St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-07
'TWAS A TWISTER.
SAME OLD FUNNEL SHAPED
CLOUD DODGES AROUND
AT MIDWAY.
WRECKS ON ITS TRAIL.
TREES UPRooTED, POLES BLAST
ED AND WIRES INEXTRICA-
BLY, TANGLED.
GOV. CLoUGH LOSES HORSES.
Three Valuable Animals Stem on
Live Wires and Are Shocked
to Death.

A terrific hail, rain and wind storm
struck st. Paul with scarcely any
warning at $50 last evening, and for
fifteen minutes ragged with great
fury. 1t was very much in the nature
Of cyclone. The funnel-shaped
cloud was there, and it seemed to
bound up and down like a great rub
Der affair, coming from the north
east originally, then shifting sud-
denly and going in the opposite direc-
ton, leaving much serious damage in
its wake.
The storm was accompanied by
vivid lightning, but strange to say
there was very little thunder. The
severest part of the cyclone was
here and away in almost an instant
The advance guard was a sharp rain
storm, which began about 5:25. With
remarkable suddenness the heavens
grew almost as black as night, and
with a roar the cyclone was upon
the city.
In an instant the streets were
deluged with water, which a sec
| ond later turned into hail, and in
the darkness and confusion several
teams ran away and people who had
braVed the wet We're at a loss to
know where to turn for shelter
The suddenness of the hail storm
and the shrieking of the wind con-
fused them, and the unusually
heavy fall of rain made them appear
1ilxn &c II
pell-mell along the streets. A re-
markably heavy amount of rain fell
in the few minutes the storm ragged,
and the streets were running rivers
in a little while The wind seemed
to blow from all directions, and it
played havoc with signs and trees
along the route. s"
TWISTER AT MIDWAY.
The greatest amount of damage
was done on University avenue,
near Twenty-eighth avenue south
and Oak street. The telegraph poles
and trees in this territory were
twisted and torn in such a manner
as to leave no doubt that the storm
was cyclone The wires were
mixed up in a confused mass, and
the trees were scattered in all direc-
tions. Trees and poles and other
debris blockaded the Interurban line
to such an extent that there was no
through service at the hour of going
to press, and the company expected
that it would be Monday before the
service was re-established as it was
before. The work of removing the
i debris and broken trolley wires and
telephone and telegraph wires was
commenced at once and will be COM
pleted today or tonight.
On that portion of the interurban
road where the most damage was
done, one of the large closed cars
was caught by the twister, but,
| strange to say, it never left the track.
The people on board were fearfully
frightened, but a few of the male
! passengers succeeded in quieting the
fears of the rest and in a moment
more the storm had gone. But it
had not left the car in any condition
to pursue its journey. On both sides
were large gullies, which had been
! torn out by the wind and rain, and
| over and around the car were masses
of trolley and telegraph wires, which
| it would require hours to remove.
The passengers were carefully
brought out of the tangle and kept
! away from the live wire and piloted
safely a mile away to the Midway
station, where they secured another
| car for home. 1t is necessary to
walk about a mile through the torn
up district before reaching the Mid
| way station, and from thence cars
were running the balance of the way
into the city. 1t is necessary to Y
them around at Midway in order to
bring them into ST. Paul. None of
the passengers on the lone car above
mentioned were injured.
GOV. CLOUGH LOSES HORSES.
Near Twenty-siXth avenue south
three valuable horses belonging to
! Clough Bros. Gov. Clough) were in
stantIy killed by the live wires on
the ground. The storm had thrown
| the telegraph wire across a trolley,
and these telegraph wires had be-
come charged with the full current
in the trolley. The horses stepping
on these were instantly killed. They
were valued at about $1,000.
On University avenue nearer ST.
Paul the sidewalk was torn up for
a considerable distance, and in resi-
| dences throughout that vicinity
much glass was broken in windows
The greenhouses along the avenue
and out in that neighborhood were
subjected to considerable damage,
the hail played havoc with their
long rows of windows. On Eighth
street several large trees We're blown
down, and in two instances were
| twisted out of the ground and car
| ried some distance away. No in
jury to human beings was reported
up to a late hour. There was much
damage to trees all through the city,
except on ST. Anthony hill in the
residence district, which for some
reason escaped the cyclonic part of
the storm.
Strange to relate, the trolley wires
in the city were injured in very few
instances, and in all of these the
breaks were quickly repaired. The
street cars on all lines were crowded
at the time the cyclone. broke loose,
and the passengers in all the open
cars We're soaked to the skin. The
strong wind blew the curtains into
shreds in some cases and tore them
from the cars in others, letting the