The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-08-29
THE MINNESOTA CYCLONE.
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION ny AN EYE
WITNESS.
Now Il Came Cp-The wsrSing-A
Scene OF Utter Desolatiou-
A Contrast.

fCorrcspondence OF the Richmond Dtsoatch-l
ROCHESTER, MIMI, August ", 1888
"If YOU want TO sec a western cyclone,
come here"
The speaker was our host, Mr.. James
Cussons. one OF the early settlers oil MIN
nesota and long familiar with the summer
tempests and winter billiards OF this ier-
tile but storm-swept region.
This hasty announcement was made
while we were at supper last evening we
had begun the day with our customary
preparations for prairie-chicken shoouhg'
but the close. sultry air soon became SO OPP
pressiye that the dogs could not work ana
we turned our attention to Root river,
where for some hours the mosquitoes and
black bass rivalled each other In their
biting proclvities. Towards evening a
smart shower fell from an apparently
cloudless sky, hut beyond this and the
feryid heat we had noted no unusual at-
mospheric conditions.
sHRouDING DOOMED CITY.
Our hosts summons quickly brought us
from the table, and from a sheltered spot
guarded by the wooded hills which en-
wrap M,ll-Creek Valley, we looked oul
upon the gathering storm. Night was ius
closing IN, but the lightning, vivid ana IN
cessanf, lit up the landscape with glare
which seemed brighter than the brightest
noon. Up the valley, suggishly ana Slows
rolled a cloud OF inky blackness, which
even the lightning could notpierce-a pau
OF death, shrouding doomed city. 1hen
the mass lifted; seemed caught ON the
wings OF the wind all the furies OF the
air were turned loose. and from west TO
east the tempest swept its course, Staying
or manning every living thing upon its
track.
But the wires will give the story in
sentence "a cyclone struck Rochester.
Mimi, last night: 81 persons were killed
and about 200 wounded"
The cyclone gave some brief warning OF
its coming. and the people OF Rochester,
taught bya late experience, instantly re-
treated TO their cellars.
But for this precaution the loss OF lie
would have been appalling. Along the
tornado's pathway stores and dwellings
were swept away like chat, while the peo-
pie lay safe In their retreats.
II was where the houses fell in upon their
foundations that the loss OF life was great
est. Up TO this time thirty bodies have
been recovered, and working parties OF
citizens are still exploring the ruins.
CONTRAST.
The eastern portion Of the city presents
q scene absolutely ndescribable. j saw it
three summers ago-a lovely suburb OF
pleasant cottage homes, adorned with
shrubs and flowers, and uncovered amid
luxuriant foliage. Now there Is no trace
OF any human Notwithstanding to give
the customary marks OF wrecked or de-
serted home. Streets, lawns, ana culti-
waited gardens are blent in one common
desert-no boundary lines, no landmarks,
nothing but a confusion OF dusty pits to
give q clue to the familiar homes OF yester-
day. The ground is numbered with the
trunks Of trees, and here and there few
wind-riven branches remain. but over
space OF a. hundred acres there Is not
vestige Of any living plant, not one green
leaf, not one green blade OF grass.
AFTER THE DISASTER.
1t looks like the broad, fiat bed OF q
lried-up river. Swollen carcasses Of horses,
cattle, and swine already faint the air.
Men and women, wild-eyed and purpose
less, wander through the ruins. Some
utter cries OF rapture on finding their FAM
lss still unbroken. Others are bowed
down in despair and there are none to
comfort them.
Fire, flood, famine, pestilence. all the
malign forces OF nature, seem, in the pres
ence Of this calamity, to have some miti-
eating feature; but the cyclone. piti!ess
and all-embracing, defes alike the pru-
dence, the wisdom, and the strength Of
man. I.