River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1890-01-16
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a BAIEEut BLAST.

- IL
Eleven Persons Killed. Fifty-Five Wound
ed and Many Buildings Wrecked by "a
Cyclone at Clinton, NV. - The storm
Finds Victims Here and There Through
Var Gus states which IL visited.
CAIRO, H.. Jan. IA terrible death
dealing cyclone swept the town of
Clinton, XIV, thirty miles south Of here,
on the Illinois Central railway, at 7
o'clock sunday night, demolishing
seventy-five buildings. instantly killing
eleven people and iniuring ffty-five
others more or less severely. Follow
ing is list OF the killed:
! J. A. Rhodes wife and two children. John W.
Gaddie Walter Nance, aged 10; Mrs. w C.
Bones, Burnet Bones aged IL; J. r. Graham
ana two children.
Following is partial list of the
houses demolished or damaged:
J. Il. Graham, j. w Nance and c. r. Gwinn's
residences; C. S voorhees, residence and store;
C. 5. Justice, J. w. Gaddie Mrs NJ. A. Taylor,
w. l. Ruld, ID. Stubblefeld, Robert Johnson
Mrs. X. S Foster r. l.. Anthony L. Sublette
and w. c Bones residences.
The storm came sweeping down upon
| the town with a horrible roar from the
southwest, leveling every thing in its
path and filling the air with missiles of
every description. 1t picked up build
and utterly wrecked all telegraphic com
munieation in every direction.
The first house struck in Clinton was
the section-house of the Illinois Cen
trail railroad, occupied by Mr.. J. A.
Rhodes and family. The house was
torn to splinters and Mr.. Rhodes and
two children were killed outright.
His wife and one child escaped
death, but both are dangerously hurt.
Among the many other incidents the
house of Mr.. John Gaddie was blown
down, and afterwards Gaddie was found
under the debris with an infant in
! his arms. Gaddie was dead but the
child was not hurt The house
of Robert johnson, which stood
on the brow of the hill, seemed to di-
vide in half, cutting in two just below
the second floor and letting the upper
portion fall in its place. Mr.. Johnson
was in the lower room and the upper
part fell on him, pinning him to
the earth with a joist across his
back. His means attracted attention
and he was rescued. His son Robert
was upstairs and dangerously hurt by
falling timbers. Although suffering
intense agony he begged his rescuers
to let him alone and help some one who
could live. His brother David was also
badly hurt.
The entire east side of the town is
wrecked. Most of the buildings were
of substantial character, of brick and
stone, costing SO, 600 to 81, 900 each.
These went. down like chat. The in
tensity of the wind actually killed
poultry and birds, many being picked
up dead in the street. An eye witness
thus describes the cloud as it whirled
toward the doomed city:
The force of the wind was sufficient
to lift buggies, carriages and wagons in
the air hundreds of feet, dashing them
to the earth into splinters. Organs,
pianos, sewing machines, every thing
that was portable was wrecked
A young man named Bones, aged IA.
was picked up by the wind from the
flying timbers and dropped upon the
ground dead considerable distance
away.
When the storm struck the house of
j. A. Rhodes, section foreman of the
Illinois Central, an infant was blown
from the bed on which it was sleeping
and thrown on the railroad track in
front of an approaching freight-train.
The engineer saw it through the driv-
ing rain. and, knowing that it was
impossible to stop the train, ran out
over the foot-board, climbed down on
| the cow-catcber, and, reaching forward,
caught the infant in his strong hand
and bore it safely to the cab, whore he
pulled off his own shirt and wrapped it
around the child for protection.
1t is thought the city will be able to
supply all demands for help for the
homeless, and a committee is at work
seeking aid. The city stood partly on
the side of a hill and partly in a valley.
1t was the portion on the hillside which
suffered. Medical assistance was sent
from Cairo Sunday night.
Clinton presents a dreary aspect, but
under the circumstances the citizens
bear their burdens nobly. The work of
helping the destitute and homeless goes
forward. Many farmers whose lands
adjoin the city have come forward and
offered shelter and homes to those who
have lost their all.
The damage to property at Clinton
will not fall much short of S175, 600.
The storm passed north of New Mad
rid, Mo-, crossing the river near point
opposite Moscow, KY, thence northwest
TO Clinton and Wickliffe. The path of
the storm was about quarter of mile
wide.
Within five miles of Cairo at Wick
life, KY, the storm also did havoc
Seven buildings were destroyed and
six persons were injured. Five freight
cars were overturned on the track.
Meager reports from Moscow say some
considerable damage was inflicted in
that locality, but no lives lost.
ST. LOUIS AFTER THE STORM
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 14.-Immense crowds
gathered Monday to view the ruin
wrought by the great storm. The two
story brick house at % Mound street,
where three people were killed, was sur
rounded by an immense throng. This
house was totally demolished. Matthew
! McCollum, who occupied the first floor,
was buried beneath the debris and was
taken out dead a few minutes after the
storm passed. Mrs. Connors. with two
daughters, and Mr.. Weaver's boy and
girl, were on the second floor. Mrs.
Connors and the boy were instantly
killed and their bodies were dug out of
the wreck by the irenen. All along
the line of the storm bricks were
blown off the outside of the buildings,
carried for blocks and dashed through
windows, in many instances injuring
those who CHANGED to be sitting within
reach. The number of buildings which
were damaged will probably reach $50,
with the losses ranging all the way
from S100, 900 to $500, 900. The injured,
so far as known, number fifteen. There
were innumerable narrow escapes.
IN ILLINOIS.
OT.NEY. Ill, Jan. IA terrific rain
and wind-storm swept over this section
/ Sunday night at o'clock. 1t was ac-
companied by thunder and lightning,
and in its passage it wrought terrible
work of destruction. At Macburg
/ the storm was transformed into a cy-
/ clone and continued its course in this
1 form for distance of five miles, leav-
! ing death and ruin TO mark its path. 1t
/ travelled with fearful veloci ~ from
! southwest To northeast in track not