Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-08-29
The Minnesota Tornado.

life and property was fearful. Tn
damage in Rochester alone is not les
than 100000 or 100000 and tn
damage in the country probably ex
ceeds 100000, but the whole amour
is not yet known. The loss of life a
far as ascertained amounts to upward
of forty, and two or three times n
many persons were wounded.
The weather through the day hat
been unsettled, but not unusually
threatening. Clouds would form ant
disappear, forming again heavier thar
before. The wind was mostly from
the southeast, blowing scudding clouds
with it, while away above them the
rain-bearing stratum drove from the
northwest. About 3 o'clock black
cloud was seen at Rochester in the
west, which looked very threatening
but it passed harmlessly, with q furi'
Gus wind and some drops of rain. AT
5 o'clock low, black bank of cloud
lay in the southeast. 1t rose rapidly,
but presented only the appearance OF
an ordinary thunder shower. AS il
neared the city it began to assume a
horrible appearance. The whole sky
was tinged a CHASTITY green, and mass
es of clouds were swept here and there
in gigantic circles. Wherever it was
possible people took to their cellars,
and in no case where this was done
was life lost. In the upper part OF
the city the darkness was at no time
great, but in the lower part of the
town it became as black as night, fill
ing everyone with terror. Then came
the awful roar, well known as the pre-
cursor of tornado, and the storm
burst upon the city. Houses were
like straws before it, and no tree, of
whatever size, in the track Of the
storm withstood its fury. The storm
began at 7 in the evening, and lasted
from twelve to fifteen minutes. As
the tornado approached, the color of
the clouds changed from green to cop
per, and then to bronze. Next was
seen the dreaded apd dreadful invert-
ed cone rising to an Unreasonable
height. At this time the murkiness
was appalling, and the roar of the APP
preaching cone was indescribable. The
atmosphere was surcharged with elec-
tricity, and pellets of rain and hail
were driven horizontally, as if shot
from rifle.
The storm, so far as can be learned,
started in Westfeld township near the
west line Of Dodge county, passed
through Dodge and Olmstead coun-
ties and into Winona county, q total
distance of about sixty miles. 1t va
ried from two and half miles to
three-quarters of mile in width,
being widest where it started.
In the path of the storm nothing
worth saving, except the ground,
is left. Reports from outside
towns are coming in slowly and show
that the damage is very great outside
of Rochester. The village of Salem,
which lay in the track of the storm,
is said to have been almost wiped out.
The damage in the city cannot be
less than half a million, and in the
surrounding country an estimate is
Fences are all gone, and
cattle injured. Stacks of grain and
hay have totally disappeared, and
crops of corn and potatoes are beaten
flat. Food is plenty, and that is about
all. Relief committees are canvass
ing to ascertain needy cases in the
country and city.
Trees were snapped like whips by
the wind, or, stranger still, were
twisted like corkscrews, and lifted
bodily into the air with tons of earth
clinging to their roots. Animals were
dashed against stone walls and their
bones crushed. Doubt exists in the
minds of many persons as to where
the site of their homes was, so COM
plete was the destruction. There were
some queer freaks. In one place an
unbroken looking glass hung on a wall
that had been left standing while a
heavy stove crushed to fragments lay
on. the floor near by. Close by a
feather bed, which was twisted into a
fantastic shape, lay students lamp,
with even the chimney unbroken.
Down near the river stands the large
Cole mill with only cylonic bite TAX
EN- from its western end, while to the
south of it is a train of eight cars
turned and twisted in remarkable
manner. The owner of the mill was
lifted fifty feet vertically and hurled
against bank, and killed. The
streets in the best part of the city are
impossible, and looking up or down
them one sees nothing but a tangled
mass of tree trunks and foliage Jam
med across the roadway. The condi-
ton Of things in the northern part of
the city defes description. A few