Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-07-08
The Detroit Cyclone.

The DESTROYER seemed 10 DC VIII /" iii'
which rose apparently near the souIh"est-
err limit Of the city. II was FIRST seen IA
Tia. direction in the shape OF DARK,
smokv.looking spiral mass, shaped IKE an
;nverfed tunnel Of enormous dimensions
and wbirlinr with inconceiyable rapidity;
IT. forward movement was also very iapiu
| In = course north OF east. but II ala no'
strike the earth until il reached the viei1-
;tv of Williams avenue and Ash street.
There the first evidence OF its awful power
Was seen In upturned sidewalks ana de-
mol;shed outbuildings, but no dwellings,
seem to have been caught In that lmnifdi
ate nsighborhood. :,
The greatest destruction was south Oh
/ Grand River avenue, from and inciudin
| Fourteenth street to Eighteenth, between
| Magnolia and Linden streets. Its track
was perhaps $50 feet wide, and within
| that limit nothing could resist its fremen-
dous force. Houses were taken up high
| in air. shaken into fragments and, IN many
instances, scattered over territory mile
IN length. Indeed, flying pieces OF tim
Der were seen whirIing alott and nyine
| about fully two miles from the place
where the work of demolition began.
1 Where, at one moment, stood row OF
| substantial houses, the next witnessed 9
scene Of devastation impossible to realize
with scarcely yestige of the buildings ID
sight, so utterly were they swept OH the
| face Of the earth.
II Is not difficult to conceive that such
A remorseless monster carried death and
| mutilation on its wings Everywhere
were heard the cries of the wounded,
whose bleeding and mutilated bodies were
pitiful 10 look upon. Richard Bates,
| aged eleven years, was caught up and
carried into the topmost branches OF tall
| elm which stood on the commons near his
mothers house. at the corner OF Fifteenth
| and Linden streets. His violent contact
with the limbs tore the clothing from his
person and he fell dead TO the ground, a
| distance of fully fifty feet.
| A little babe seven months old, the
child of Carl Peca, who lived on Four
| teentb street. was found dead in the street.
| It's father and mother were both injured
and removed TO Harper Hospital.
/ Mrs. Van Duzen, widow with two
| children. on Fifteenth street, had gone up
! town to visit her father, and when she re-
turned her house was nowhere to be found
| II had been carried bodily at least POO
feet, torn to atoms and scattered far and
wide. The only recognizable portion OF
the building found was the front door.
Frederick Rademachcr, who lived al
748 Sixteenth street, was sitting at home
with his wife and two children, when he
suddenly felt himself hurled through the
air and saw the walls and timbers OF his
dwelling flying in every direction: lie
escaped with slight scalpwound, but
his wife was more seriously injured. The
children were also considerably bruised,
but their hurts are not dangerous.
Mr.. and Mrs Bates, the parents of the
lad whose frightful death has already been
recorded, and younger son were badly
wounded
The house of Martin Schneider, at the
corner of Sixteenth and Linden streets,
was totally destroyed, but both Mr.. and
Mrs. Schneider were miraculously saved
by cupboard which protected them
from the falling timbers. When they
| were rescued both were found to be quite
unhurt.
Joseph Bully, of 712 Sixteenth street
was standing in vacant lot adjoining his
| house when portion of the roof was
wrcnched off and hurled to the ground
| grazing him in its descent and inficting 8
| bad wound on the side Of his head.
| Two vacant houses on Seventeenth street
near Linden, were demolished, and a
third, adjoining, was partially torn down
| The names OF the owners could not be as
| certained, but as no person was injured
| there il is not so important.
August Seaman, who lives on Twenty
third street, and his wife were visiting {
| friend on Fifteenth street, and were caugh
| In the track of the destroyer. Seaman
has a shocking wound extending from tn
forehead across the crown to the back o
his head, his right arm Is shattered, ant
his collar bone is broken. Mrs. Seaman
has a terrible cut under her left eye.
Herman Mike received two fractured
arms and severe body bruises. lie is con
scious, but his condition is extremely crit
zeal.
MANY others were more or less injured
seven were taken TO Harper Hospital, bu
majority of them were cared for b,
friends and neighbors in the different part
of the city, so it Is not possible, at tn
present writing, TO furnish a complete lis
of the victims.
Incident upon incident illustrating tn
peculiar action of this storm-cloud, whirI
wind or whatever il was might be relates
If time and space were at command
Two horses were carried over a barn an
flung TO the earth dead, and numerou
smaller domestic animals were made I
perform some most astonishing gyration'
Houses ON the outer edges Of the track {
the storm were punched full of holes b
huge timbers that were whirled along en-
over end; shade and fruit trees were NJ
rooted and carried a long distance; brick
from topping chimneys ratified down an
struck fleeing MEN and women, and throug
the roar of the storm came the most appal
ing shrieks.
The house on the corner of Twelft
and Brigham streets was occupied b
Henry Ford, his wife and five children
While at the supper table horrible hiss
ing sound caused Mr.. Ford 10 turn hi
head, when he saw, as he says: "An ink
black cloud coming toward his house, Tn
air being filed with the debris of build
ings.' Scarcely knowing what he did h
gathered his family about him and starte
for the back door. He reached the doc
of the kitchen which opened into wood
shed just in time to see the shed life
bodily away from the main building an
dashed against his back fence, completed
demolishing both structures. Standin
there in amazement the family were still
further affrighted by seeing the roof O
their dwelling arise and sail away, fol
lowed by a wardrobe, articles of clothin