St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-09-11
CYCLONE CRASHED.
4 Destructive Wind and Hail
Storm on Monday
Evening.
Clear Lake, Wisconsin, Almost
Wiped Out Of Existence.
Three Persons Killed and Numerous
Others Injured.
Marine and Oneka, Washington County, Have
Touch of the Storm King.
Houses UnrOOfed, Barns Destroyed and Des-
olation General.
A Total Destruction of Over Half Million
Dollars of Property.
Three Persons Killed and Numerous
Others Injured.
Marine and oneka, Washington County, Have
Touch of the Storm King.
Especial Telegram to the Globe. !

ISpeclaI Telegram 10 the Clone
CLEAR LAKE, Wis, Sept. 1O.-Twenty-fou
hours ago this was thrifty village of 1000
inhabitants We had churches, schools, busi-
ness houses and comfortable, happy homes.
Now we are in chaos. There is nothing but
ruin-ruin everywhere The cyclones
breath has spirited away the roofs from DER
our heads and laid three of our number dead
at our feet as a ghastly reminder of its ter
rble work. Last night at a few minutes
after O'Clock, just as the villagers were sit
ting down to their evening meal, the wind
swooped down upon Clear Lake, set it
trembling for moment and then scattered
it in million fragments over thousand
fields. 1t seemed to those in the midst of
the catastrophe like from three to five min
utes from the beginning to the end of the
blowing but at such time every moment
seems an age, and probably the cyclone lasted
not more than two minutes. 1t was NOV
ing directly east, covered about half a mile,
and swept every tree, fence, haystack, house
and barn from its track 1t even cut the
grass as clean as would a lawn mower.
During those awful moments of suspense
one could not see foot in front of ones
face. When the storm had passed the streets
were so filed with debris that they were
utterly i'm passable for teams, and footmen
could only get along by climbing from
timber to timber of the dismembered dwell
ings aud business houses. Houses, barns,
smoke stacks, etc, were blown about in
such promiscuous manner thatit seems like
a miracle that a score of people were not
killed outright but roll call tonight shows
only three dead.
Mrs. P. Burdick the wife of the post
master, was lying On a lounge in her dwell
ing at tie evil hour, and she was crushed by
falling timbers.
Willie Kavanagh, son of J. J. Kavanagh,
and bookkeper for W. Rs ingalls,, was at work
at his desk in the store when the building
fell up5a5Eilu.
\. II. Saunders, a clerk in the same
establishment, was also found dead under
the ruins.
Mr.. Jacob Martin, living about three miles
southeast of town, had two children blown
from his house, and they have not yet been
heard from.
At New Richmond a house was blown from
its foundation. and after the storm the babe
was found in the cellar with a trunk on it.
The child was not hurt, but the mystery is
how it got in the cellar.
\ great many persons were more or less
seriously injured in Clear Lake village, but
it was difficult Yesterday, in the generally
chaotic condition of things, to find out names
and nature OF injuries.
Mr.. B. W. Smith, member of the firm of
Smith u Lewis. coal and wood dealers of St.
Paul. was in their branch store at Clear Lake
at the time of the storm, and had narrow
escape from death. He was standing near a
stove, and lodged or fell behind it when the
tmbers began to fall The latter fell again st
the stove and formed q roof over Mr.. Smith,
thus saving his life. He was bruised on the
nose and left arm. A peculiar freak was
played by the storm upon Mr.. Smiths store
1t cut the building off just under the second
floor as clean as could have been done by a
good carpenter with a saw, and set the upper
story in the street Nothing was injured in
this part of the house. Even the bed was as
neatly spread as if it had just been attended
to by careful housewife. Two clerks in the
store with Mr.. Smith escaped to the cellar
without being injured.
Walter Lewis, a clerk in the drug and jew
elry store of a. \. Briggs, was fastened
across a counter and seriously injured. His
face and head were also terribly cut.
The Methodist, Congregational and Swed-
ish Lutheran churches are in ruins.
The postoffice building is a complete
wreck.
". c. ingalls, general merchandise estab-
ishment, together with a new stock of goods
valued at Sl0,OO0,is razed to the ground, and
the goods are utterly ruined.
Other complete wrecks are:
W. c. McCarty's merchandise establish
uent,
?. Burlick's billiard hall and lyceum,
a. a. Briggs drug store,
H. A. Schulze's general store,
A. Syme 65 Co.'S general store.
Smith 81 Lewis had three barns blown
down, and their store was wrecked as stated
above. Their loss is about $1,000.
John E. Glover's smoke stacks were blown
down, his planning and saw mills unroofed
and his lumber scattered to the four corner:
of the earth. Mr.. Glover estimates his los:
at 500 O00
The buildings partially destroyed are:
E. 7. Lotz's furniture store, j. Wall:
blacksmith shop, Church Bros wagon shop
St. Charles hotel, Clear Lake house, a. sym,
d Co.. stave sheds, DR.. Goodwin's office
and buildings of J. Rickers and j. c. Gillett
Besides the foregoing, large number O
houses, generally dwellings, were reduced I,
various stages of demoralization. The houst
Of Mrs. Clark. widow, was torn all to pieces
and scattered about the streets. The lad,
was fortunately away from home.
An illustration of the terrific force of tn
Tind is found in the fact that 4x6 scantling
we're driven through walls so rapidly that the,
cut holes as smooth and commensurate witt
the size of the missiles as bullets cut in pass
ing through wood.
havoc in the agricultural region. at Clay