River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1896-05-28
FURIOUS ELEMENTS.

FURIOUS ELEMENTS.
Cloudbursts and Cyclones Bring
Death and Destruction.
Fifty or More Persons Known to BE Dead
I'm Iowa-Michigan suffers Heavily
Illinois and Other States
Get Taste.
Des Moines. Ia. May "a terrific
| cyclone swept across Polk county and into
| the eastern edge of Jasper county between
| 1880 and II o'clock p. m. Sunday. leaving
death and destruction I'm its trail There
are about 80 known to be dead. and at leas
| as many others seriously injured. mum
| Der of whom will almost certainly die
| The storm was In many ways a remark
able one. II appears to have started In
two sections. One of them came from the
north and was tremendous wind. Its
| first trace is found about mile south OF
Ankeny. and II miles north of Des Moines.
II seemed TO be moving about due east
when 1t began In serious force. The first
place at which II did serious injury was al
the home of j. l.. Woods. a mile south OF
| Ankeny. The other branch of the storm
contributed the rain. 1t started nine miles
north cs the first. and moved from north
west to southeast, following the Des
Moines river. The two divisions met two
| miles east of Ankeny. and hero they de-
veloped first the cyclone form. with funnel
and tremendous force and roaring and cleo
| trical disturbances. From this Joint west
for nearly 20 miles the path of the storm
! is path of destruction. At Polk City and
Ankeny considerable damage was done;
at Bondurant much damage was done, but
the serious loss Of life occurred from Bon
| durant to the northeast.
Travelled q Mile . Minute.
The storm after the cycionic conditions
were developed. swept across the country
at terrific speed. 1t gave warning of its
approach to all in it, path until II got near
TO Valeria, Jasper county, where the mos
harm was done. Here II came with such
awful force that people who saw n say that
! the great black funnel hanging down from
blacker heaven, tore across the prairie
II is believed II moved at this time about
a mile a minute: the great funnel of wind
and rain and lightning seething and roar
ing and scattering debris In it's path. Moth
ing was left In its path. For several miles
IL passed through dense forest. Oak and
elm trees two feet In diameter were tori
up by their roots or twisted off. Where
a human habitaion lay I'm Its path the de
struction was instant. AS IL approached
the eastern part of it's course II strength.
path; at Valera. little town OF 600 people
It wiped out almost half " the town.
Used the Cyclone Cellars.
The people were nearly all In the caves
and cellars OF the town, but many of then
did not even have warning until II was toe
late. The loss OF life was remarkably
email, considering the number OF buildings
that were wrecked. and the wonderful es
| capes are almost without number. The
path covered BY the cyclone proper is In
most places from 40 to so rods wide. II
perpetrsted all the remarkable freaks tina!
| cyclones are famous for. The first large
buiicing wrecked was the Monarch school
house, west of Bondurant. Here II took
| up a large schoolhouse, shook II to pieces
| scattered II 80 that very few of the boards
| are to be found, and even distributed the
stone foundation over the fields; while q
| big wooden stile over the fence three rods
| from the building II left unframed. The
| huge cylindrical cast iron stove was tossed
| into an oat field quarter of mile from ths
cite of the building.
Destruction of the Bailey House.
A typical bit of destruction was at the
Bailey home northwest OF Bondurant
There were in the house nine people. fou
of them were killed and the rest injured 81
badly that II is doubtful IL any of then
recover. Their house was on hill high
above the surrounding country, and tn,
| funnel dipped down into II. House, harms
| outbuildings and grove were destroyed
Ten minutes after the storm struck ther'
was no trace OF the house save the cellar
and in Il were piled the chimney and stow,
| and half the furniture. The house was tori
| to pieces; the boards into splinters. The,
were scattered SO far that no trace can b.
| found save here and there for a mile east
| pleces of the broken lumber. Tho treei
| were stripped Of their bark but left stand
ing This was a freak of the storm. Al
places, as this one, II would strip the treei
| Of their leaves and bark but leave tn.
trunks and branches: at others II woult
twist them Off or uproot them.
At the Bailey place. the members of the
family were blown considerable distances
from the house. the bodies of the victims
were found In the fields. where were also
distributed the bodies of a dozen horses
two score of cattle and about 100 hogs tina
had occupied the harms and other build
ings on the place, es cry animal dead.
None Live to Tel the Story.
This was the experience of the fated HON,
of Peter Boienbaugh, a mile farther west
What happened there will never be known
exactly: nobody lives to tell of II. Mr.. and
Mrs. Boienbaugh, both about As years o
age, occupied the home. with little boy
Theophilus Minburn. a nephew. The house
was RACED SO completely that no sign of &
can now be seen: the three inmates were
killed. Mr.. Bolenbaugh had both armi
broken his head crushed In, one leg and
several ribs injured. and his neck and Jaw
broken. The Toy and woman were as bad
ly mangled. They were not found till two
o'clock In the morning.
The Eject at vaIeria.
At Valera the Methodist and Catholi,
churches weSe totally wrecked. About 9
dozen business houses were blown TO pieces
or partially wrecked. A large part of the
population Of the town went into the cy.
clone cave in the middle of tI.c place end
got In its shelter few seconds before ne
storm struck.
The storm spent itself about three mile.
northeast OF this place. but not till II hac
killed one child at the home of Dougla.
| Akin, and fatally hurt another. wrecked
| the home of Solomon Dickey and prob
| ably fatally hurt Mr.. Dickey and his two
sisters. Martha Dickey and Mrs. Franz
| She'll The home of William Osborn. IN thu
same neighborhood. was destroyed and for
members Of the family were fearfully hunt
II Is expected at least two - them viii die
AS nearly a complete list of the dead a:
could be had is as follows:
The Death List.
James Maxwell. struck by lightning norti
OF Bondurant: Mrs. Robert Bailey. aged co
Lizzie Bailey. aged 10; Joe Bailey. aged 20
John Bailey, aged 20: Mary Bailey. aged IS
Peter Bolenbaugh. aged 80: Mrs. Petel
Bolenbaugh. aged IS; Theophiius Milburn
aged s; Charles Phelan. aged Is: Susi,
Pheian. aged IS; Michael Phelan. aged 8
Charles Phelan. Jr.. aged 8: Nellie Phelan
aged months: Dannie Phelan, aged 10
| Martha Akin, infant child Of Douglas Akin
The list Of seriously injured is not com
| plete but Il Includes. as those expected Il
die. the following:
The Injured.
John Yates, Teeney Bailey. Johnni,
Bailey, Solomon Dickey, Mrs. Solomon
Dickey, daughter OF Mr.. and Mrs. Dickey
| Robere Bailey. Mrs. Charles Phelan, tive
| daugh ters OF Mrs. Phelan, two children o
! Douglas Akin. Miss Martha Dickey. Mrs
| Shell, sister of Mrs. Dickey: William Os
| horne and wife and two children. Asid
| talities. there were many minor injuries.
six Perish at Durango.
Durango, Ia, May 2s-Mrs. ]. M. Clark
station agent for the Chicago q Grea
| Western railroad here. was called up dur
| ing the storm Sunday night to report tn,
condition Of the track by a dels red train
| Accompanied by her six young children. be
| tween one md ten years of age. she had
| Just reached the depot when a terrific rust
1 OF water came, carrying the depot away
| Five Of the children were drowned. ant
also Thomas Griffin, a brakeman employed
| on the road, who made brave but In
| effectual effort to save the iittle ones ant
| lost his life in the attempt. Mrs. Clari
/ and one child were rescued.
Woe at McGregor.
| McGregor, Ia. May 26.-words .re made
4 quate to fitly describe the scene OF iesole
| ton caused by Sunday nights terrible
| cloudburst In the historic Bloody Run re
| gion for ten miles west of this place
/ Everything Is I'm ruins. All the Afternoon
1 threatening clouds we're gathering ant
| about one O'Clock the storm burst in III
4 10 the rallev