Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1883-08-27
THE MINNESOTA TORNADO

MINNEAPoLIs, Mimi, Aug. %
On Tuesday evening at z o'clock,
Rochester. the county seat of Ohm
stead County, Mimi, was one of the
most beautiful cities in the West.
Ten minutes later its beauty had dis
appeared before tornado, and in
parts of the city ruin and desolation
reigned. Just one month ago tor
nado passed six miles north of the
city. The day had been beautiful
and warm until evening, when clouds
began to gather. The atmosphere
was oppressive, heavy and hot. Di-
rectly after o'clock the clouds as
sumed greenish tint, accompanied
by rumbling noise, and in short
time the wind increased in violence
until the force of a tornado was felt,
and what was once a well-populated
portion of the city was a scene of
ruin. The tornado possessed the
same peculiarities as that of July 21.
Its main course was through the low
er town, but its force was more or
less felt in all parts of the city, and
its freaks were simply wonderful. It
demolished well-built structures on
Broadway and left adjacent buildings
unframed beyond turning over Chin
neys and stripping the tin coverings
from the roofs. Hundreds of trees
were either torn down or broken off,
and many of the streets were render
ed impossible by being filled with
their trunks and limbs. Some of the
trees were stripped bare, even the
bark being torn off.
That portion of the city north of
| the railroad, called the lower town,
suffered most damage. Indeed, there
is not house there that is not iniur-
ed, and only about twenty are left
standing. It looks at distance as
though there had never been a build
ing standing in that portion of the
city, while in other sections the re-
mains of the houses show the terribly
destructive force of the wind. AS
soon as the tornado had passed and
the people in the more favored por-
ton of the city began to learn of the
damage, they went at once to the
lower town to render what assistance
they could. Many worked all night.
The dead and wounded taken from
the debris were conveyed to Buck s
Hotel, the Winona House, DR.. Lay
or's office and to private residences.
But no idea of the extent of the dam
age by the storm could be obtained
until the next morning, when its hor-
rors were appalling to behold.
Early Wednesday morning an or
ganized movement was made to care
for the wounded, and appeals were
issued to the larger cities for aid.
These have been answered with lib
erality.
ROCHESTER, Mimi, Aug. %. The
number of people killed by the cyclone
on Tuesday is now fixed at 81 and
the number of the wounded at 80. Oh
the latter, 9 were fatally injured. The
wind swept diagonally across the
town, covering a space of mile ant
three-quarters in length by three
quarters of mile in width, in which
every building, some 800 in number
was virtually destroyed. 1t is nov
!, believed the damage will reach half ;
million dollars.
The tornado started near Owatonn:
, and followed line nearly a mil
south of the railroad crossing a
. Rochester, and, going north of tn
road, crossed east 20 miles. Thre
miles north of the road it varied il
G width from one to three miles, an,
did not skip as is usual, but swep
o everything clean in its track. Houses
n farms and crops are all gone. Th
9 loss to the crops is estimated a
about $500, 900.
4 The storm appeared to have form
ed about eighteen miles northwest O
n Rochester, and gathering violence a
it travelled, destroyed several farr
# houses in its course.
;s The path of the storm throug
Rochester was strewn with wrecks
# mostly in the poorer portions of th
4 suburbs on the north side. A larg
If elevator near the depot was broke
% in two portions and the upper hal
O
80 the railroad and over two trains {
~ cars standing on the track. The d,
n pot building of the NorthwesteI
as Railroad was destroyed. The roc
"A Court House was blown off and tt
TO upper portion of large stone mai
70 sion near by was wrecked. The Coo
or Hotel was badly damaged, and tt
. streets were filled with debris al
bo rolls of tin from the roofsof destro
os ed buildings.
Of The fatal black cloud swept towa
ST. Charles, five miles southeast
Rochester, cutting wide swa
~ through the timber and farms, wrec
10. ing buildings in the little hamlet al
ed leaving two corpses and three perso
10 fatally NAMED. The body of one
he the men killed was found in tire
IS. top. 1t had been torn limb frc
IN limb by the wind while being dra,
* up and carried along by the terril