The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-05-30

/ Devastation and Death.
Destractive TornaAess In Portions oi
wisconsin and IllInofs-Great Ios1
q Life ana Property.
| A tornado struck Mineral Point,
Wis, about five o'clock ON the after.
noon of the 22d, doing great damage
to property and resulting in the loss ot
several lives. The following particu-
lars are given by telegraph:
A large stone brewery and several buildings
surrounding It were demolished.
At the residence Of John Spenseley there was
large family reunion. Mrs Waller, mother
Of John Waller, one Of the party, was instant.
y killed. Tho rest of the inmates of the
house miraculously escaped with only slight
Injuries. The residence OF Judge Cothren was
| also struck by the storm. and his mother, an
aged lady, Killed.
After wrecking Mr. Spenseley's house. the
its foundation and shivered It to atoms in the
air, carrying withit Mrs Leonard, whose body
was found about 100 yards distant, manglod IN
| Q fearful manner.
1t next carried of the house of John Cole
man, badly injurng Mr.. Coleman, his two
houND at the time.
BENJAMIN Benefits house was totally de-
stroyed, and Mrs. Bennett thrown over In q
wood-piie, escaping with but little injury.
! The houses Of james Prince and William
/ Jacka were destroyed.
At the brewery Of G. Gellman the storm did
the greatest amount Of damage, carrying Oh
| the houses of Mr.. Gellman and Mr.. Adams,
and badly injuring o Miss thinner. The
brewery building and barn connected there
with were totally demolished, and number
| Of valuable horses killed.
The houses situated in the summer garden
| OF John Jenek, opposite the brewery building,
were destroyed, and Mrs. Myers and Mary
Jenck were killed. Mr.. Bohan's family, who
lived short distance from the gardens, were
dangerously injured, and Mrs. Bohan died
The house OF Martin O'Dowd was reduced
| to ruins. Mr.. Beardsley's house and barn
| were carried seven or eight rods from the
| foundations. William Cocking's house was
taken, and nothing left but a few pieces of the
| A school house, about two and half miles
east of the city, was carried of, with the teach
! er and scholars. Two of the scholars, a broth
| er and sister, were killed and the teacher
slightly injured. The teacher, while holding
| one of the smaller scholars in her arms, was
thrown several rods. Most of the children
| are unhurt
MINERAL PoNr. Wis, May Is.
| The storm originated twelve miles south
west Of this city, doing no considerable DAM
age until within one mile of here, when It
struck H. Phillips barn and carried it away,
killing five cows. After leaving the Town of
Mineral Point it divided, and came together
again Blk miles east of here, in the Town of
Waldwick. 1t swept everything before 1t for
q distance of twelve miles, where it again d.
vided. Mr.. Kramer's place was totally de-
stroyed. and the next was Powers. About
fifty houses and barns were destroyed from
here to Adamsville. Between this place and
Darley's store, three miles, six persons we're
killed, and the school-house, church and store
demolished. Moscow is also in ruin, and four
persons killed. Two families are blown away,
and as yet nothing has been heard of them
From there to Perry is eight miles, and moth
ing is left where the tornado struck. Perry is
carried away The damage from here to Per-
ry is estimated at 500, 900, and fifteen lives
lost. The Welch settlement, ten miles south
west, is completely demolished. Several re-
ceived injuries that will prove fatal, it is feared
Six funerals took place in this city on yes
terday.
MADISON, Wis, May "a.
The tornado which passed over this place
last night proves to have been more widespread
and destructive than was thought last night.
The storm came from the direction of the
southwest, passing through a section of the
State where no telegraphic communications
are established, hence details of the great de-
struction and loss Of life are meagre. Enough
has been received, however, to show that the
devastation and sacrifice of property and life
has been appalling. In the vicinity of Prim-
rose, twenty-five miles southwest of this city,
from there through Mount Vernon to Paoli,
the storm seems to have done widespread dam
age From twenty-five to thirty. barns and
farm. houses were blown down, some OF
them utterly destroyed aud the debris
carried of before the mighty avalanche
of wind, some of it falling twelve and
fifteen miles away, one shutter of
house falling in Lake Mendoza, near this city.
Some twelve or eighteen persons are known
to be killed, and large numbers severely in
jured. Graphic yet terrible descriptions are
given of the terrible effect of the tornado.
Teams and wagons are reported taken from
roads, and carried in the air and dashed to the
ground. At DR.. George Fox's, near Oregon,
two va valuable horses in pasture were taken
up 100 feet in the air, carried fifty rods, and
dashed to the earth, killing them instantly.
The storm came from the direction of Mineral
Point, where it wrought such terrible damage,
raised from the ground seven or eight miles
southwest of Madison, and again struck the
earth near Fort Atkinson, northeast of here
Near Primrose and Paoli the storm seemed
from half to a mile in width, and swept ev-
erything before it, moving down trees fences,
barns, houses and shrubbery as if with q
scythe.
DAhnicuiON, 1Alss u&y 1Os
The peculiarities of the tornado, which
swept through this town last Thursday do
not seenr to be appreciated by any of the cor
respondents. The formation of the great roll.
ing cloud, which expression fifty describes the
tornado, was seen by awitness who explains
two clouds approaching from opposite direc-
tions, and that neither one had any danger in
1t until Joined with the other. It seems to
have kept almost q uniform height through
out the whole of its career; that is, after 1t
struck the house five miles from here. Before
that time it had been gradually dropping to-
ward the earth, but after that it maintained
substantially the same height all the way
This is very clear from the fact that in the
low places, boys and marshes through which
it passed it scarcely touched anything, where
as, when it came to rise of ground, or a hill
Of any kind, its force was terrific.
The appearance of the country over which
it passed is most extraordinary. There is
what might be called furrow about 200 feet
wide, perfectly black, and having not fixed
thing resting in it. That is, the turf was torn
up and thrown either out OF the track or for
ward some distance. The fences we're taken
bodily, excepting here and there few posts
The hedges were stripped perfectly bare
Most of the trees were torn up by the roots,
except in few cases where they were SMALL
In these cases the insignifcance of the object
saved it. The blackness which characterizes
fact that the whole of the soil around about
is Of black loan after few inches have been
cut off,
All through the path Of the wind, and for
as much as half mile on each side, the
ground is sprinkled with various kinds Of
sticks and lumber, and, curiously enough-a
thing which cannot easily be explained-all
these are stuck in the ground and are up
right. One can see fence-board and tho
timber Of barn standing side BY side upright,
and to look at field over which the storm
passed gives one hhe idea that some one has
gone over 1t and driven stakes IN 1t. TINS ap-
pearancc is found from the beginning to the
end of the career of the cloud. The cloud
made some curious determinations which ara
hard to explain. For instance, ct Braun's
place it annihilsted the house itself, and even
went 60 far as to tear out the stone lining OF
the cellar. And yet, within five feet Of that
place, It left the floor Of q kitchen and it took
one OF the beams out of the barn and brought
1t forward some 100 feet, throwing 1t
down near where the house had stood,
on in the direction that the cloud
was going Again, 1t killed almost every liv-
ing thing with which 1t came in contact, but
made curious exception of Braun's horses.
It smashed up his hogs, and, sheep, and poul-
try, but the horses were comparatively unin-
jured, and will recover. tits most remarkable
to person living here to see the path picked
out BY the cloud from the time 1t left Elgin
until the time 1t disappeared. Its full force
struck but one house, though others were
somewhat affected. And yet it was almost i'm
possible to pick out straight line through the
town without cncountering At least dozen
residences. Probably most ingenious man
could not have laid down . path for such :
tornado and had Il strike only one house, e.
this one did. II it had veered to the right or
left : hundred feet, It would have taken nt
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