The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-04-21
AN APPALLING CALAMITY.
SECTIONS OEMINNESOTA LAID WASTE
by n CYCLONE.

- 'N'b, Ni'NN', Nplh it-SI.
Cloud and Sank Rapids, this State,
were swept by u terribly destructive
cyclone about $50 o'clock this after
noon. The first knowledge of The
disaster was contained in a telegram
sent - Mayor Amos from St. Cloud,
reporting the disaster and asking tina;
a special be sent witE physicians.
a similar dispatch was received from
Sank Rapids. Immediately upon re-
cclpt 81 these messages, preparations
were made to respond to the call for
help. y train tur St. Cloud left at &
O'Clock. Information at hand is very
mcagrc, and sensational reports are
current that II hundred people were
killed. 1t is believed that at least
forty persons have been killed and
about scvcnty-tivc wounded. but it is
impossible to get much information AS
yet. All is excitement and the streets
are TILED with men and frightened
women ana children. The disaster is
certainly appalling. As nearly as can
be learned scores of houses have been
entirely wrecked. Twelve physicians
were aboard the rclicltrain Which left
for ST. Cloud.
ST.. PAUL, April li.-Privatc adviccs
say the storm struck the railroad be.
tween the round house and depot, and
swept II path GOO yards wide through
the city, lcvclling between 10 and POO
houses. II. NJ. Clark. II w~cll-known
lumberman who lives in 81. Cloud,
says ninety persons were Killed and
more than 100 injured, many very
seriously. Superintendent WnkcmAn
of tie Manitoba Road SAYS that be-
tween thirty and forty persons were
killed at Sank Rapids, Il few milo,
southeast Of St. Cloud, and nearly
double that number injured.
ST. PAUL, April lL-R"EortS of The
cyclone at ST. Cloud, Sank Rapids,
Rye Station and other points in the
vicinity, last night and carly this
morning, were not exaggerated. At
3 O'Clock this morning in the places
named there were forty nine dead and
%nearl.' two hundred injured, with
many still missing, whose bodies will
probably be recovered. just enough
houses are left in Sank Rapids to form
6 fringe around thc village limits. The
debris is not piled in heaps, but scat
tered far and wide. The sign "Sauk
Rapids" on the Manitoba depot, and a
basket full of school books were found
in Rye Station, fifteen miles distant.
This shows the terrible power of the
storm.
The revised estimates of the killed
and wounded are: st. Cloud, Is Killed
40 injured: Sank Rapids, 80 killed,
100 injured; Rye Station, - killed,
number of wounded as yet unknown
ST. CLOUD, MINI, April ID. "A few
minutes after O'Clock yesterday after
noon the skies became overcast with Il
dark cloud, and a great black mass
rose over the hills southwest of the
city, and coming with terrible velocity
to he western outskirts in n direct line
for the Manitoba freight yards. The
clouds hung low, and rolled over and
over like smoke over abattlc field, and
were accompanied by a loud roaring
sound, that rcscmblcd II contlagration
in its fury. The cloud was funnel
shaped, and the point dragged along
the ground like the tail Of Il huge aerial
beast, flashing everything that came in
its path into atoms. The citizens had
hardly time to flee to their cellars and
seek other points of refuge before a
Whirlwind was on them aud the air
filled with flying boards, shingles,
bricks and other debris, that was
IRWIN over the country and piled in
promiscuUus heaps. Ii came from the
southeast and moved in Il northcrly
direction until it reached the river,
where its curse was diverted and lol-
lowed the river banks until it reached
Sank Rapids, where it divcrgcd to the
left, passing directly drought the cen
ire of that town.
The utmost excitement prevailed.
Women and children fled from their
houses and rushed aimlcssly about in
thr midst OF the dark cloud Of dnst and
an avalance of boards and brick. Men
lost their presence of mind and stood
in silence and inactivity i'm the presence
of the wind demon. 1t was hardly
noticed before it was On the city in all
it's fury, and the people were not
warned Of their danger before it was
upon them, and they fell like grain
stalks before the rcapcr's sickle.
The portion Of st. Cloud struck by
the cyclone was the southwestern sec
ton, and was the residence portion
occupied by the lab0ring class of
people, the majority of them being
foreigners employed on the railroads.
Their dwellings were light built
houses and became easy prey to the
monster that had so viciously pounccd
upon them. They were like cookie
shells in the grasp of the whirlwind,
and were picked up and tossed in the
air and rent into Il thousand pieces.
The earth was plowcd up in the line Of
the cyclone, and the path over which
it passed, to Il width of nearly a quar-
ter of a mile, looks as though it had
been upheaved by a 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 its fury was
one that caused the stoutcst heart to
Shudder. The cries and shrieks of the
wounded rent the air, and the ground
was strcwn with the bodies of the
dead. Among them were stalwart
men, weak women, and weaker child
rem. The citizens almost % n mau
rushed to the demolished districts, and
summoning physicians began their