Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1880 — The Macon (Miss.) Tornado. [ARTICLE]

The Macon (Miss.) Tornado.

Meridian, Miss., April 28. A special to the Appeal from Macon, Miss., says: Last night at half-past eight o’clock one ol the most fearful and furious cyclones struck the northern part of this plaoe, resulting in a sad loss of life and wholesale destruction of property. The day bad been unusually sultry. At the hour stated two terrible currents of air, one from tho northeast and the other from tbe southwest, bearing clouds charged with eloctrlclty, were hurled together tight at the fated locality, ft wus a war of storms. Besides the Inoo.-sant lightning, balls of fire were seen whiiling across the clouds, varying in size fiout a chestnut to that of a man’s bead. Kight in the oenterof that part of the town around the rail rood station the storms met and the work of destruction commenced, and in less time than 1 can teU It the place was In ruins. The loss of life was fearful. Through the beating rain, against the plilless winds, our citizens rushed to the scene to aid the sufferers. Through tbe night squads of men combined went to work to remove the debris and gather up the wounded, dying aud dead that were scattered everywhere. The scene beggars all human attempts at description. To-day the citizens have closed their places of business and are devoting the day to caring for dead and wounded. Eighteen were killed outright and forty more or less wounded, some perhaps fatally. After the storm some of the ruins enugbt fire, but the fire was checked before spreading to any extent. About ten o’clock a perfect water-spout visited the scene, to render it more Horrible. Men and women wore found to-day decapitated, tbe limbs tom from their bodies, and otherwise mutilated, a quarter of a mile from their homes. Stock was all killed In that vicinity. Bolt goods from a store were found eight miles from tbe town in tree-tops. A child of Mr. Horton found a head a quarter of a mile away from the scene of tho destruction. One house near the center of the storm was whirled around and its front changed In an exactly.opposite direction. A negro woman was found dead in a field west of the depot, literally stripped of all her clothing. It rained nearly all the morning and most of the night, but a noble band of women, true to the Biblical tradition, “ Woman last at tho Cross and first at the tomb,” nrc doing all that human bunds can do in administering to%toe wounded aud dying. The only two houses remaining intact are filled with the dead and wounded. The faces of the dead and groans frumr tbe mangled and dying make up a picture that would bring sorrow to the hardest heart.' . The toss is vaiiousiy estimated at from f 125,10) tO*2jO,QUO. Macon, Miss., is about 1 25 miles south of Corinth, on the Mobile & Ohio itailroad.