Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1865-07-11
A WESTERN CYCLONE.


DO IN WIsCONSIN-A VILLAGE DESTROY.
ED-ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN
PERSONS KILLED AND WOUNDED--A
SCHOOL HOUSE AND IFS OCCDFAInio
BLOWN FORTY FEET INTO IhE Alb
SAW LOGS TOSSED LIKE FEAThERRSE
HORSES AND WAGONS LIFTED AboNh
THE TREES, &C., &c.
Correspondence of the New York World.
| LA CROSSE, Wis, June 80.
Thursday afternoon, at4 o'clock there came BY
messenger news that terrible whirlWlad mao,
Wednesday afternoon. swept over ana ues'royeuS
| large portion of the village OF
vROaNA, VERNON COUNTY.
The village il thu county seat OF Vernon coun-
| IT, which ad Joins La Crosse county on the SOUTH
| east, and contains about twelve hundred inhabi'
| tants. ,
The country is rolling prairie, with oak open
| ings as the groves are called In the west Inc
buildings of the village as general tnlng, were
! not large except Ia the southern part oil the
place, which was owned and occupied by the
Weather and more en.erprising portion oil the
! population.
THE sToRM--ITs FIRST APPEARANCE.
| About a o'clock Wednes lay afternoon black
| clouds, heavily rolling, betokened severe STORM:
| The clouds did not float as they usually uo Dut
seemed to roll and gather size and blscKhess escn
moment. sudden wind sprung up, ana lnere
L
| northeast heavy cloud and trail OF vino, roll
ing close to the earth with tree.tops rails, etc,
| flying in the air. At the same time there appear
| ed another cloud of like nature, but darker ara
| wider, coming toward the village from the west
People ran TO close doors and windows,and 10
seek safety within h .uses, ktores. Offices and
| shops. ,
The frst-noticei current was passing to the
southwest, the other passing n the east. Inc
ends or points come in contact near the residence
| OF William VOught, quarter OF mile west OF
the main street with howl and rumbling sound
as il an army of demons were there engaged in
| terrible battle. There was whirl, crash,
howl and the house of Mr.. Vought was whirled
into fragments and thrown hither and yon like
pieces flom bursting shell.
Men and women held doors firmly closed, or
ran L Trembling TO the cellars. In moment, the
current from the west turned the one from the
northeast the Two Joined and sped on 10 an east
ern course, with force no pen can eescflDe'-
The lesser current or storm seemed prisoner,
plaything, to amuse the greater volume Now
the Two would unite then they would converge
sweep around some house, meet agaln, join hands
and on with terrible and resstess fury, like leil
and his partner out on drunken spree. The two
storms danced hand In han1 over the country Tor
fourteen miles lesvin track from forty TO eighty
rods wide 1t Was a revel of the elements,
dance of terrsr, destruction, demolition and
death.
IN TWO MIRUTEs
the storm had passed, and with 1t had passed into
fragments the entire south portion OF tue village
and those who crept out of houses not torn down,
as those who from the other part OF the place
cou look upon the scene, saw cloud rolling
eastward, Ii was more than cloud-a hash OF
wind, timber, dwelling houses, barns, out houses,
harness, household goods, ETC., torn, broken and
twisted into fragments, filling the air with hyng
pieces, dirt stones, trees, limbs rails, wagons,
fences shrubbery, ETC., II the great black cloud
was some gigantic crows nest
SEVENTEEN PERSONS WERE KILLED.
Among the number were Mr.. and Mrs. Barstow.
Their fine large house was demolished and car
ried away to the fields beyond. MIS-. Barstow's
father, Mr.. Drake, aged eighty.four, and her
mother, aged seventy-six, were so badly injured
that they will die before this letter reaches the
World. Mrs. Balstow's brother, Phineas Drake,
who was at work in another locality, was taken
from woodpile and hurried into plowed field
forty rods distant and has not spoken word
since though alive when this ia written.
A three. year .old.child Of H. g. Weeden was in
her parents house AMI killed, while the house
was dlshed TO fragments and borne off in flying
pieces by the storm.
A Young lady named Lydia Gillett, aged 90
years ran up from the cellar, where the family
had gathered fer safety, TO close a door which
was blown open. As she reached the top Of the
cellar stairs the house was caught up, whirled in
the air, dashed 20 the earth, and the fragments
carried rods away. Miss Gillett was found In a
field some distance from the cellar, SO badly in.
jnred that she died in few moments. The rest
of the family escaped unhuIt, with the exception
of slight bruises, while their home had gone for
ever.
MIS-. DIR. Dean and Mrs. Moon, her daughter,
were killed in the ruins OF their house. James
Daniels and James Cook each lost two children.
Mrs. Good and Eliza Derby were killed and badly
mutilated.
IN A SCHOOL HOUSE
were twenty four children and a young lady
teacher. The building was lifted high into the
air, dashed upon the ground some distance from
its foundation, again lifted about forty feet and
dashed bottom up TO the ground and the frag.
men,s swept away.
EIGHT CHILDREN WERE KILLED,
and every other occupant badly Injured One
little ten year old girl, whose thigh was lacera.
ted and broken, when found in the field begged
the people to look for the othe.s who were worse
hurt than herself. The school.house is not to be
found.
WONDERFUL ESCAPE.
Near the residence of John Gardner stands a
tall oak rising about sixty feet from the ground.
The wind wiskei every leaf and small twig from
the tree leaving 1t looking as If dead The house.
large white one, was taken so high in the air
that 1t Yves seen above the tree tops, dashed TO
the ground lifted again higher than before, whirl
ed around and dashed roof down upon the earth,
fe " rods from its foundation, and all but few
timbers bore away. Mrs. Gardner was In the
house all the time, was s. iled out in the second
tumble and but eighty hurt while an infant who
was clinging last III her arms escaped without q |
scratch cruise.
The barns were entirely demolished; timbers |
sixteen inches square and over forty feet long |
were carried eff like feathers twenty rods, and i'll
two instances driven into the earth twenty feet as
a boy would drive fsh-spear into the mud A |
large threshing machine in the barn was hurled |
out broken into hundred Augmentation bolts F,
bars and castings being broken crunched and |
carried OFF like broken egg-shels, TO be spilled"
over gardens and lots near by. The wool disap. |
peared as body, and now hangs in little shreds |
to trees, rubbish, and fenceposts for miles! The
heavy stone foundation was torn up and dashed |
TO fragments.
ON COURT. HOUSE ROCK,
as bluff elevation is called was a sort Of table,
rock ten feet square. which was carried about
twenty rods, and dropped on the prairie as II too
heavy for the invisible giant 10 handle From the
corner Of pile OF rocks rising about sixty feet
from the ground, great pieces weighing several
tons were broken of, and tumbled to the earth as
the whirlwind played around the corner, as boy |
would break loaf sugar with mallet.
INCIDENTS.
Co'onel r. S. Bierce had the finest place of |
residence in the village, with garden, grounds |
orchard, grapevines, DC. in profusion. House, |
barn, fences Trees shrubbery, fruit trees, &C.,
all swept away. His wife was found nearly dead, |
insensib.e between the two floors Of the house |
which lay one on top the other several rods away |
from where the house Stood
A lumber wagon standing In front Of Judge |
Terhune's barn was lifted over the large barn, |
and set down behind il unDjured. A horse and |
buggy in the barn, (the roof of which was torn |
off, was lifted out, and dashed to pieces.
Willie Morley, q twelve.year old boy, was found |
in hazel thicket one hundred and fifty rods |
from where he was when taken up by the whrl-
wind fatally injured.
pitch fork was shot, handle first seven !
incles into large oak stump, ninety rods from |
the barn where it started. The store of NJ. Z. J
Nichols was whisked of like an umbrella, one ,
counter alone remaining on the foundation, .