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WROUGHT WOFUL WORK AMONG NEIGHBORING FARMERS. ACCOUNTS OF SATURDAY’S STORM. The Damage and Destruction More General Than at First Supposed. News of a terrible storm in Posey county reached here late Saturday night, and but few particulars of the affair could be learned. Sufficient information was received, however, to show that no terrible storm had passed over a portion of country lying in Posey and Vanderburg counties. The width of the cyclone, as near as can be ascertained, was about seven hundred yards. All along the route over which the storm passed, the effectiveness of the work of destruction is seen. Farm houses, barns, sheds, orchards and groves, all are laid low, portions of some of them being carried for miles by the force of the wild. The 1st place visited by the storm was the farm of a widow woman named Deiz, living at St. Phillipa, on the Southeastern railroad. Wet son Joe was working in the barn with some laborers, when he had to go to the house for something. As he was returning here the storm coming and called out to the men in the barn to leave their work and come out. They responded quickly to his call, and had no sooner left the barn than the wind struck it with the fury of a demon, and hurled the timbers in all directions.A piece of heavy plonk struck Joe Deig on the leg, breaking it, and one of the laborers also had his leg broken by a heavy iron bar failing on it. One of Deig’s hands was severely injured. A man named Henry Wasem, the mail agent at St. Phillips, was on his way to the Postoffice for the mail when the storm came up, and he sought refuge under a shed. He had been there but a few moments when the wind suddenly struck the shed and falling, killed him and the mule here riding instantly. An express wagon in the shed,was smashed into smithereens. Later advices from the widow Deig’s state that about four hundred bushels of wheat, and about eighty tons of hay were blown away by the wind. All of the out buildings were razed to the ground. Julio Folz, a farmer living a short dis tance from the widow Deig’s, had his dwel ling house wroofed and all the trees in his orchard—about three hundred in number— blown down. The orchard was a very pro ductive one, and in a few short moments the labor and peviert care of years was laid waste. Another farmer named Applegate had his house blown to the ground, and his orchard partially destroyed. Imubert Karis had his house unroofed, fortunately escaping further damage. A new barn belonging to a man named Frank Koraisle was blown down, and por tions of the timber carried away by th force of the wind. . The house of Andrew Shiller, in German township, was moved two or three feet, and considerable damage was done to dwellings and farm property in Armstrong township. The most serious damage is reported at the farm of Francis Brandis, on the Blairs ville road. Here the atmospheric demon played sad havoc with everything on the farm and vicinity. Mia Brandis was sitting at a window when she first noticed the approach of the storm, and immediately rose to close the door. Which was standing partly star. She had scarcely reached it. When with a terrible and death-forboding roar, the storm was upon her, and striking the house broadside, leveled it to the ground, burying herself and four children in the ruins. Some of the neighboring farmers soop arrived on the scene and released the children with that little difficulty. It was some time before they could ascertain the exact place where Mrs. Brandis was, but as soon as it was discovered they act to work with axes, and chopping the debris away released her. The lady was very badly bruised, especially about the breast, and was at once removed to a neighboring house and medical aid sum moned. The doctors did all they could for the unfortunate woman, but at last ac counts her life was despaired of. Mr. Broadis at the time of the disaster was at the grocery of Mr. George Hof on Nigh Street, and had just started for home as the rain began to fell. On arriving at the farm not a vestige of his numerous barns and outbuildings met his gaze. Some of the furniture of the house was carried two or three miles, while more of it could not be found at all. Mr. Brandis’ loss is probably the heaviest of all the lesses, but 23 no figures have yet been received, it is impossible at this writ ing to state the amount. Fuller details Will probably be received to-day. FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO— DEATH OF JAMES M'GREGOR. The storm which did so much damage in Posey did not exhaust its force in that county, but sped on its errand of destruc tion through portions of Gibson, Pike and Dubois. It seems to have been a whirl wind, and in some places its power appears to have been almost irresistible. An im mense amount of damage was done to prop erty, and yesterday’s information adds another to the list of killed. After leaving Posey county it struck Louis Striker’s barn, which it demolished. It next struck Jos. Allman’s place, level ing his wheat and fencing, and doing con siderable other daage. Frank Tepe was the next sufferer in the track of the cyclone. His large frame barn wee destroyed, his orchard prostrated, most of the trees being uprooted, and two of them being carried two miles before they were dropped. His wheat was also leveled, and a pece of timber from the barn was hurled through the side of the house where the family were sitting a sup per, striking and smashing the chair on which a child was sitting, but fortunately not injuring the child. The house was badly wrenched and damaged. James T. Bell had the roof of his house blown off, and other serious damage done on his place. At the farm of James C. McGregor, some three miles from Somerville, the most fatal fury of the gele wee spent, Mr. McGregor was in his barn with six of his children when the demon of the storm came upon them. ‘The barn was almost instantly wrecked, Mr. Mesregor being badly in jured, but retaining strength to carry one of his little ones out of the ruins, the others following. When he got outside into the lane, he observed his wife and the other two children emerging from the wreck of the house. He told them that he had received his death blow, and his fears proved true, for he died on Sunday morn ing, and was buried on Monday, the pea le of the vicinity to the number of five Paares attending the funeral. Mrs. Mc Gregor was seriously injured on the back of the head by a falling pieces of timber, but it is thoughtthe will recover. One of the children is also severely hurt, the reat suffering only slight bruises except the youngest, a baby, that was uninjured. Mr. McGregor was attended by Drs. Skel ton, of Louisville, and Tyner, of Lynnville, in the house of his brother, some half mile awew, where he was taken after the acci dent, and where he died. His head was badly cut and bruised, but his death re sulted from internal injuries in the heat. Arch Fares’ barn, in Wike county, was wrecked, and the trees on his place torn up by the roofs and prostrated to the ground. At Mr. Coleman’s large frame house was blown down and a barn destroyed. In places the tornado tore up the ground in ditches, from fifty to one hundred yards, long. In one place a piece of the gable end of a barn was found several miles away from where it had been carried off by the wind. In another a tree three feet thick was twisted into splinters and blown away, leaving nothing but the jagged elump; and there werrs stil other cases of huge trees being twisted off and cried a dis tance of a mile or more. ‘The tornado has also been heard from in the neighborhood of Jasper, Pubois county, but no information of the damage has been reeved.
Newspaper Details
Princeton Democrat
Princeton, Indiana, US
Sat, Jun 05, 1880
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Angela B.
IN, USA 28 Apr 2026
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