Summit, Mo., the house of Mr. Warren was totally destroyed. Two members of the family were killed and others severely wounded. The house of Alexander Scroggs was unroofed. His wife’s skull was fractured. The houses of Dr. Dunnington and Mr. Underwood were destroyed, but their families escaped unharmed. The residence of Mr. Hutchins was tom to pieces, and the family badly hurt A son of J. H. Warden was carried through the air a distance of 100 yards and when consciousness returned he found himself in a small stream. While going through the air he saw his small brother still higher than himself, and it is supposed that he must have been thrown still further, but when found after the disaster he was returning to the house, which was nothing but a mass of debris. In falling he was impaled on a stick of broken furniture that penetrated to the depth of two and onehalf inches into his thigh, inflicting a painful but not dangerous wound. The house of Mr. Harris, near Blue Springs, was demolished. Mr. Harris his wife and little girl were killed, and three other children mortally wounded. Mr. Harris was lifted high np into the air, carried about 200 feet in the course the storm moved, and then dashed to the earth, while his wife and child were carried about the same distance in an opposite direction. One of the other children was found in a pool, fifty yards from the house, with a large bunch of wet straw and grass wrapped so tightly around his head and shoulders that it could only be removed with great difficulty. The child was but slightly injured, his escape being attributed to the mysterious bandage around him. At this point the storm-cloud burst, but came together again almost instantly with a terrific crash, bounded from the earth, came down again near the dwelling of Mr. Gore, which it passed through, leaving its side walls standing. At Delphos, Kan., five persons were killed in one house. Fifteen dead bodies were brought in from two square miles of territory. One man was taken up in his wagon, thrown to the ground again, ana instantly killed. A woman and child were thrown against a wire fence and killed. The track of the tornado throughout its entire length and breadth was marked by death and destruction. Buildings were swept away as if they had been made of paper, trees uprooted, grain cribs, fences and crops destroyed, and horses and cattle killed. The storm in all its phases lasted about two hours. It was intensely dark, and the force of the wind was perfectly resistless. When a house was struck it was totally demolished. The people could give no intelligible account further than that there was a crash and then everything flew into the air as soon as possible. Everything that the central portion came in contact with was either destroyed or scattered promiscuously. Large trees were uprooted, roots, dirt and all, and were carried hundreds of feet. As an evidence of its terrible force it laid a stone fence level with the ground, and in some cases throwing stones of one and a half cubic feet a distance of 200 feet The persons who were caught by it were in nearly all cases stripped of their clothing, and were so completely besmeared with mud that other persons were unable to recognize them until they epoke.