Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1886-04-22
TERRIBLE TORNADO.
TWO MINNESOTA TOWNS PART
LY DESTROYED.
Fhirty--eR-F Fsst tse-Persons, ff2isfssi, and a
Much Larger Number Injured-Be-
tween $50 and goo Houses
and Depot Demolished
Nearly One Hun
dred Lives Lost.

dred Lives Lost.
ST. PAUL, April IA tornado struck
St. Cloud, Mimi, at A this afternoon. II
came from southwesterly direction
passed through the town, and went al
most due north, striking Sauk Rapids
three miles away, few seconds later
st. Cloud is west of the Mississippi, sew
eral miles back from the river, and is sew
enty-five miles north Of st. Paul. 1t has
population of 1890. Sauk Rapids is
three miles above, on the opposite side OF
the river The disaster is certainly ap-
palling. Private advices say the storm
struck the railroad between the round
house and the freight depot and swept a
path 600 yards wide through the city lev
cling between $50 and 200 houses.
The estimates of the killed and wound
ed are: ST Cloud. 10 killed and 40 injur
ed; at Sauk Rapids, 80 killed and 100 in
iured; at Rice's st alton, % killed, num-
ber of injured yet unknown.
A few minutes after four o'clock the
skies became overcast with dark clouds
and a great black mass rose over the hills
ssoufhwest t-uf int CITY and coming with
terrible velocity toward the western OUT
skirts in direct line for the Manitoba
freight yards. The clouds hung low and
rolled over and over like smoke over a
battle field, and were accompanied by a
loud roaring and cracking sound that re-
sembled q confiagration in its fury. The
cloud was funnel shaped and the point
dragged along the ground like the tail OF
huge aerial beast MASKING everything
that came in its path into atoms. 1t was
hardly noticed before it was on the city
in all its fury, and people were not warn
ed of their danger before it was upon
them and they fell like grain stalks before
the reapers sickle The utmost excite
fled from their homes and rushed aim
lesslv about in the midst cf the dark
cloud of dust and avalanche of boards
and bricks. Men lost their presence oi
mind and stood in silence and inactivity
in the presence of the wind demon.
The portion of st. Cloud struck by the
cyclone was the southwestern end, and
was the residence portion, occupied by
the laboring class of people. Their
dwellings were ight-built houses, and
were like cookie shells in the grasp OF
the whirlwind, and were picked up and
tossed in the air and rent into Q thousand
pieces. The earth was plowed up in the
line of the cyclone, and the path over
which it passed looks as though it had
been upheaved by n terrible volcanic
eruption.
1t had hardly begun its terrible work
before it was finished, and the scene thai
greeted the eyes of those who had escap-
ed its fury was one that caused the stout
est heart to shudder. Cries and shrieks
of the wounded rent the air, and the
ground was strewn with the bodies of the
dead. The citizens rushed to the demol-
ished districts, and summoning physl
clans, began their work of rescuing those
who were still living from beneath piles
of dirt and fallen buildings. The build
ings were not crushed to fall in heaps
upon their helpless occupants, but were
| torn to pieces and fragments, sometimes
whole roofs, were sent crashing through
the neighboring structures, mingllng
| them in ruin, from under which the deap
and dying were released with great diff
| Guilty
At Sauk Rapids in just six minutes
from the time the storm struck the city
the best portion of the town was in ruins
with not a single business house lef
standing on Main Street. Many residenc
es were demolished The storm clouC
| was as black as night, with bright cleal
skv ON either side The court house is ;
! heap of ruins, and several county officers
| killed The school house, churches
postoffice, -four mills and large machine
shops were all converted into klndline
-. al tolr TO fol
| What was the center of town is now GOV
cred with all sorts debris, timber, doors
pieces of furniture, etc.; only the city ho
| tel remains intact The Northern Pacific
depot was literally blown away, and
| large number freight cars over turned
upon the tracks. The bodies were ialC
| out in the nearest houses left standing
| and several half demolished building
were made to answer the purpose of I
morgue The spectacle was sad one
! The living being not only deprived o
their friends, but of all their earthly pos
sessions at the same time. Total los
probably not less than $500, 900, wlthou
a dollar of cyclone insurance. The tow
is well nigh ruined.
FORCE OF THE CYCLONE.
The latest reports from the path OF tn
cyclone indicate that the destruction o
life and. property has been even create
than at first reported. The storm wa
one of the most terrific ever experienced
From a point starting about one mil
southwest of St Cloud to a point som
distance beyond Sank Rapids, distanc
of over fifteen miles, it destroyed every
thing it touched, tearing and rending tn
stoutest materials. Its path, so far as
has been examined, is from 300 to 90
feet wide From this every building
fence, tree and shrub have been swep
away. In places the ground was torn Vi
as if by an explosion, and in the yards o
the Manitoba railroad, at st. Cloud, eve
rails were twisted from the ties and ben
into useless shapes.
Just enough houses are left in Saul
Rapids to form fringe around the vi
lage limits. The debris is not piled i
heaps, but scattered far and wide. Th
sign, ''Sauk Rapids" on tue Manitob
depot, and basket full OF books, weT
found in Rye Station, fifteen miles dis
tant. This shows the terrible power c
the Storm The storm extended froI
jamestown, Dakota, through Minnesot;
and into Wisconsin, though its most di
astrous effects are to be found in the thre
placed first named.
Dispatches from towns in Wester
Iowa. where the cyclone travelled w eC
nesday afternoon, show that it was terri
fic. going at the rate of nearly min,
ty miles an hour. About fifty dwelling
were destroyed between Griswold an