The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1883-08-31
Hundreds OF Buildings Shattered. 2t
People Killed and 80 Other
unfortunates Injured.
Five Hundred People Left Houseless to
View the Melancholy Scene
of Ruin.
Nearly all Public Buildings DAMAGED
and a Loss of 100000
r Inflicted.
RUINED ROCHESTER,.

ROCHESTER, Special Telegram, Aug %
The citizens OF Rochester arc wan Of cheek and
hoilow-eyed, and well they may, since they
passed last evening as evil a quarter Of an hour
as ever fell to the experience of man, and to
this succeeded a night of horror, such as made
men used to the terrors of a stricken field
vince and shudder. The storm first came att
in the evening and lasted from twelve to fifteen
minutes. Not until after 6 O'Clock were the
the least alarmed, which is
the ssrangest, when it is remembered thai
. month ago cyclonic fury ventad itself
but a few miles from here, BY 7!l0 the south.
west quarter had assumed that SICILY graenish
tint which serves as adrop curtain for ouch
dire work. In a few moments the gree
changed to copper, then to bronze, with
Whitlsh edges aud lateral lines of flying scul
athwart it in every direction. Next was noted
that dreaded and dreadful Inverted cone, with
height seemingly ~mmeasureable and murkl
ness appalling. With the speed of a cannon
ball it came dow the valley of insignificant Sill
yer creek, and when within half a milo
of the devoted city, its roar coull
be heard. Cellars were rushed to by alrnost
every one, but a few of the harder ones stayed
at points of vantage near the edges and wit,
messed f..
H ATTACK OF rHE REsIsTLEss MONSTER.
Iull300 feet III the air it rose, and III its whiiliua
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
Trees snapped like cAt-o'-MTne tails. or stranger
still, were twisted as curkscrews in the
hands Of a Titan, and lifted bodily into the
air with tons OF earth cliuging TO their roofs.
Animals were dashed against stone walls,
and their backs and bones crushed to powder.
The roar of the fierce urge was like nothing
ever heard before. The atmosphere wa
surcharged with electricity. and pellets OF
rain and hail were driven vertically as if shot
from a rifle. Fifteen minutes of this terror.
and then a silence. BY S O'Clock the stars
wore shining IS peacefully as if cyclones were
but the silence was soon
broken by the groans of the dead, dying and
the sorely wounded. The northern part of the
city, fortunately not the larger or thickly set
tied portion, had been changed from a habit
able place to maze of mangled matter, a desert
with sigma of woe and terror scattered every.
been at z o'clock. Most of the dwellings were
of the poorer class but many were pretty, care.
fully tended aud 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 the ftful light OF
lanters at first and later aided by the moon
they toiled.
SCORES OF BODIES
mangled. cut, torn and 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 Rommel's hall, a
large building On Broadway. where cots were
hastily prepared for the Wounded. The dead
were taken way by friends or to w. II. 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 a horrible plight, and o
walk through the hall where they lie,
svou now, makes one 1alnL Inc
outs and bruises are generally about
sae upper part Of the body, and
childish faces are seen with wounds on them
80 CHASTITY that even the physician shudders as
he uses sponge and needle. Into the cuts dirt
and even powdered stone were forced in many
instances. Cellars seemed Of little or no pro-
lection, since, while som 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 FOR LOST ~1LDRE
seeing three who c~orresponded in siza with
those they sought, but all so married by dirt
aud blood and wounds that even maternal love
could not tell whether to say mine" or not
The scenes around the demolished houses we're
he~artrending; men, women and children cry
ing bitterly and almost bereft of reason. An
absolute doubt exists in many cases
as 10 where the site of their
home was; ever q dreadful uncertainty
aud a haunting dread. and through il
al the breeze signing gently, the moon smil-
tns calmly and men working bravely. The
rising sun showed the bitterness Of the desola-
lion. Queer freaks there were, of course.
Here stands q wall, and on it hangs an IN
broken looking glass, while a heavy stove.
crushed into fragments, lies On the floor near
by. There, swaying to and fro in the breeze,
ts the family rocking chair, while q few feet
from its horse lies
ANGLE AND DEAD.
A feather bed yonder twisted like a rope, and
touching it's edge o students lamp, with even
the chimney intact. Down near the river
stands the large Cole mill, with a cyclonic bite
taken from it's western end. To the south OF
it lie a train of eight loaded
ears turned and twisted as if 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
killed. Not a bone in his body was left IN
broken. Rochester, as every one knows,
beautiful city, and as much on ac
count OF its trees as anything. A
core of years will not restore it's pristine
loneliness in this direction. Some of the
streets in the best part of the city are i'm
psssable, and looking up or down them one
sees nothing but a tangled mass .ot
trunks and foliage jammcd across the
roadway. Scarcely q residence-Mr Van
is about the only one-that has not
suffered more or less: and in many cases !
heavy chimneys were crashed through the
roofs and garrsts into the foors below. But