Litchfield enquirer., 1878-06-06

was StruCk on the nea0 Dy IaLnDS pleSt timber and instantly killed. MT. Daniels caught hold of post and held on to it; he describes the scene as being fearful in the ex- treme while holding to the post (which fell so as to partially shield him from the falling timbers, he experienced great difficulty in eb- taining breath for a moment, and his face ard ears were filled with sand driven into the skin with great fierce. The two boys, Willie Dan isls and George Italian, slid down into the basement and escaped unhurt. Mrs. kreuger was dashed against beam and somewhat in- iured; her clothing was completely stripped from her person, except small portion at the waist That any of the occupants of the barn escaped death is a miracle. A valuable horse and COW were killed in the basement. Near the house of MT. R. Hawk stands large oak tree which was blown across the roof partially crushing it in, but preventing, no doubt, its further destruction. Mrs. Hawk was in the chamber and was blown through bedroom door and against the north end of the house. A large oak rail was driven into the roof end
 wise like an arrow. The house was moved | from the foundations and badly racked; all about is a wide spread scene of destruction. I large pasture lot is covered with the fragments
 of the barn and out buildings
 Next east in the track of the storm was a. log house and stable occupied by Mir. Kreu- ger, tenant of Mir Hawk. Everything was completely wrecked here. Mrs. Witchie, an cid lady was taken up bodily, carried dis
 stance of rods and dashed with great force against the road fence. Two of her ribs are broken, and she received such injuries about l the head and breast as to render it very doubt | full if she lives. The house of William Worthy, l log tenement, was next made the scene or
 disorder The cyclone swept the house from
 it's foundation, burying three occupants in the ruins Mariette Frary, who had called in, was
 caught by falling stove, resulting in frac- l ture of her right leg. No other persons were
 injured. The cyclone here, seemed to have
 changed its course striking the residence and
 barns of Christian Gross, with all the power of l it's center vortex. The scene here bafiies de-
 scrption the whole premises are a wreck, and l the fields for 8 half a mile are covered with broken boards and building material. The | family, at the time, were in the room in the
 south half of the house. The wind moved the
 upright portion of the house clear from the | cellar and dropped it on the ground on the
 east side That portion in which the family
 were was unrOofed and the beds and all con | tents of the chamber blown, no one knows | where The stove was thrown down and the l fire scattered about the room. The doors were
 so damned together as to prevent any chance l of getting cut, and the family were in immi-
 nent danger of being burned alive. NIT.
 Gross, although very ill at the time, managed l d
 contents of swill barrel stan ing in the room,
 he put out the fire A large barn, 50x32, a
 smaller barn, three grainaries, smoke house | and wind mill were blown to atoms in mo- ment. The smoke house was full of meat, and
 at this writing not vestege of the same can
 be found. A hired boy, who had just taken
 the team into the basement of the large barn l as the storm struck it, was lifted into the air
 and carried 50 rods, and landed against a l lnfa alxyH HavaH lt-
 the occurrence, and for hours could scarcely
 speak. Another boy states that he saw the
 hired man carried over the windmill. X field
 of rye lies to the east of the house, and this is stuck full of broken lumber. The heads of
 the rye in the track of the storm, are cut clean
 off as with a reaper. An oak tree as large as
 . mans body was broken off and landed iif-
 teen rods away in the rye field. One granary | contained 300 bushels oi oats, and not kernel
 of the grain can be found. A large farm wsg-
 on was carried 20 rods from the barn.
 The damage to Mir. Gross cannot be less
 than $3 900. At this point the cyclone took
 8 due east course and struck the new barn Of l Fred Musschel on the Jefferson road two
 miles north of this place. completely demol-
 ishing the same and unroofed the barn of
 widow HOpson and tore up number of trees | in front of her house a lumber wagon was
 standing but few feet from Mir. MuSsChc's
 house, which was landed 50 rods east on the
 marsh; yet strange to say the house was not injured in any manner. After crossing Rock | River in due east course the cyclone demOlish- | cd the barns of A. flake and F.. flake, and con tinued on through the towns of Hebron and Sullivan, occasionally striking the earth aEd
 tearing things to pieces wherever it touched. | We have been unable to obtain any positive information of it's course east of Curtis mill
 until It reached the village of Waukesea where it destroyed property estimated at $2O, 900 and | reached Milwaukee, at about 6 o'clock, where | but little damage was done. According to all accounts, the cyclone was but little. if any,
 over an hour in going from Mineral Point to Milwaukee. We shall probably hear of it's do- | ing extensive damage on Lake Michican and further east No such visitation has every
 before occurred in this portion of the state,
 since about 1851, when it is reported, simi- lar tornado passed through the northern DOT tion of the country.
 The track of the cyclone varied from 10 to 150 rods in width. Its center was a whirl- wind of awful power. This can be seen by the manner in which trees and other articles were whiried in all directions. In one instance we saw piece of fence board driven over tive feet into the ground at an angle of 45 degrees. On the farm of s. Chapman, in Oakland, ls an oak tree nearly three feet in diameter, aad perfectly sound, broken off six feet from the ground At moderate estimate, we believe the damage done to farm property in Jeifer- son County, will amount to over $50, ,000, most of which is in the town of Oakland. Some thing should be done immediately tO relieve the necessities of those whose homes and prop erty is thus destroyed Meetings should hr called and action be taken at once, for here is deserving field for our active sympathy and charity May a kind heaven preserve this country from snch another visitation of horror and destruction.