The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-08-24

down of shade.trees, which is really
nothing.
AS regards the approaching of the
storm, the Record and Union of Roch-
ester says when the clouds began To
gather, the atmosphere WAS oppres-
sively heavy and hot. About four
o clock it seemed us though it had
commenced To clear up, but soon
heavy, black clouds came from the
and rain fell heavily a
little after six. Directly the clouds
assumed the greenisl appearance that
is the forerrnner of those terrible
visitants. accompanied 10y rumbling
noise, ami in Il short time the wind
rose, increasing in violence, until the
full force of the cyclone was felt.
The duration of the storm is vari
ously estimated at from 10 tn 20
minutes, but whether it was brief OF
otherwise, the destruction WAS COM
plete. The cyclone, rs we before
stated, struck the north part of the
clty, and before it the mammoth
Harvester Works was rs the mcrcst
frame shanty. Whatever it struck it
demolished. and in many instances
left not veStige to max the place
where stood but a moment before the
home of some poor unfortunate. In
nearly every instance houses were
simply taken up and scattered to the
four winds often there not being two
boards or timber left nailed together,
and oftener even the PARTICLES of
woods that formed the house could
not be found. 1t WAS in this
locality that the great loss of life, AS
well as OF property, occurred. Almost
every person who escaped injury took
refuge in cellar, and had there been
more of these safeguards under the
houses, the loss of life would have
been very much less and the suffer
ing that many are now called upon To
undergo from bI uiseS, cuts and broken
bones would not nave been.
Commencing at the j. Il. Cook
house on the 1t. Paul road about II
mile north Of town. which was entirely
Il N A Il,
l.. Lcland's residence, barn and out
buildings, mot leaving ii stick standing
and sped on with terrible fury, strik-
ing and utterly denoliShing the en-
CINE house belonging To the {. i \ &.
W. X. X. Thence il swept through
Lower Town. From the appearance
of the ground. it seems rs if terrific
flood had swept over this section. In
many places where there had been
residences, scarcely Il board was left
OH the premises. The grass is filled
with dirt and sand, as if muddy
stream had passed over it, and pota.
toes are left exposed as though turned
out of the earth by plow.
The peculiar freaks of the storm
are beyond comprehension let alone
description. The large Zumbrota
FIGURING Mill belonging to Mr. j. NJ
Cole stands to-day us Il puzzle to the
thousands who view it, and reflect
upon the manner i'm which il was
partially torn out. The lower story
is left unframed. while at a distance
OF fifteen feet above. the second Sto-
ny is completely torn out on one side.
and the opposite side remains intact.
In other words, that portion struck
10y the cyclone was scooped clean
out. The railroad bridge was carried
away, and here let us digress so far
from the main subject rs to say that
Surt. SanbOrn is entitled to great
credit for his energy In speedily con-
structing passage-way across the
Zumbrota river. From "Wednesday
morning until ten O'Clock Thursday
night was all the time that was put
in IN the construction of this tempo
rary bridge, and it goes without Say
ing that the boys lost no time what
ever.
There are many seemingly incred-
lille stories told. about the results of
the storm, One gentleman whose
name was given, but which we do
not now recall, states that he WAS 1T
work with a piich.fOrk near his
house, one and half miles in the
country, at the time the storm came
upon him, and the next thing he knew
was that he was lying within the city
limits still holding firmly to the fork.
How lie vas transported he knows
not, but believes he was carried i'm
the wind. lie was uninjured.
a man after the storm noticed Il
new trn.penny nail driven halfway
through Il window sash in his house,
and The only way he accounts for the
freak is that it came from Il new
building which was in process of
erection Il block ana IA half away,
which WAS totally destroyed, and
driven there by the cyclone.
Another man found Il shinglr bur.
led its full length in the side of his
house, which WAS the only evidence
of cyclone visible about his prcmis.
cs save few brokendown shade
trees.
These are only two or three i'm
stances of 4 great many similar mir.
aclas that are told.
The stories told IT hair.brcadih cs-
capeS Of some and Of the ia@,: Of par.
rnts and children 10y others is heart. /,
/ ending. We interviewed one mother
who fled with her three little children
, Il neighbOr S house. Just rs her own
house Aew into fragments. Two
children were held 10y the mother
with the grasp OF despair, but the
third was snatched by the Jealous