The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1886-04-22
MINNESOTA SC0URGDD
By the Cyclones Fateful Breath.
The Dead, Dying and
Injured.

Graphic Recital Of the Scenes at St.
Cloud, Sank Rapids and
Ris's Station.
The cyclonic period Of 1885 was calamitous,y
ushered In between p. m. on the 14th inst.
Northern Minnesota was the scene of the calam-
ity and st. Clond. a city Of 5000 inhabitants,
| Sank Rapids, town two miles distant, and
Rices, small railroad station sixteen miles far
Their North were the scene Of the greatest dieas-
ter, though immense damage was done in the
surrounding country. correspondent Of the
St. Paul Globe. writing in the evening Of the
l4th Of the calamity in st. Cloud said:
A few minutes past o'clock the skies be-
came overcast with dark clouds, and great
black mass rose ever the hills southwest of the
city and came with terrible velocity towards the
western outskirts In direct line for the Manito-
! ba freight yards. The clouds hung low and
| rolled over and over like smoke over battle
field, and were accompanied by loud roaring
and cracking that resembled holocaust In it's
fury. The cloud was fuunel-shsped and the
point dragged along the ground like the tail of
huge aereal beast, flashing everything that
came in its path into atoms. Citizens hardly
had time to fee to their cellars and seek other
points Of refuge before the whirlwind WAS on
them and the air was filled with flying boards,
shingles. bricks and other debris that was
strewn over the country and piled in promiscu-
GUS heaps. The cloud came from the
southeast and moved in a northeasterly d.
rection until 1t reached the river, where its
course was diverted and it followed the
river bank until it reached Sank Rapids, where
1t diverged to the left and passed directly
through the center OF that town. The utmost
excitement prevailed. Women and children
ran from their houses and fed aimlessly about
in the midst OF the dark cloud of dust and the
avalanche OF boards and bricks. Men lost their
presence Of mind and stood awed into silence
and inactivity in the presence of the wind
demon. 1t was hardly noticed before it was on
the city in all its fury, and the people were not
warned Of their danger before it was upon them,
and they fell like grain stalks before the reap
ers sickle. The portion Of St. Cloud struck by
the cyclone was the southwest, and was the res-
idence portion occupied by the laborng class OF
people, the majority Of them being foreigners
employed on the railroads. Their dwellings
were light board houses, and became easy prey
to the monster that had so viciously pounced up-
on them They were like cockle.shells in the grip
Of the whirlwind, and were picked up, tossed in
the air, rent into ten thousand pieces, and scat
tered to the four winds of heaven. The earth
was plowed up in the line OF the cyclone, and
the track over which it passed to the width of
nearly quarter of d mile looks as though it had
been upheaved by terrible volcanic eruption
1t had hardly begun its terrible work before it
was finished, and the scene that greeted the
eyes OF those who had escaped it's fury, was one
that caused the etoutest heart to shudder. The
cries and shrieks of the wounded rent the air,
and the ground was sire wn with the bodies of
the dead, among whom were stalwart men, weak
women and weaker children. The citizens al
most to man rushed to the demolished district,
and summonirg physicians began their work of
rcscuing those who were still living, from be-
meath the piles of dirt and fallen buildings
Brainerd was promptly telegraphed for medical
help, and che promptly responded by sending
dezen ply sicians and surgeons by special train
but it was late in the evening when they arrived
on the scene. St. Pau and Minneapolis vert
also appealed to, and special car was sent out
with twenty'three surgeons and physicians for
the scene of disaster.
The scene on the streets after dark was An i'm
preseive one. Knots of men stood on corners
discussing the features Of the disaster and
speaking touchingly of their friends and &C.
quaintances, who had either been killed or terri
bly, wounded. On the ground the scene was a
CHASTITY one. Rain poured down in torrents, and
hundreds OF men wandered over the ground,
many OF them Carrying lanterns searching for
bodies among the ruins. Hotel Hobbies were filled
with excited citizens, many Of whom yet sus-
pected that some portion Of their family or their
friends had fallen victims to the terrible mon
ster. Women seemingly unconscious of the rain
that was falling and converting cutters into tur-
bid streams, glidcd through the etFcets sobbing
| and moaning in their fright. The scene deaes
description. In the track Of the cyclone
stood the Manitoba freight house. and cars
filled with freight. Down on them the whirl-
wind pounced, and, grasping the heavy cars,
| lifted them from the tracks and cast them in
shapeless masses. Iron rails we're torn from the
ties and twisted like the smallest wires. Tel
egraph poles were torn up and wires twisted in
to curious masses. The freight house was to-
! tally wrecked. The roof was lifted and blown
several hundred feet. The sides next sue
cumbed and over $4,000 worth Of freight was
whirled through the air and thrown into heaps
and scattered by piecemeal over an area Of q
| quarter OF mile. Fifteen freight cars were de-
| molished. Operators in the telegraph Office and
employees at the freight depot saw the cyclone
coming and fled to the cellars and thus escaped.
1t was $3.50 in the evening when the special
car arrived from St. Paul and Minneapolis,
bringing Drs. J. II. Murphy. w. W. Day, Richie,
Abbott and Denslow of St. Paul, and H. C.. Ives
Of the Manitoba road and Lieut.. Gov. Gil
man and ex-senator Mcdonald, from this city,
who were in St. Paul when they learned Of the
calamity. The train was drawn by engine 100,
uuder Engineer Olafson and in charge of Con-
| ductor Dyson, and the run was made in two
hours through terrible thunder storm, and the
night was so black that during most of the way
the engineer was unable to descry objects on
the track five feet ahead Of the engine. At
Minneapolis Mayor Ames, accompanied by
eighteen city physicians, boarded the train, also
members of the police and detective forces.
Mr. Gilman was lahoring under terrible appre-
tension that his family had suffered, as his
dwelling stood almost in the direct line Of the
storm, as 1t was reported to have moved by the
specials sent to st. Paul. but he learned upon
arriving here that his property had escaped un-
touched. and he Immediately turned his
attention to the aiding the sufferers.
At 900 all the bodies that could be found
were taken from the ruins and cared for. The
dead were taken to the Little Giant engine
house and stretched ont on the floor while the
wounded were sent to St. Benedict hospital,
where they were promptly cared for by the
corps Of physicians and nurses, among whom
were several ladies' who had volunteered
their services. There were twenty-eight
wounded stretched ont on cots in the various
wards, aud every facility Of the hospital was
tested to its utmost to fill the requirement.