Litchfield enquirer., 1878-06-06
THE GREAT CYCLONE!

We take the following account of this des- tructive tornado from an extra issued by tho
 Jefferson County Union, local paper publish
 ed at Fort Atkinson, Mich, within a few
 miles of the scene of this terrible disaster:
 Thursday afternoon, May 23d, about o'clock the heavens became rapidly overcast
 in the west, betokening a storm of more than
 usual magnitude. A strange agitation was mo- ticed in the clouds, and deep roaring sound accompanied by an incessant faint glimmer of lightning filled the hearts of all with alarm.
 It soon became evident to those who are post ed in such things, that a tremendous cyclone
 was approaching from point little south of west AS the track of the storm became more
 defined, it was seen to pass north of this city,
 about two miles. The fearful ominous roar
 ing that filled the air with an oppressive over
 whelming sound, gave ample token of the ter
 rible disasters that lay in the path of this mon-
 ster of the air. An extraordinary discharge of
 rain accompanied the storm, although the air
 was cleared in an hour. Soon messengers be- gan to come in for medical assistance, and the town was full of rumors of the destruction to life and property that had taken place.
 Taking a team Friday morning, we proceed
 ed to visit scene of destruction never before
 equalled in the history of this country. It may
 be well to state at the beginning, that the tor
 nado is supposed to have started near Dubuque
 Iowa. It passed through the city of Mineral
 Point, striking that town at o'clock, tearing
 down houses and levell'ng every thing in it's
 path. Several persons were killed; among
 them the aged mother of Judge Cothren. Af-
 ter leaving Mineral Point, but little is known
 of it's doings until it entered this county, in the
 town of Oakland near the village of Chris
 tiana, Dane County. The barn of John Stew
 art was unrOofed and some damage done to
 the fences. Next it struck the barn and sheds
 of Thos. Giddings, unroofng all of them and
 inficting $500 damage. Here it passed across
 part of Cedar Lake, and those whe saw it
 informed us that the water was drawn up to
 the clouds, creating 8 sight fearful and grand
 to behold. The water thus sucked up by the
 cyclone, was precipitated with immense force
 upon the land farther to the east The coHn-
 try there looks as if it had been swept by the
 Mississippi. Gathering force with every cur
 rent of air, it struck the large barn 36x54, late
 ly built by Wm. Ward and crushed it like an egg shell. In the barn was three horses, two of which were instantly killed by the falling timbers. Although the house was next east of the barn, it was but little injured, yet a large hickory, oak and poplar trees standing all about the house were twisted into basket stuff.
 Mr. Wards orchard lies south of his house,
 and was completely ruined. His damage can- not fall far short of $3, 900. A few rods east is what is known as Oakland Center,
 where stands two churches brick school house, and the parsonage of the F. W. Baptist society occupied by Rev. O. H. True. In short area of space, the havoc is tremendous. The Baptist church is large square tive story brick building, and the upper story is occupied as dwelling by widow Hall and her daughter
 In an instant without any warming the entire upper half of the building was crushed to at cms down to the second floor. Both of the women were overwhelmed in whirling ava lanche of bricks and timbers Mrs. Hall was caught under part of tive walls and her left collar bone broken, besides being severely cut about the head with flying bricks. The daugh
 ter managed to go through tho terrible ordeal with less bodily injury.
 Finding she could not extricate her mother
 who was crushed under the ruins, she scream ed for help. Rev. O. H. True heard her cries and with others finally succeeded in taking both from their pGrilous situation. Mrs. Hall, it is feared, is seriously injured. The brick | school house and the new brick Moravian | Church were quickly demolished; the latter | lies an absolute mass of ruins part of the | west wall and the ends of the school house yet | remain. The Parsonage was moved over & foot to the east, the west side badly injured and the west cellar wall blown in. Mrs. True states that the cyclone seemed to her as if some mighty power had struck the house a sudden blow with a weight like a mountain. Mir. True while attempting to go to the assistance of Mrs. Hall, was caught by second gust and he siezed a limb of tree to hold on, when the force of the wind strengthened him right out in the air. His two children Edgar and Lucy, were ia small out building with a young man by the name of Johnson. Johnson was blown ever the fence into the road, dis tance of five rods. Edgar was blown against | a tree and managed by holding on to save him. | self from being drawn up into the air. Lucy | was blown against the road fence. Farther to | the westward was the Cambridge stage, which | was struck with the storm, and overturned, l frightening the horses so that they broke loose l from the stage and ran-there was lady pas | senger in the stage, who was uninjured, how ever. The barn of Geo. Champney was next l unroofed, and considerable damage done to | his other farm buildings The track of the tor l nado from here lay fer amile and half through | timber and open fields. Old veteran oaks | three feet in diameter, were twisted and brok- en like pipe stems The barn of s. Chapman was partly unrosfed, also that of P. Eversohl. Striking the hill on which stands the house of John Daniels, here it demolished large new barn, hop house and wind mill The house standing near the scene was uninjured except | in the loss of chimneys. George Horton was in tEe basement of the barn standing clcse in one corner, when the barn came down; he barely escaped being killed as large beam struck the ground passing close to his body. There was terrible desolateness seen at the next place, the residence of R. Hawk when it struck this place, John Daniels, Willie Dan iels, Mrs. Kreuger, George Hallan and hired | man by the name of Charles Schmidt were ID the barn. In an instant Gas Mir. Daniels des- cribes) the burn was crushed into fragments, | and Schmidt who was standing near .Dauiela V