Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 56, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 March 1899 — WORK OF THE WIND. [ARTICLE]

WORK OF THE WIND.

Four Hundred People Homeless at Oklahoma C ity. Early Saturday morning a tornado struck Oklahoma City and left 400 people homeless. The city is in ruins; and the streets strewn with the remains of demolished homes and uprooted trees. The damage is widespread, and the property loss enormous. Friday was a delightful day, with nothing to indicate a storm. Toward nightfall the skies became overcast, and fitful gusts of wind were followed by a downpour of rain. Toward morning the rain ceased, but the wind gained in force. About 4 o’clock a. m. came the crash of falling buildings and the roar of the storm as it swept through the city, picking up houses and hurling them to the ground. Flashes of vivid lightning added to the terrors of the people. Above the roar of the storm and the crashes of wrecked dwellings could be heard the cries of women and children, the groans of the injured, and the loud voices of men seeking to render aid to the distressed in the hour of peril.