Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-07-17
FRlGHTFUL TORNADOES.
Great Destruction OF Property,
Tornado on Lake Pepin.
Another In Mount Pleasant.
Grand and Terrible Sight.
From the Lake City (Minn.) Leader.

From the Lake City (Minn.) Leader.
The first tornado ever seen a
Lake Pepin by any of the presen
inhabitants passed over the lake OF
Tuesday evening. 1t rose on tn,
highlands between the Reads Land
ing and West Alabny roads, came
over the edge of the bluff back O
Minnow Lake, near Mr.. O'Hara'.
house, and struck Lake Pepir
about mile below Lake City, s
short distance beyond MinnoW
Lake bridge. Its track was about
300 yards wide. Where it de
scended the steep bluff toward
Minnow Lake the declivity was
swept of its brush and sapplings,
and the ground scraped as if ten
thousand elephants had slid down
there on their launches. As it
passed over the fat toward the lake,
trees, fences, telegraph poles and
wires were gathered up into the air
and hurled in all directions.
We first saw the tornado as it
was whirling out into Lake Pepin.
Cur attention was arrested by hear
ing ahoarse and awful roar, drown
ing the noise of the thunder storm
that was then passing over the
town. Looking southwark, we
saw a huge egg shaped cloud whirl-
ing at an altitude of say two hun
dred yards. Its position was then
diagonal, with the small end inclin-
ing downward. The roar of it was
terrible. When it passed out upon
the lake, it assumed a more up.
right position, sank a little, and
commenced drawing up the
waters to meet it; and for some
fifteen minutes, which was about
the period of its passage across the
lake, the waters, over space of at
least three hundred yards in diane
ter, were whirling and rising in
spiral form with a violence and
cOmmotion that were awful to be-
hold. The spray and mist, mixed
with the clouds Of dust carried by
the whirlwind from the shore, gave
the scene the appearance Of a lake
on fire. AS it ueared the opposite
shore, the cloud took the perfect
funnel shape of the ocean water
spout, standing in perpendicular
position. Leaving the lake it swept
the waters out upon the beach for a
distance of thirty yards, in waves
twenty feet above the ordinary
level of the lake. 1t struck Bogus
creek fatty in the mouth, and as it
rose to climb the bluff and pass over
into Bogus valley, the trees that it
lifted from the bluff-side were dis
tinctly'seen from Lake City, four
miles distant, sailing away in the
tornado four or five hundred feet
up from the ground. The right
wing of the tornado swept to the
left of Mr.. Whites house, being
turned by the heavy timber The
left passed over the point of the
bluff, and the whole crossed Bogus
creek below the mill, climbed the
bluffs and swept away
across the highlands toward Plum
creek. Everything fell before it.
Fences were blown away, the
largest trees torn up or broken into
splinters. One solid white oak, two
feet and half through, was twisted
completely off.
The log house of c. Carlson, a
Swedeman, was torn to pieces;
Carlson was badly injured i'll the
ruins, while his little boy was
taken up into the cloud, and let
down safely in a cornfeld some
distance off. The cooking stove
went out to look for the boy, and
dropped in the cornfeld behind
him. Beds, bedding, clothing,
furniture and cooking utensils were
scattered for half a mile beyond
Carlson}s house, some Of them
hanging in the broken tree tops
his house and goods all ruined and
gone. Carlson's barn was likewise
destroyed, as also log house and
barn near by, belonging to Mr..
Newcomb. The mill barely es-
capped destruction, being but few
rods to the left of the blast; but
the fences, wagons and farming
near the mill were
twisted and flung into prOmiscu-
Gus ruin. Mr.. Whites bees were
flung into a fence, and they were
so mad about it that the spot was
dangerous to a stranger, even the
next morning.
Ben. Smiths boat, the U. S.
Grant, took dance at the mouth
of Bogus creek, and went to smash,
regardless"
The storm passed at about six
o'clock in the evening. 1t was in
full view of this town, only a mile
below US. it was a grand and
terrible sight. When about half
ecross the lake, a beautiful rain-
bow spanned the cloud and rode
midway upon it to the Wisconsin
shore. The water spout seemed to
elongate its funnel form as it
passed out of sight over the Wis
consin bluffs, but remained in 81 ght
nearly half an hour.
TORNADO IN MOUNT PLEASANT.
Mr.. L. G.. Carson, who lives nine
miles from Lake City, gives us
some particulars of the passage of
a violent tornado through that
town.
1t commenced in the neighbor-
hood of Milo Fuller's, in Belvi-
dere, crossed overto Mr.. Farnham's,
being then, as he thought, about
mile high. 1t then came down
nearer the ground, passing over F.
A. Johnston's house, tearing
off the shingles, and carry
ing off his wagon shed. 1t then
struck the earth in its most de-
structive manner, tearing up trees,
fence and fence posts, like pipe
stems, and everything in its way,
till it reached Mr. Mills house. Mr..
Seymour lives Immediately oppo-
site, and the full force passed be.
tween the two. Mr.. Seymour's