The Northern Pacific farmer., 1883-08-30
! ROCHESTER, &c III, ! IN RUINS.

Unfortunates Injured.
Five Hundred People Left Houseless 10
View the Melancholy Scene
Of Ruin.
Nearly all Public Buildings Damaged
and a Loss of $500, 900
Inflicted.
RUINED ROCHESTER.
HORRIBLE WORK OF THE CYCLONE.
ROCHESTER,, Special Telegram. Aug. 22s.-
The citizens OF Rochester are wan Of cheek and
hoiow-eyed, and we'll they may, since they
passed last evening as evil a quarter Of IN hour
rs ever fell to the experience Of man, and to
this succeeded night Of horror. snch as made
mon used to the terrors Of a stricken field
vince and shudder The storm first came at z
in the evening and lasted from twelve to fifteen
minutes. Not until after 6 O'Clock were the
residents the least alarmed, which is
the strangest, when it is remembered that
month ago cyclonic fury vented itself
but few miles from here. By 7:lO the south
west quarter had assumed that slckly greenish
tint which serves as drop curtain for such
dire work. In few moments the green
changed to copper, then to bronze, with
whitish edges aud lateral lines of flying scud
athwart it in every direction. Next was noted
that dreaded and dreadful inverted cone: with
height seemingly immeasureable le and murki-
aess appalling: With the speed Of a cannon
ball it came down the valley of insignificant Sill
yer creek, and when within half mile
of the devoted city. it's roar could
be heard Cellars were rushed to by almost
every one, but few of the harder ones stayed
At points of vantage near the edges and wit
messed
THE ATTACK OF THE REs1sTLEss MONSTER.
Full 800 feet in the air it rose and in it's whirng
mass were trees and stones, animals and debris
Of every conceivable description. The dome
Of the court house melted from view, though
touched merely BY the hem Of the wind
still, were twisted as corkscrews in the
hands of Titan, and lifted bodily into the
air with tons of earth clinging to their roofs
Animals were dashed against stoue walls,
and their backs and bones crushed to powder
The roar of the fierce surge was like nothing
ever heard before The atmosphere was
surcharged with electricity. and pellets of
rain and hail were driven vertically as if shot
from q rifle. Fifteen minutes of this terror,
and then silence. By o'clock the stars
we're shining as peacefully as if cyclones were
unknown; but the silence was soon
broken by the groAhs OF the dead, dying and
the sore1y wounded. The northern part Of the
city, fortunately not the larger sr thickly set
tied portion, had been changed from habit
able place to maze of mangled matter, desert
with signs of woe and terror scattered every
where Not a. house stood where 800 had
been at o'clock. Most of the dwellings, we're
Of the poorer class but many were pretty, care
fully tended and decorated houses. The
citizens on the South side quickly repaired in
crowds to the scene of direst disaster and went
to work. All night long by tho ftful light OF
lanters at first and later aided by the moon
they toiled
SCORES OF BODIES
mangled. cut, torn aud bruised, some breath
Ing, some breathless, were taken out By
sunrise those OF the dead Or wounded who had
friends were speedily borne to private houses
The majority were taken to Rommels hail. a
large Building on Broadway, where cots were
hastily prepared for the wounded. The dead
were taken. away by friends or to W. H Sew
ards undertaking place on Broadway. Physi-
clans and nurses were soon to the fore, and
everything possible done to alleviate suffering.
The wounded were in horrible plight, and a
walk through tho hail where they lie.
wen now, makes one 1a,nt Inc
'uts and bruises arc generally about
he upper part Of the body, and
childish faces are seen with wounds on them
70 ghastly that even the physician shudders as
be uses sponge and needle. Into the cuts dirt
md even powdered stone were forced in many
instances. Cellars seemed of little or no pro-
lection, since, while some of the houses above
them blew away, those to the west were
crushed bodily into their depths Think Of
Two mothers, as late as noon to-day,
SEEKING FRANTICALLY FOB LOST CHILDREN,
seeing three who oorresponded in size with
those they sought, but all so marred by dirt
and blood and wounds that even maternal love
could not tell whether to say "mine" or not
TIE scenes around the demolished houses were
heartrending; men, women and children cry
ing bitterly and almost bereft Of reason. An
absolute doubt exists in many cases
- to where the site OF their
home was; ever dreadful uncertainty
Ind haunting dread. and through it
Ill the breeze signing gently, The neon smil-
ing calmly and men working keAvsly. The
rising sun showed the bitterness Of tAe dosola-
lion. Queer freaks there were. Of course.
Here stands wall, and on it hangs an un-
brokon looking glass, while a heavy stove
crushed into fragments, lies on the floor near
oy. There, swaying to and fro in the breeze
is the family rocking chair, while few feet
from it q horse lies
A feather bed yonder twisted like rope, and
touchingits edge students lamp, with g zen
the chimney intact Down near the river
stands the large Cole mill, with q cyclonic bite
taken from it's western end. To the south of
it is train Of eight loaded
cars turned and twisted as it of straw, while
in the race at the northern side are two more
cars blown bodily from the track and into the
water. The owner Of the mill was lifted fifty
feet vertically and hurled against bank and
killed Not bone in, his body was left un-
broken. Rochester, Is every one knows,
was beautiful city, and as much on &C
count Of its trees as anything. A
core Of years will not restore its pristine
loveliness in this direction. Some of the
streets in the best part of the city are i'm
passable, and looking up or down them one
sees nothing but tangled mass of
trunks and foliage jammed across the
roadway. Scarcely residence-Mr. Van
Dusen's is about the only one-that has not
suffered more Or less: and in many cases
heavy chimneys were crashed through the
roofs and garrets into the floors below. But
description is utterly unable to portray the re-
suits of . storm which, ia the worst OF its
path, absolutely
SWEPT PART OF THE EARTH AWAY,