Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-07-17
DEATH In IT'S TRACK.
Minnesota Summer Resorts De-
stroyed by a Cyclone.
An Excursion Steamer Capsizes and 600
or More Persons Are DrOwnsd-The
Loss of Life nt Other Points Brings
the Total Up to About 800.
WRECK AND RUIN.


ST. PAUL Mimi. July IA report
has reached this city that cyclone or
hurricane struck Lake City, located
on Lake Pepin. about seventy miles
below here. and that a large num-
Der of people were lost by the sink
ing Of a steamer The steamer Sea
Wing was coming up the lake
at about 9 o'clock Sunday night, and
when opposite the city the storm struck
it and sent it to the bottom. There
were on board about $50 people from
Diamond Bluff and about fifty more
! were on a barge which was in tow.
A late estimate says that at least 200
persons were drowned. among the num-
Der being some Of the best known and
most prominent people of Red
Wing and vicinity.
Sixty-two bodies have been recovered
by the rescuing parties sent out from
the shore. Those identified SO far are:
Miss Hempling, Charles tempting, Fred
Heppling, Miss Way, Charles Dinslage, Henry
Stefinson. Annie Steeger, Francis Steeger.
Minnie Adams, Katie Daily, Miss BierSon,
Minnie Fisher aud Charles Dinsling
ST. PAUL, Mimi, July 14.-Death and
sofa and Wisconsin Sunday afternoon
and the death list will be large. The
summer resorts seem to have suffered
severely, owing to the fact that at this
season they are thickly populated, and
the losses of life there are fearful to
contemplate
A young man drove in from Lake
Coleman with the information that at
least two persons had been killed and
over 100 injured at that point.
Passing along the cyclone struck Lake
Joanna, Lake Gervais, Lake Vadnais,
Little Canada. and passed on about four
miles TO the east of White Bear lake
The passengers on the ST. Paul & Du-
luth train which left White Bear at ass
were approaching Gladstone when they
saw the cyclone forming, and watched
its whistling motion without fear or ex-
oitement Not so with the engineer,
however lie saw the threatening as
pect of the sky, and, with a startled look
ahead to see If all was clear, he took a
firmer grip on the throttle, and the en-
CINE leaped forward under his touch. His
Judgment and quick action undoubtedly
saved the lives of the passengers, for
the twisting, terrifying devastator
crossed the tracks scarcely more than a
minute after the train had passed. Help
that had been called for from the
stricken district was at once sent.
The storm first struck the farm Of
James j. Hill, the president of the
Great Northern railway, twenty miles
north of here, wrecking several build
ings and killing three farm laborers as
well as several head of stock. The fury
of the storm was fearful and every thing
in its path was swept away.
Eleven people were instantly killed
at the small town of Vadnais. on the
line of the St Paul & Duluth road, six
miles north Of here, and the village
wrecked Not a building was left
standing in sound condition, while
the great majority of them were blown
to pieces, the inmates suffering death
without warning.
The place whore the cyclone struck
the ground and caused loss of life was
on the shore of Lake Gervais, where J.
H. Schurmeier, of this city, had sum
mer cottage in a little basin where
Simon Good was also located.
The funnel-shaped cloud swooped
down on them, demolishing the dwell
ings and a number of other buildings
in the same neighborhood. The camp
OF Colonel Helleser, of this city, was
blown down. but the party escaped in
Jury In the wreck of the Schurmeier
and Good houses however, five were
killed and ten injured.
For three miles along the shore of
the lake the road from st. Paul runs
within few feet of the water. Along
the line of this highway the water
is full of buggies, wagons, horses. broken
trees and the debris of houses.
1t is practically certain that many
people were blown into the
lake and drowned, though no bodies
have been recovered Every thing is
confusion and the rain was so heavy
that it is almost impossible to make any
Roadway in the wreckage and waste of
water Many farm houses along the
shore of the lake were blown down and
in some places portions of them we're
carried a mile.
At North st. Paul the wind blew down
furniture factory and several dwell
ings. and two persons were killed, both
of them by lightning.
Midnight reports from Little Canada,
village of 500 people seven miles
from st. Paul, indicate that the cyclone
struck that place with full force.
Twelve houses we're blown down, three
people killed and eight or ten injured
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