The Dickinson press., 1883-09-01
A Fearful Tuesday Evening which Sees
tho Minnesota Town q Victim
Of Cycl0nic Wrath.
Hundreds Of Buildings Shattered, 26
People Killed and 80 Other
Unfortunates Injured.
Five Hundred People Left Houseless to
View the Melancholy Scene
Of Ruin.
Nearly ell Public Buildings Damaged
and a Loss of 100000
Inflicted.

Inflicted.
RUINED ROCHESTER,
HORRIBLE woRx OF TIE oxuLoNK
R~ocHEsTER, Special Telegram, Aug. o.
The citizens Of Rochester are wan Of cheek and
~hollow-eyed, and we'll they may, since they
passed last evening % evil . quarter Of an hour
ss ever fell to the experience Of man. and to
this succeeded . night Of horror, sueh % mad.
men used to the terrors Of . stricken field
vince and shudder. The storm first came at
in the evening and lasted from twelve to fifteen
minutea Not until after 6 O'Clock wore the
residents the least alarmed, which il
the strangest, whom 1t is remembered thsl
. month sgo oyclonio fury vented itself
but q few miles from here. By 7:1O the south.
west quarter had assumed that sickly greenist
tint which serves as adrop curtain for such
dire work. In . few moments tho green
changed to copper, then TO bronze. with
whitish edges aud lateral lines Of flying soud
athwart it in every direction. Next was noted
that dreaded aud dreadful inverted cone, with
height seemingly immeasureable and murki
ness appalling. With tho speed of . n
bsllit came down tho valley of insignificant Sill
YER creek, aud when within half . mile
of the devoted city, its roar could
be heard. Cellars were rushed to by almost
every one, but . few Of the harder ones stayed
at points Of vantage near tho edges and wit.
messed
TIL ATTAoK OF THE R-EsIsT1Ess MONSTER.
Full 800 feet in the air it rose, and in it, whirlina
mass were trees and stones, animals and debria
of every conceivable description. Tho dome
OF the court house melted from view. though
touched merely by the hem of the wind
Trees snapped like oato'-nlne tails, or strange,
still. were twisted Is .corkscrews in the
hands Of . Titan. and lifted bodily into the
air with tons of earth olinging to their roots.
Animals were dashed against stone walls.
and their backs and bones crushed to powder.
The roar Of the fierce surge was like nothing
ever heard before. Tho atmosphere was
surcharged with electricity. and pellets OF
rain and hail were driven vertically as IL sho,
from . rifle. Fifteen minutes Of this terror,
and then . silence By 8 O'Clock tho stars
were shining as peacefully IS If cyclones were
unknown; but the silence was soon
broken BY the eroans 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 irons habit
able place to maze Of mangled matter, . desert
with signs Of woe and terror scattered every
where. Not . house stood where 800 had
been at q O'Clock. Most of the dwellings we're
Of the poorer class but many were pretty, care.
fully tended and decorated housea 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 itful light Of
lanters ct 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 wore speedily borne to private houses.
The majority were taken to Rommel's hall, q
large building on Broadway, whore cots were
hastily prepared for the wounded. The dead
were taken away by friends or to ". h Sew
ards undertaking place on Broadway. Physi-
clans and nurses were soon to tho fore, and
everything possible done to alleviate suffering.
The wounded were in . horrible plight, and .
walk through tho hall whore they Na
sven now, makes ono faint The
cuts and bruises are generally about
he upper part Of tho body, and
faces are seen with wounds on them
so ghsstly that even the physician shudders a.
no uses sponge and needle. Into tho cuts dirt
and even powdered stone were forced In many
instances. Cellars seemed Of little or no pro-
lection, since, while some of tho houses above
them blew away, those to tho west were
crushed bodily into their depths. Think Of
two mothers, rs late o. noon to-day,
SEEKING 1RANTIcALLY FOB LOST CHILDREN,
seeing three who correspondent in size with
those they sought, but all so marred by dirt
and blood and wounds that even maternal love
could not tell whether to say ''mine'' or not
Tie scenes around the demolished houses were
heartrending; men, women and children ory-
ing bitterly aud almost bereft Of reason. An
absolute doubt exists in many cases
Is to whore the site Of their
homo was; ever . dreadful uncertainty
and . haunting dread. and through it
all the breeze signing gently, the moon smil-
ing calmly and men working bravely. The
rising sun showed the bitterness Of the desola-
ton. Queer freaks there were. Of course.
Here stands . wall, and on II hangs an IN
broken looking glass, while . heavy stove.
crushed into fragments, lies on the floor near
by. There, swaying TO and fro in tho breeze.
is the family rocking chair, while Q few feet
from ita horse lies
M Z
A feather bed yonder twisted like . rope, aud
touching its edge . Students lamp, with even
the chimney intact Down near the river
stands the large Cole mill, with . cyclonio bite
taken from it, western end. To the south of
1t is train Of eight loaded
cars turned and twisted % II Of straw, while
in the race at the northern side are two more
cars blown bodily from tho track and into the
water. The owner of the mill was lifted fifty
feet vertically and hurled against . bank and
killed. Not . bone in his body WAS left un-
broken. Rochester, - every ono knows,
was . beautiful city. and - much on 40
count Of it. trees y anything. A
NnYo ~ -oA~. Ill ~ok >~nkn~> -. s-.AS~r