Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1896-06-02

aye 10 building; DullQlng OF 81. LOUIS
Ice Manufacturing company, loss $780,
coo, almost completely demolished = St.
Louis Cotton Compress company, badly
damaged; vacant building formerly &C.
cupied by Brown Oil Mill company,
completely wrecked. Six men who had
sought refuge from the storm within it
were buried in the ruins. John Wilson,
rescued, badly hurt about legs and hips,
dangerously injured. 49,
The wind caught the Armory build
ing on Eighteenth and Pine streets,
picked it up and scattered it around the
neighborhood for blocks.
The top floor of the History building
at Second and Chestnut streets was
blowd off the structure occupied by
Dan Gum as notion store at 2102
Clark avenue was demolished. The
Central Home of Rest was destroyed
and one man killed, name unknown,
and two injured. The copper roof of
the Shields building on Seventh street,
between Biddle and Carr streets, was
blown off. No one was reported in
jured. The front walls of the build
ing at 406-4O8 South Twelfth
street was blown down. Some
of the occupants were slightly bruised.
The house No. /, Market street, was
unroofed and deluged with water
throughout. Women tainted and
grasped the nearest objects for support.
They felt greatly T elieved when it was
found that the St ::-cture was SAFE At
the Globe Shoe AID Clothing company,
the windows on the upper floors We're
blown in and damage was done to mer-
chandise amounting to thousands of
dollars. The roof and slzylights of the
Merchants Exchange building was
blown off. The damage is extensive.
The streets about the premises are
blocked with the debris. The cigar
store at the bridge entrance on Third
and Washington avenue was blown
into the streets and the contents totally
destroyed. No one injured. The PEPPER
Cotton Compress company's building,
near the foot of Convent street, and the
St. Louis Cotton compress building,
both 1-story buildings, were demolished.
Strickler's cigar store, Broadway and
Biddle street, lost a 50-foot front. Mrs.
Stric]zler was sitting in the front door
way at the time with her baby in her
arms but was unhurt.
The storm tore off half the roof of the
National Paper. company's building,
South Eighth street, and demolished the
shipping room Oh the first floor.
The roof of the Sumner school for
negroes, situated OIL Eleventh between
Spruce and Poplar streets was blown in,
as far as known there being no occu-
pants of the building at the time.
Carmodys Presence Of Mind.
Captain Pat Carmody's presence of
mind, prevented panic at the fair
grounds. When the crowd appealed
for protection from the tornado, Pat
coralled the people under the stand and
compelled them to stay there. He held
a mob Of about 800 in check, and it was
lucky for them that he did so. Every
body was trying to get out and wanted
to make a break for the south side of
the stand. While Carmody was hold
ing the crowd, the roof of the stand was
blown out in all directions and the
debris fell just where the people wanted
to go. Carmody's good Judgment saved
many lives.
Saved His Train From Destruction.
While the storm was at it's height,
the passenger train Oh the Chicago and
Alton railroad pulled out OH the bridge
from the Missouri side. It was on it's
way East. Engineer Scott had only
proceeded a short distance when he
realized the awful danger which threat
ened the train. The wind struck the
coaches, at first causing them to ca
reen. At that time he was about half
way across. Overhead, the poles were
swapping and tumbling into the river,
while large stones were shifting loose
from their foundations and plunging
into the water. Realizing that any
moment his tram might be blown into
the water, or else the bridge blown
away, Scott, with rare presence of
mind, put on full head of steam in an
effort to make the East side shore. The
train had scarcely proceeded 200 feet,
and about the same distance from the
shore, when an upper span of the bridge
was blown away.
Tons of Huge Granite Blocks
tumbled to the tracks where the train
loaded with passengers had been but a
moment before. At about the same in
slant the wind struck the train, upset.
ting all the cars like playthings Luck
lily, no one was killed, but several were
taken out severely injured. The wrecked
part of the bridge is just east Of the big
tower, near the Illinois shore, and ex-
tends east for about 800 feet. The ell
fire upper portion, traversed by street
cars and carriages, is carried away,
while the tracks beneath are buried in
the debris, i'll some places eight feet
deep. g..
Gas Holder Collapsed.
AS the storm was at its height, the
gas holder at Eighteenth street col
lapsed. People were terrified by col
umns Of burning gas leaping high il,
the air. The tank was nearly full at
the time, and the force Of the wind
caught it and turned it over. AS the
immense columns which supported the
tank proper fell, the gas was ignited
and burned for a few moments at a fear.
full rate. = ~.
Poor house, which is situated at the
extreme southeast limit Of the city, suf-
fered severely from the storm. The en-
tire roof Of the building was torn of