River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-09-18
CYCLONES WRATH
Clear Lake, Somerset, Clayton and
Other Points in Polk and st.
Croix Counties Severely
Dealt With.
at Marine, Washington County, MINI,
and Vicinity, Much Ruin is Also
Wrought.


| A few minutes before 6 p M, Tuesday, 9th,
Clear Lake, Polk county, was devastated
| by cyclone which, coming from almost due
west, and with a sharply defined width of half
mile, swept everything before it, utterly de-
molishing every business building, the two
churches and a number of the residences, and
in less than five minutes converted a prosper
Gus and pretty place of 200 inhabitants into
scene of rum as absolute as that pre-
scented in the afflicted portion of Rochester,
Mimi, last summer The storm originated IN
Minnesota as far as can be Judged, and the
central cloud had what can best be described
as three terrible tails. The saddest of all to
chronicle il the loss OF three lives
Mrs r. Burdick, wife Of the postmaster.
Willie Kavanaugh, eighteen year old son Of
J. j. KaYanaugh, a carpenter of the place.
John Saunpers- Both the latter in the en-
ploy of w. r. ingalls,. general storekeeper.
Mrs. Burdick was killed by the crushing in
of her home. Kavanaugh and Saunders were
in Mr.. Ingalls, store, and were crushed by fall
ing walls and timbers. All three bodies are
disfgured beyond recognition and were not re-
covered from the wreck until the next day
Walter Lewis was badly cut on the head and
injured internally, but it is hoped he will re-
cover Tho wounds and bruises are almost
countless
list OF LOSSES.
The principal losses to property are as fol-
lows:
w p Ingalls,, store building. Graves street,
loss, 81 600; stock, $4,000; utterly gone
A. Symns & Co (of Minneapolis) store and
stock destroyed; damage, $4,000 Stave mill
unroofed and Stave sheds destroyed; loss,
81 600
P. Burdick, postmaster, residence and town
hall above destroyed; loss, $500; postoffice
building loss $500
Mr. Schultz general store; building destroyed
but not stock; loss, 81, 500.
Smith & Lewis (St Paul., general store;
store destroyed, stock injured, three barns de-
molished; total loss, exclusive of salvage, So
500
John Glover & Co, lumbermen; loss on
lumber blown away and broken, on two saw
mills unroofed and stacks blown down, esti-
mated at 100000
Mr. Briggs, drug store and stock ground to
atoms; no salvage; loss, 81, 500.
Drug store and stock, small, belonging to
Swe1e, loss, $500
Mrs. Clark, widow, residence blown away;
loss, $500.
Mr. Lance furniture dealer, one end of build
ing blown away; loss, 81 ,000 St Charles
hotel partially unroofed; damage about $500.
David Humbird * Co., smokestack of mill
down and lumber blown away; estimated loss,
800.
AGGREGATE LOSSES.
The total of the losses given above is $780,
100; and to this, at a moderate computation,
$50, 900 may be added for losses not specified.
The following are among the buildings de-
moshed or seriously wrecked: Methodist,
Congregational and Swedish churches, all lev
eled, taking every church in the village. The
postoffice Schultz's store. Luntzs furniture
warerooms. DR. Goodwin office, A. NJ Briggs
drug store W. r. Ingalls, dry goods store
p. Burdick's block and residence.
Charles 4 L. G. Nelson's drug store, blown
entirely from its foundation and badly
wrecked.
Starkweather & Deans store, front demol-
ished.
st Charles hotel, owned by Charles Graves,
damaged very seriously Graves loss can
not be short of 81, 600
Glover & Co.'S planning mill was also I'M
rooted, and every smokestack in town leyeled
and nearly every tree broken down.
The storm crossed from north of Minneapo-
lis to Marine, and thence struck dozen places
along the Northern division of the Omaha road
north of Hudson The most serious traces are
found in the towns of Star Prairie, Stanton and
Somerset
The storm did most of its destructive work
north of New Richmond, and reports are con
stantly coming in of divers and sundry disas-
ters. A house in the town of Star Prairie was
blown down, and Mrs Camp seriously injured,
Jured 1t Is feared fatally. In Jeweltown many
buildings were unroofed and ends taken
out of them Andrew Arnquist had his
of them. Andrew Arnquist had his
house unrOofed and his barn blown over.
The end of Fay's large livery stable was
blown out, and Ed. Corners had both house
and barn demolished II. X. Fays hired
man was standing near granary when it blew
from its foundation, and broke both his legs
and otherwise injured him so that it is feared he
cannot live. 1t is stated that the wind did even
greater destruction farther north. Owing to
the cyclone the fair will hold over Friday The
Clark family are recovering, except the baby
whose skull was crushed i'll. McFetridge had
a horse fatally injured by flying boards in jew
elltown.
Star Prairie appears to have Jared the worst,
nearly every building in the village was
more or less shaken, and fully dozen in the
town completely destroyed Among the more
serious losses are:
House and barn of Mr. A r. n Quist valued
at So 800 The large barn of r. X Fay, in
which boy had both legs broken. Ira Kid
der's barn. L. Clarke, house and barn, and
Filpah's store front blown in.
The course of the tornado and cyclone, seems
to have been: From the center of Hennepin
county twenty-four miles north of east to White
Bear, Mimi, thence northeast fifteen miles
10 Marine Mimi, thence fourteen miles slightly
south of east to New Richmond, north of east
twenty-four miles (from Marine, and on the
theory of triple separation,) to Clear Lake,
and thirty miles northeast (from Marlne) to
Clayton, thence east until further trace is lost
in the forest
At Marine Mills, north Of Saltwater, Mimi,
fully two thirds of the houses in the village
were more or less injured, some being utterly
demolished, others moved from their founda-
tons, while others lost chimney or few
shingles from the roof. In the south part Of
the town the handsome new frame house of n
P. Root was blown down and hurled into the
river. The family were buried under the fall
ing walls, but were taken out unhurt aside
from few bruises The two houses
next adjoining that of Mr. Root are
owned by c. A. Lindquist and Mr.. Charles
Westergren, and are just across the street from
Walker, Judd & Veazie's lumber yard. When
the wind struck the lumber the air was full of
boards, josts and scantling. Some of these
pieces were carried into the street. others driv-
en- lengthwise through the two houses last men
toned, Kidding them completely, others thrown
into the river, and others still carried across 20
the Wisconsin side and spread around on the
hills
Samuel Judd thinks $4,000 will cover the
loss of the firm, and says that the entire loss
in the village will not exceed $4,000. In the
country the results are far more disastrous, as
many of the farmers, in addition to having
their homes wiped out of existence, have lost
the whole of their crops
In the town of Oneka near Marine, the de-
struction was worse than in any other locality.
Among those injured, but one, Mr. George
Rutherford, will not survive He lost one ear
and was nearly crushed in the chest by falling
timbers. The names of others more or less
seriously injured are-Mrs Lord, Mrs Charles
Brickett, Annie Peters, Mr.. Emerson, Mr.. T.
J. Withrow. The names of some of the prin-
cipal losers are T. d. Briggs, John Lutz,
Michael Pelican, T. G. Judkins
For many miles east of the North Wisconsin
road, the country is heavily timbered and COM
paratively uninhabited, and as no record of
disaster comes from towns on the Chippewa
Falls & Northern, it is fair to suppose the
force of the cyclone was dissipated before
it reached that line. The advices received go
to show that wind first attained destructive
momentum Hennepin county, and
though Minneapolis was not affected
seriously. farm houses and barns to the east
and slightly to the north of that city were
unroofed or otherwise injured, while grain
stacks were whirled abroad, and the sheaves
widely scattered Leaping over the Mississippi
the next heard of the storm is at White Bear,
where, although powerful, it was not cyclonic
in character White Bear is northeast of
Minneapolis and Marine as exactly northeast
from White Bear.