The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1883-08-30
A Fearful Tuesday Evening which Sees
the Minnesota Town Victim
afof Cyclonic Wrath.
Hundreds@oI Buildings Shattered 26
People Killed and 80 Other
UnfOrtnnates Injured. .4
Five Hundred People Left Houselcss to
View the Melancholy Scene -
.t1/ Of Ruin.
Nearly all Public Buildings Damaged
and a Loss Of 5000, 900
or50ks Inflicted. 1S
RUINED ROCHESTER.

RUINED ROCHESTER,
" AoaRlBLE WORK OF THE CYCLONE.
RocHrsrEs, Special Telegram, Aug. 22.--
The citizens Of Rochester are wan ct cheek and
hollow eyed, aud we'll they may. since they
passed last evening" - evil quarter Of an hour
% ever fell to the experience of man, and 10
this succeeded night of horror, sneh a. made
mon used to the terrors Of = stricken field
vince and shudder. The storm first came at z
In thssvsninv aud lasted from twelve to fifteen
minutes. Not until after 6 o'clock were the
reddents the least alarmed, which lie
tho strangest, whom It is remembered tina,
month ago cyelonio fury vented itself
but few miles from here. BY 7:1O the south.
weet quarter had assumed that slckly greenish
tint which serves - 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 aud dreadful inverted zone, with
height seemingly immeasureable and murki-
ness appalling. With tho speed of . cannon
ballit came down the valley OF insignificant Sill.
yer creek, aud when within halt 4 mile
Of tho devoted city. ito roar could
be heard Cellars were rushed to BY almost
every one, but few of the harder ones stayed
Ut points Of vantage near tho edges and wit.
messed
THE ATTACK OF THE REsIsTLEss MONSTER.
Full 300 feet in the air it rose, and in its whrlna
M nd s1a \
Of every conceivable description. The dome
Of the court house melted from view, though
touched merely by the hem of the wind
Trees enapped like cate nine tails, or strange,
still. were twisted ~ corkscrews in the
hands Of Titan, and lifted bodily into the
air with tons Of earth cIinging to their roots
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 va:
surcharged with electricity. and pellets OF
rain and hail were driven vertically as if sho1
from . rifle. Fifteen minutes Of this terror
and then . silence By 8 o'clock the star.
were shining ~ peacefully as if cyclones were
unknown; but the silence was soor
broken by the eroans Of the dead, dying and
the sorely wounded. The northern part Of the
city, fortunately not the larger or thickly act
tied portion, had been changed from . habit
able place to maze of mangled matter, a deser,
with signs of woe aud terror scattered every.
where. Not houee stood where 800 had
been At o'clock. Most Of the dwellings were
Of tho poorer class but many were pretty, care
fully tended and decorated housea Thu
citizens on the South side quickly repaired in
crowds to the scene Of direst disaster and went
to work. All night long by the 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 Rommeps hall. ,
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 aud nurses were soon to the fore, and
everything possible done to alleviate suffering.
The wounded were in horrible plight, and 4
walk through tho hall where they lie
svsn now, makes ono faint The
'uss and bruises are generally about
Vie upper part Of the body, and
childish faces are seen with wounds on them
30 CHASTITY that even the physician shudders Al
be uses sponge and needle Into the cuts dirt
and even powdered stone were forced in many
Instances. Collars seemed Of little or no pro.
lection, since, while some of the house. above
them blew away, those to the west wore
crushed bodily into their depths. Think Of
two mothers, 40 late a. noon TO- day,
sEEKIN0 HRANTICALLY FOR LOST CHILDREN,
seeing three who correspondsd in size with
those they sought but oil 90 marred by dir
and blood and wounds that even maternal love
could not tell whether to cay ''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 case.
10 to where the site of theil
homo was; ever . dreadful uncertainty
and haunting dread. and through /,
al tho breeze sighing gently, the moon smil-
ing calmly and men working bravely. The
rising sun showed the bitterness Of tho desola-
ton. Queer freaks there were, Of course.
Here stands wall, and on it hangs an nm
broken looking glass, while = heavy stove.
| nal o6 int0 fran
oy. There, swaying to and fro in the breeze.
is the family rocking chair, while = few fee,
from il horse lies
NANGLED AND DEAD
A feather bed yonder twisted like a rope, aud
touching ito edge students lamp, with even
the chimney intact Down near the river
stands the large Cole mill, with cyclonic bite
taken from ito western end. To the south OF
it IL train Of eight loaded
cars tnrned and twisted 40 il of straw. Will.
in tho race At the northern side are two more
cars blown bodily from the track aud into the
water The owner Of the mill was lifted llfty
feet vertically and hurled against . bank and
killed. Not bone In his body was loft nm.
A~oAASovoA9
was beautiful city. and ~ much on &C
connt Of its trees % anything A
core Of years will not restore it, pr,stine
loneliness in this direction. Some Of the
street> in the best part of the city are i'm.
passable, and looking mp CT down them one
sees nothing but 4 tangled mass Of
trunks aud foliage jammed across thu
roadway. Scarcely . resideuce-Mr. Var
Dnsen's is about the only one-that has uot
suffered more or less: and in many ..se.
heavy chimneys were crashed through the
roofs and gar-ets into the floors belo>. Ia,
description 10 utterly unable to portray tho re-
suits of storm which, In tho worst Of it.
path, absolutely -
SWEPT PART OF THE EARTH AvAv
leaving nothing Of grass or tree. or sbrnb
The relief committee is doing oil possible. and
residents are subscribing al they oan.
but help 10 needed, and speedily. Rooh-
ester gave literally to relieve those
who suffered in the July cyclone, and nov
Al 80