Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1891 — A KANSAS CYCLONE. [ARTICLE]

A KANSAS CYCLONE.

Immense Damage to Property—Lon of Life. The southeastern corner of Kansas was visited by terrific storms on the 19thpausing sbmo loss of life, much damage to property and enormous damago to growing,crons. At Fort Scott it took the form of a cloud-burst, at Arkansas City a cyclone and at Emporia a tornado. Its effects were the same, however, wherever its fury was felt. Towns were flooded, houses blown over, barns demolished, fences swept away and crops drowned and laid low. At Fort Scott water poured down for one hour and fifteen minutes, the storm having the appearance of a cloud-burst. The dams of Mead <fc Hartran and of Lamb in Buck run, which flows through the center of theeity, were washed away, and the creek was swelled to vast proportions, flooding the bottoms four or five feet deep and endangering the lives of tho many families w r ho reside there. The oc.cupants cf the houses escaped as best they could, Some climbed trees, while other* were rescued by relief parties in boats. One of the relief boats was manned by John Connalii), Jr., Joe Ausman and B. W. Bowman, members of the fire company, who bravely went out into the Surging torrent to save lives. Their boat proved leaky and had to be abandoned, two of the occufJtmts saving their lives by clinging to trees. Connalin caught hold of a branch, which gave way, and he was lost in the darkness and has not been seen since. There is no doubt that ho was drowned. He was a fine young athlete of nineteen years, and was the only son of John Connalin, one of Fort Scott’s oldest and most estimable citizens. No othler lives were lost, but the damage to property wa s great, The damage to crops in a radius of twenty miles from Arkansas„.City is estimated at about $75,000. Much of the wheat was in the shopk, and although drenched with rain a great part of it can * be saved. The principal damage was to growing crops. The trial of Dr. T. J. Griffith by the Good Templars’ lodge, at Crawfordsville, was set for last Friday night, but as he did not appear he was expelled for contempt at a meeting held on the 19th. Griffith recently testified to a good moral character of a ipan who wanted a whisky license. The man was afterward refused a license. 1 Griffith is the chairman of the Phrohibition party, is a G. A. R. man and ha? been a prominent Good Templar. He recently had a light lu the lodge-room and was arrested and fined. He then sued the man who struck him for damages. It is claimed that the license affair was a set - up job to get Griffith caught so as to get him out qf the lodge. At Peru twelve persons out of the families of Abner Kissman, Daniel Whitehead, J. Summers, J. Welst and B. Smith were seriously poisoned on Sunday by eating imported dried beef purchased at a grocery store. Prompt medical attendance saved them, though the condition of soma is still serious. <