Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1883 — A TORNADO’S PATH, [ARTICLE]

A TORNADO’S PATH,

ft Leads from Rfanoari to Wisconsin, and Is Strewn with Death , „ and Destruction. Tracing the Wlndv Monster from Its BLrtM Its Digappearanoe. Of the most extensive and damaging visitations of toe kind ever experienced in the Northwest Its trail of desolation and death IS visible from me^count^m^M^ovrt^oomd?& e ’lbe storm serais to have consisted of a series of funnel-shaped clwids, that burst out here and there, darting to the earth, pulverising farmSt tog up into the heavens, only to pounce down again at some other point and resume their horrible work of destruction. Thus this frightful phalanx of funnels pursued their course, bobbing up and then down strain, for a course of 300 miles until the waters of Lake Michigan arrested them in their wild career. The loss of life inflicted by the awful visitation numbers at least seventy, while hundreds of unfortunates have been more or less severely injured, many of them, It is feared, beyond the hope of recovery. The vagaries vund eccentricities of the cyclone defy enume r atlon. Preserving one gone) a 1 couisa itom northwest to southeast, it wobbled and twisted in every conceivable way. It was no respecter of persons or property, Everything in its path was hurled violently to the earth or carried away. Massive oak and stalwart hickory trees were as pipe-stems before the terrible blavt: and as for telegraph poles and fence-rails, the windy monster played with them as H they had been lueifer matohes. Not satisfied with raining home 3, it scattered their content* upon every hand In one instance a tea-poj was landed in the boughs of a tree, where it was caught and held At another place, piece t of a lady s necklace were found in a hedge fence, under careened stoves, and in various out-of-the-way placea All of the wearing apparel of one family was tom to shreds, so that it could not be worn. One bran's vest was blown several miles away, and a roll of money was blown out of one Jot toe pockets and torn into smifil bits. In qne case a farm was swepl; dead of cornstalks, which were imbeded to ahedge on the opposite side of the field T£e cyclone took off the porch and chimney of a man’s house, nothing else being injured A piano was lifted np, carried half n mile, and dumped into tbe cellar of a house that had been blown away. Many miraculous escapes are reported In Sangamon county. Hi, a farm laborer was prostrated on the ground by tbe wind ju*t as a house passed over him, sailing in toe air like a balloon. Had he been standing np he would have been killed In the same vicinity a whole family was burled beneath the ruins of their dwelling, and all escaped injury. A man was blown out of bis house and landed to his orchard, several rods away. The house was wrecked One man’s house sailed away to toe air, and at last accounts he had not heard of it, although he had searched far and wide for his property. Peter Shaver, of Brown county, Ili, opened his door to see the makeup of the storm, when the house was taken and shaken to atoms. He found •Mmup.if to the top of a cotton-wood tree, and his wife and babies were all scattered about and insensible. Luckily they all came to, scratched and braised, but with no bones broken. . , Those who describe this terrible stormking, tell of a sudden huto of the descent of a black cloud with a heat fiery and white; of a glare of lightning and a roar of unchained elements. The rumble of the approaching storm was like the thunder of tonumberable wheela The next instant it was over, leaving in its track ruined homesteads and green fields, blasted as if by fire. One man describes it as consisting of three clouds of smoke and fire, rushing along through the air with the smaller end of the funnel near the earth. The storm seems to have had its birth west of the Mississippi and just north of the Missouri river. It first made itself felt to Montgomery county, Mo., where it blew down a good many houses, killed four or five people, and maimed a dozen or so more. It thence crossed the Mississippi river into Madison county, IIL, passing four miles south of Alton. Houses, trees, fences and everything to its path were razed to the ground or carried into toe air.' Eleven people were killed and upward of twenty wounded in Madison county. In Jersey county a number of dwellings were demolished, three people killed and several severely injured, in Montgomery county a great many buildings were borne down by the fierce blast, and several fatalities occurred. At Woodboro a church and a school-house were blown down At a farm-house near there, saw-logs two feet in diameter were picked up and carried away like feather a In Macoupin county the cyclone tore several farm-houses to pieces. George Baker’s house, near Brushy Mound, was blown to atoms, and hlB wife and three children killed. They were blown into a tree and found dead. Two other children were badly injured. Eleven persons were in one house that was demolished, and, strange to say, only one was killed Green county suffered severely. Farm houses, barns, fences and fruit trees were leveled to the ground Three people were killed and about a dozen badly hurt. A number of farm-houses were wholly or partially wredked in Christian county, and several persons injured, though no fatalities are reported It was to Morgan county, however, that the hurricane was more sev; rely felt, both to regard to loss of life and* damage to property, than at any other point in Illinois. Two funnel-shaped cyclones passed almost sim- ! pitaneoualy within a few miles of Jackson- ! voile, one north and one south of the town, | and both traveled from a southwesterly to a | northeasterly direction. One of the funnels struck the village of Liter burg, containing about 300 inhabitants, and wrecked nearly every building to the town. Seven people were killed and about thirty injured, some of them so badly that they will hardly reoover. A good many farmhouses in the vicinity were wrecked and several persons wounded. The other funnel swept over a section known as Greasy Prattle, and did nearly as much damage as the first Fourteen farm-houses were demolished, six people killed and a large number injured, in Mason county several farmhouses were blown down, two persons killed and others injured. Hail fell in great chunks that killed live stock. The hurricane was very damaging in Brown county.' Dwellings and barns without number went down, and many people were injured, a few of whom will probably not recover. De Witt comity also suffered severely. About fifty farm-nouse3 were wrecked in the county, five people were killed ’and about twenty injured, some of them very severely. Macon county was likewise ase vere sufferer by the terrible visitant Farmhouses, bayns, fences and trees were swept away like feathers. Four people were Killed and more than a dozen crippled. In Logan county several farm dwellings and outhouses were torn to pieces, three Eeople killed cud quite a number injured. a Menard county about a dozen dwellings were wrecked and a child was killed. In Sangamon county a great number of houses were blown down, three lives were lost, and several persons received injuries more or less severe. In Sullivan and Champaign counties the tornado did considerable damage to property, but no Jives were lost In Livingston county one woman was killed, four or five persons were injured, and much damage to property wasinflieted. Thecyclone seems to have paused here in its terrible work, and is non heard of again until McHenry and Boone counties, in the extreme northern part of Illinois, are reached. Here it bobbed down to the earth again, and resumed its fantastic tricks with increased fury. In Boone county several houses were swept down, two men were killed, and considerable live stock was lo t In McHenry county tbe damage was still greater. Between thirty and forty farm-houses were blown down, five people were killed and a great many wounded, and the damage to farm property was immense, fences, orchards and live stock forming the principal losses. This completes toe work of destruction by the funnel-shaped demon in Illinois. From McHenry county it jumped over the State line, and is next heard cf at Bloomfield, Wia. whefe it bluy down several houses and killed one man. Thence it passed between Geneva Junction and Geneva Lake, doing little damage, however. Its next work was in tl#s vicinity Of Union Grove, where it demob shed churches, school-houses, dwellings and barns, killed four persons and wounded seven or eight. In this region at least four separate and entirely distinct funnels were seen within a radius of three or four miles. They seemed to unite, and thus strengthened! the storm demon shooed its course for the ill-fated city of RacSfie. where it resumed its terrible work of d<Sath and devastation. TKe first reports oififche tornado’s work at Racine exaggerated the casualties, but the damage to property was greater than the first accounts to cheated Only eight people were killed outfight, but the injured number ninety-nine. Many of these ore horribly maimed and some of them will never recover, while others will be cripples for life. About thirty cf the injured were sent to toe hospital for treatment The others were cared for in private houses. About 250 people were made homeless by the cyclone at Racine Prompt action was token by the local authorities to relieve the sufferings of the homeless. From Raoine the demon of destruction Sed into Lake Michigan, where it became pated and lost its power for further hWto before reaching toe eastern shop#,