Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-05-26

Racine County has been visited by a cy-
/ clone. The meteorological conditions of the
lake-shore belt of country were believed to
be such that a disastrous cyclone was an i'm
possibility, but the debris of wrecked houses,
and the scores of dead and dying, which
make this a city of mourning to-day, attest
the falsity of the theory. Yesterday was
notably chilly for the season. Men wore
their overcoats all day long. The morning
was bright and fair, with the wind blowing
freshly from the southeast. AS the day adj
vanced clouds obscured the sky, and the air
grew more chilly. At four the whirling
masses fell to the earth with a noise that
can only be compared to the buZzing and
rumbling of a million railroad trains. The
frightful sound continued for not more than
two minutes. The frightened people crept
from their cellars and hiding places to be-
hold the magnificent spectacle of the cyclone
as it passed from the land upon the waters
of Lake Michigan, where it twirled and
created innumera6le w~ater-spouts, some of
which formed spectacles beautiful in the
extreme.
All the houses on the west side of North
Main north of English street, are demolished.
Most of them are of wood, but one was a
large brick house, owned by Mr.. Fisher.
Fred Falk's house on English street was
completely wrecked. Many houses OH North
Wisconsin street were more or less damaged.
One house OIL High street, facing east, was
picked up and appeared to float in the air
twenty feet above the earth, and when it
alighted it was in a tolerable state of pres
ervatiOn, and faced south. A barn on Mil
waukee street was lifted into the air and it
came down underside up, presenting a strange
appearance. Sidewalks in the track of
the cyclone were drawn into the air. trees
torn up by the roots, and o%ut-houses, etc.,
were no more than feathers waited by a
breeze. The path of the meteorological
monster was a literal scene OF ruin such as
the eye in Racine never before dwelt upon.
The clap-boards of houses appear to have
been ground into splinters, some of which
had the dimensions of mere slivers. Four
Douglas avenue, and though the two-story
brick building in which it was located was
reduced to a mere pile of bricks and mortar,
III one was seriously injured. Beach's barn
was taken up into the air, and after whirl-
ing like a top aligfted in good order OH its
side, like a ship OH her beams. The flax
mills, the vinegar mandatory and the
brick-yards of William Baumans shared the
common fate of destruction. The roof of
Bettroy's bakery was lifted off, and OH the
same street, St. Clair, the cupola of Father
Matthew Hall was damaged. The smoke
stack of the old silver-plate works fell, and
the cornice Of st. Joseph's Cathedral was
twisted off. The roof of Policeman
! NpsnhoSc 1,o,,on Qoo4nl o,v,, ,, ~>
old, unoccupied tenement-hOuse of George
Butcher is numbered among the things that
we're. Telegraph poles were not respected,
and as the wires are down communication
with outside points is difficult. The 7:10
train from Chicago was delayed a mile north
Of the city by a house which had been picked
up by the cyclone and deposited squarely OH
the rails.
The scene among the dead, wounded and
dying at the northern part of the city was
one painful beyond description. In many
instances surviving relatives had lost all
semblance OF reason. Physicians were not
numerous enough to give prompt assistance,
and numerous bleeding victims We're rolled
p in blankets while anxious relatives ran III
every direction to secure medical aid. The
sufferers are as a rule the poor, and if, as it
has been charged, the Weather classes were
not present at the scenes of disaster to do
with hands and purse all that becomes menu
bers of the brotherhood of humanity, it
should be remembered that the night up to
q late hour was one threatening III the ex.
IRENE.
A feature of the results of the storm Is
that the houses in general appear to have
exploded. Those within the storm center
were in a vacuum, and the pressure of the
air from the inside acted as OH an ex-
plosive, hence the debris lies i'll INC around
the foundations nearer the circumfer-
ence. Some few houses were lifted
and carried bodily for q short distance.
and here the occupants Jared. better
than those in the storm center. All the
physicians in the city were called into ser.
vice, and responded nobly to the call fol
help. AS fast as they were extricated from
the debris the wounded were examined, and,
when their condition permitted, were
conveyed to st. Luke's and St. Mary's hos.
pitfalls. The dead are lying in various parts
of the city with guards mounted over them.
The inquest will be held to-day, and the
dead. will receive a common funeral Sun
day. NV
The extent of country traversed by the
storm can not be even guessed at here, but
it is believed to have struck this county first
at Western Union junction. 1t is also
feared that vessels on the lake may have
been lost, since no craft could have wealth
cred a cyclone of such power. The list OF
fatalities is necessarily incomplete at this
writing, and may be much enlarged by the
developments Of to-day.
Fully twenty-five people were killed and
az many as one hundred injured. One hun.
dred and fifty houses were demolished, and
had the cyclone struck near the business
center the damage would nave been incalcu.
liable. At Western Union junction, seven
miles west of Racine, many houses were
ruined. One fatal injury is at this time re-
ported, that of Mrs. Weber, whose son: is
well known among railroad men in Racine.
The killed and wounded, so far as it is at
present possible to obtain information, are
as follows:
Near VOLTS Garden, in Mount Pleasant
W. A. Spradel, leg and two ribs broken. Mrs
Sprndel, hurt internally and limbs injured;
At LutZs Garden-Kate Lutz, sevcnty-sis
years old, arm broken and head crushed, very
badly injured. Willie and John Kastanick
eleven and thirteen years old, killed. A little
girl OF Peter Dressed. six years old, killed,
Mrs. kastanick, probably fatally injured
August Steinway, arm broken and head ana
legs injured. Mrs. Frederick Falk, seriously
hurt Herman kuel, bruised about the head
Mrs. Rihuse, hurt about the breast and eyes
Fred Falk, seriously hurt about the head and
eyes. simon Geese, fatally hurt; injuries in
the head. Mail LAWN, internal injuries, prob
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