It's Work of Destruction In Hot Spring and Randolph Counties.
Black Spring, May 13, 1882. To The Editor Of The Gazette:

W.H. Highsmith was next in the course, but the family were not at home. House blown down and scattered a great distance; all the contents were destroyed, except his field notes and surveyors instruments, which, strange to say, are yet of service. Also his nursery escaped, which will afford him a means of living. It passed from there to Wm. Gillespie's, house tops blown off and farm ruined. Widow Shillito, four houses blown to atoms, and herself badly hurt and nearly everything lost.

A. S. Swindle; house blown to fragments and everything blown off; oldest daughter dangerously hurt. The balance of the family were saved by being blown into a well, which is accounted for by trying to hold together; goods all lost. Also Harriot Harveston had his house blown down. Simpson Bates, house blown down; one child badly hurt; all lost.

Then Mr. G. P. McKinney, out of ten or fifteen houses, together with his plantation, was blown down and everything destroyed. His farm is ruined; his steam engine is damaged some- what; the mill and gin were blown some distance, and Mrs. Itson who lived on the place is thought to be fatally injured. McKinney's damage is estimated to be $20,000. It then passed on through a part of Shelton Fulton's plantation, doing great damage to his farm. That is some fifteen miles northeast of here. Thus it is seen that we heard from a space in its course of thirty miles, and damage to the extent of $100,000. There are many persons badly damaged in property in its course that are not mentioned. There are some things very remarkable, one of which is the light personal injury done to the amount of houses blown down. The storm force is very remarkable, I saw logs and trees that were carried a distance of several hundred yards. Many trees seem to have been torn up and lifted clear into the air and carried various distances. In some places loose gravel and small stones were blown up against logs in drifts just like you have seen the same done by water. Also in many places were to be seen holes and __?__ that seem to have been blown there. The head of the storm force was a fearful whirlwind that unvailed at a fearful rage. This created a vacuum that caused a rush of wind from either side, that caused all the timber for a mile to fall in towards the main storm center, which was about one hundred yards wide. Then followed a main forward force that seemed to exceed all that had been, as it was this force that carried all those large trees spoken of such distance. At Mr. Simpson Bates his wagon was blown to pieces and two of the hubs were carried half mile; the others were not found. A ca? was blown near three miles, and stone of immense size were rolled over. There is a fearful amount of destitution in the track of the storm that the people here simply cannot believe. It would have to be seen to be appreciated, as tongue and pen must fail to describe. 
Yours truly,       
                              A. Jones.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE GAZETTE:

Last evening we had one of the largest hail storms that was ever witnessed in this section of the county, so say the "old residenters" of this place. The fearful cloud came from a northwesterly direction and reached us just at dark with almost a constant flash of lightening, and after hailing about thirty minutes it seemed as though a constant flood of millstones was pouring upon my house top for ten minutes, then the hail ceasing was followed by heavy rains during the night. I went out after the hail stopped and the earth was covered about two or three inches deep on a level in my yard with hail. I gathered up some balls as large as a hen's egg, which of course had melted some, as it was fully ten minutes before I went out after the falling of the hail. The crops of all kinds are torn all to pieces. I heard an old gentleman say this morning he passed J. W. Elliott's wheat field where he had been reaping and he could hardly tell at a distance but what the whole field was reaped. Several glass windows were broken, but no serious damages are yet heard of. The storm was about six miles wide, and went in an easterly direction.

Yours respectfully, 
G.W. Stevenson