Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 June 1907 — HAVOC IN A TEMPEST [ARTICLE]

HAVOC IN A TEMPEST

Bring* Death to Forty IP*rson» in Communlti** in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. TWENTY-HUE ALREADY DEAD Balance of the Two-Boor* Mad* Dp of Fatally Hart ... i ■ Rom of Property Beeches Up Into Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars—Wind and Rain Do the Destruction.

Chicago, June 10. Twenty-nine known dead and forty persons Injured constitute the list of casualties resulting from storms of tornado severity which swept over southern Illinois and Indiana and central Kentucky. These fatal visitations came In the shape of torrents of rain, high winds and electrical disturbances. The property damage will reach many thousands of dollars. Houses were swept away, bridges demolished and thousands of acres of growing crops destroyed.

Louisville, June 10. Twenty-one persons dead, the village devastated and several thousand acres of growing crops ruined, is the Bum total of the havoc wrought by a rain torrent that descended on Gradyvllle, Ky., and vicinity. All the dead are residents of Gradyvllle, and although reports are meager, owing to the remoteness of the place and the prostration of telephone and telegraph wires, It Is believed that no further fatalities will be reported from the surrounding country. List of Those Wbo Died. The dead are: Mrs. L. C. Nell, wife of State Senator Nell, and her four children; Mrs.Lum Hill and one child; Mrs. Carl Wilmore, her daughter and granddaughter; Pnul Wilson, 18 years old: Mrs. Hartfleld Moss and her six children; Mrs. J. W. Keltner and one child; Miss Mary Mflss. All but two of the bodies hay been recovered. Rains Create a “Tidal Wave." The disaster w T as due to the erratic behavior of Big creek, ordinarily a small stream, but which was already swollen by recent rains. When the storm precipitated three Inches of rain In an hour on* Gradyvllle and vicinity the creek leaped from its bed and took a new course with the Impetuosity of a tidal wave. The inhabitants of Gradyvllle had no warning and nearly all were at>ed when the foaming waters struck the place carrying away six large residences, a mill and a number of smaller houses. Nearly all the victims were drowned, but four were crushed by the collapse of their dwellings when the torrent struck them.

DEATH FOR ELEVEN PERSONS X Three Killed and Eight Fatally Wounded at fork, 111. York, 111.. June 10.—Three persons are dead and eight fatally Injured as a result of a tornado which practically wiped out this town. The loss to property Is estimated at $50,000. The damage to timber, fruit and crops will be more than SIOO,OOOI The dead are: Henry Rook, 00 years old, Terre Haute, Ind.; Mrs. Lucinda Pinkerton, 00 years old, York.lll.;Mrs. John Bostick, York, 111. Fatally Injured—Clyde Scott, B. F. Miller, Mrs. B. F. Miller, Mrs. 8. F. Freeman, Annabel Newman, all of York, Ill.; James Layton, Gradyvllle, Ind.: Mrs. Lydia Foster, York, Ill.; Mrs. James Layton, Grayville, Ind. Without warning the storm broke’ while most of the people were at supper. Entire families were burled in ruins of houses, and It la remarkable that the death list is not greater. The storm lasted less than four minutes. Henry Rook, of Terre Haute, who owns a valuable lumber mill here, had just returned from the home of a neighbor with a pail of mill;. He was picked up sixty yards from ths bouse, havlug been struck on the head by flying timbers. Mrs. Lydia Pinkerton was blown into the top of a tree several hundred feet from the house. She died In a few minutes. Mrs. John Bostick was burled In the ruins of her home Just across the river from York. She died without regaining consciousness.

The Methodist Protestant church was demolished and the proprietor of a saloon across the street was hurled through his door Into a thick hedge fifty feet away. Many horses and cattle were blown away, and the carcasses apparently fell Into the Wabash river and were washed away. Heavy damage also was caused at Grayville, Ind., east of here. The home of James Layton was demolished. Layton was blown out of his house and buried under the ruins. He is believed to be fataMy Injured. Mrs. Layton also sustained dangerous tj nor lea.

HEAVY DAMAGE NEAR DCQCOIN About $300,000 In Town and Vidni* ty—Mrs. Kegl«-y's Escape. Duquoln, 111., June 10.—According to telephonereports from) the surrounding farming community It is estimated that the loss caused by the cyclone which visited this county will reach $150,000, Including crops, fruit find property. The damage in this city will amount to nearly as much, being distributed among property aud surface mine structures. In

*er«ral Instances large tern* *rart lifted and carried a distance of a half mile. A monster corn crib at "tee Jupiter mine, north of the city, kras caught In the path of the storm and broken Into splinters. At least two dozen residences In tbe north and «|Bt part of the city were wrecked. Mrs. Martin Kegley, residing at Bumfield, north of this city, had a remarkable escape from injuries. The boggy in .which she was riding was caught in tire full force of the cyclone and carried fully fifty yards. She was violently thrown to the ground, but escaped with slight Injuries. The vehicle was swept some distance through, a Held and demolished. At New Minden the storm killed live persons, whose names are not known yet, and injured half a dozen others. Severe Storm in Kentnoky. Cattlettsburg, Ky., June 12. —This city was In total darkness during tee night, and there la scarcely a whole roof, skylight or window In town. A number of houses were completely unroofed and one dwelling house was blown from its foundations by tee most terrific storm In the history of this section. The streets are strewn with all sorts of debris, and wires of the telephone and telegraph companies are a tangled mass. The electric light plant was smashed by the falling of tee stacks and will be disabled for several days.