Rensselaer Gazette, Volume 2, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 June 1858 — More of the Ellison Tornado—--Description of the Scene. [ARTICLE]

More of the Ellison Tornado—--De-scription of the Scene.

The Chicago Tribune, says the Indianapolis Journal, sent a reporter to the scene es the late awful catastrophe at Ellison, 111., and in Thursday’s issue we find a graphic description of the jicene and an authentic, report of the extent of the disaster. We condense the most interesting portions of the account below. It Appears that the number killed is less than was at first stated, only thirteen having died so far, though several more are not expected to survive. The town contained two stores, a warehouse, a tavern, and thirty dwellings, with about two hundred inhabitents. All the inhabitants were more or less injured. THE STORM. * On Sunday evening, the 30th of May, about five o’clock, the residents of South Prairie noticed a funnel shaped cloud, the fan or tail about five hundred feet wide,moveing with almost inconceivable rapidity from west to east, and so near the surface of the ground that at times; it seemed to strike the \ earth and rise again. The cloud was black, accompanied with terrific thunder and light-ning,-hail and raini. Its. extreme length was not over six or eight hundred feet and its thickness only some fifty feet, and those ; who witnessed its progress asse:t that at times they could see that the air was apparently entirely undisturbed and clear above and below it. The storm-fiend—we know of no better name for the devastating cloud—destroyed fourteen houses in South Prairie, killing and wounding a number of persons, and a few minutes past five o’clock burst with the fury of a demon upon Ellison, destroying every building but four, killing seven persons outright and injuring every other inhabitant. It then rose and passed on to the east, striking the earth again within a distance of three miles,| destroying a flew fences, then rose again high in the air and passed out of sight. When we arrived (at the ruined village a sceneof disaster presented itself which nothing we can write will exaggerate. Boards, timber and debris of every description were scattered in all directions about the site occupied by the town, and over the prairie to the east for a distance! of two miles. The first building struck was the two story frame store of Mr. Joseph Knowles. This was lifted from its foundation, wh'rled around two or three times in the cloud, and carried across the street, where it burst into small fragments, and its contents were torn to shreds and so scattered that not even a yard of goods has been found. The next house destroyed was Dr. Yoho’s, a large frame structure. It was carried to the opposite side of the street, lifted high into the air and shattered into a thousand pieces. In this manner twenty-three dwellings, two stores and the warehouse were utterly destroyed, and so rapidly was this done that no time was permittedithe terror, stricken inhabitants to escape from their homes. So thoroughly complete was the destruction that not a vestige ot the houses or their contents I remain, save scattered boards and timbers, | and here and there a fragment of a garment ior a broken piece of furniture. One of the residents, whom we saw searching for his scattered goods, informed us that he had been unable to recognize among the ruins anything he had owned. Another stated that he was quite certain that nothing of his had escaped total destruction. During tfie passage of the cloud the water fell iu sheets and the thunder and lightning was terrific. But fopr buildings are left standing in the town, and two of these, al-j though out of the immediate track of the storm/are so shattered as to be untenable.