The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-05-26
Wiscnnsin, Michigan &c.

Another cyclone, less extended IN the
area of It's ravages than the last bct quite
as destructive, was that which seems TO
have originated in the vicinity of Rock
ford. H., on Friday afternoon, OF last
week, damaging dwellings, shade trees,
Presbyterian church, &c, and causing five
deaths in that vicinity; after which 1t
crossed the Wisconsin line and gathering
force as 1t swept across Geneva lake fin
ally broke in full mightat : 10 IN the even.
ing upon Racine, where It did fearful havoc
IN the northeastern part OF the city. 1t
came in the usual way. Two heavy black
clouds were seen to approach-one from
the northwest and one from the southwest.
AS they came together they assumed q
funnel shape, and with q noise like train
of o thousand railroad cars burst upon the
city. Fortyeight houses were completely
demolished and 20 badly damaged. They
were mostly small frame houses, however,
occupied by working people, SO that the
money loss is estimated at but $4,000
More serious, however was the loss OF life
which includes at least 20 persons, with Il
hundred or more seriously Injured. Its
frs. damaging effect occurred at the infant
food factory OF Hcrllck 4 Co., two miles
west Of the city, and from there its track
WAS about an eighth of mile wide, level
ing everything IN its course Among the
, incidents" the following is related:
One of the completest wrecks was The
store of Mr.. Pelura. The building was 6
large two.story BRICK and occupied as
grocery and saloon. When the tornado
= struck 1t there were fourteen persons, male
and female. IN the store The building
was almost completely leveled, the walls
all blowing IN. Apparently there was no
a hole among the RUNS large enough Tor
man to get his footin. Yet when the dread
/, full wind had passed slowly there emerged
from the ruins here and there an indlvid
ual pulling, digging, and scrap!ng, dirt
g bpgrlmed, and almost frightened to death
1 They kept coming and coming until th'
!, whole fourteen appeared comparatYel.
y unsCathed.
Within 100 yards OF this place was tn
t cigar factory and summer garden OF VIM
G Lutz. There were probably dozen per
sons in here when the storm struck It, |
was large two-story frame building, ant
y was blown about twenty five feet and almos
5 leveled. Just as the storm struck 1t lit
b tie glrl entered. When it came to re!eas
+, ing the inmates all but the little girl wer
". liberated more or less uninjured, but sh
II was 50 completely penned in that 1t re
t quired the united efforts of as many me-
. as could work telegraph pole to pry u
. the timbers and release her. ana she wa
taken ont without serious injuries.
= The cyclone as it moved from the cit
. out upon the waters of Lake Michigan prt
scented grand spectacle such es is see
. but once in lifetime The whlrllng col
umns Of air seemed monster wroaths {
smoke as they whirled over the wateIy ex
panse, bearing with them spiral column
of water No ship that Encountered thi
monster OF the air could by any possibilit
escape destruction
Another cyclone Is mentioned as occu
ring III michigan Oh ouhuay, Passih
through Charlotte, Holland, Leroy, Sagl
nav, sc, and out over Saginaw Bay
-, And another small cyclone, apparent
having no connection with any of thos
mentioned above, touched northern Ind
ana on Friday afternoon and spent its fore
on Chicago, where it demolished woode
structure about $50 feet long that had bee
erected rs an annex to the Expositlo
> Building for the use Of the great Rallroa
Show that opened there on Thursday.