The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-06-28
NEW RICHMOND DEsoLATE.
1t Least Q Hundred Lives Lost In the
Tornado.

1t Least . Hundred Lives Lost In the
NEW RICHMOND, Wis. Especially .-Inds-
scribsbly sad are the scenes OF desolat1on
wrought by the tornado, which prae-
prosperous little city OF New Rlch-
mond. Out OF Ave, hundred houses
aud stores in the town, fully three hundred
were wrecked by the storm or destroyed
BY FIRE. Almost every family has one or
more members among the dead, injured or
missing, and little groups are seen every
where searching for loved ones who may
bs buried in the piles OF debris on
svery hand: The search was con.
Quoted all day alter the storm and
the number OF dead certainly Will
reach one hundred or more. These
were for the most part taken to the Catho-
lie and Congregational churches, which,
although In the edge OF the storms path.
escaped its fury. In these temporary
morgues the sights are such as to touch,
the hardest heart, as the grlef-strlckenl ltv-
Ing recognize the mangled and often dis
msmbered bodies OF missing dear ones.
The wounded find temporary asyluns In
the uninjured dwellings on either side ofthe
path OF devastation, where doctors and
nurses do heroic work without sleep or rest.
chances for recovery are considered good,
are being sent to the hospitals at st. Paul
and Minneapolis. where they will have
better care.
The business portion OF the city covered
4 space OF four squares each way, and was.
built solidly: OF brick and stone. This en-
tire space was swept clear, foundatien
walls, and in some places masses OF debris
alone marking where business houses fcrm'
brly stood. Trees which lined the streets
,t the residence district were broken on or
twisted and uprooted.
Tho tornado came up the river from
Hudson, where the damage was compara-
lively slight. Following the general course
bi the river and the branch Of the Omaha
road, the storm gained In Intensity as It
proceeded, and was at its worst when 1t
struck the business centre OF New Rich
mond. Outlying houses in the path OF
the storm frequently were torn asunder
and the fragments scattered to the winds.
Trees were uprooted and roadwsys
blocked, washed away or so overaoWed ~
10 be made entirely unrecognizable.
The desolate view OF New Richmond is
one not soon to be forgotten. On the east
and west limits OF the city many houses are
stlll standing with little or No damage, and
to these homes the occupants well
como their less fortunate neighbors
and friends, giving them such atd
as Is possible and the sympathy
they so much need. The property loss can
not be estimated at this time, and may
never be accurately known. 1t was almost
total, for the insurance agents report that
no tornado Insurance was carried in the
town, and only on small number OF places,
where fire Joined in the destruction otprop-
erty, will the business men be at all reini-
bursed for their losses.
Many residents OF New Richmond esti-
mate the loss OF life much higher than the
facts thus far known seem to warrant.
They claim that hundreds are missing, who
we're buried in the ruins, and there inclner-
ated. @. A. Nelson, who owned the Co.
lumblan restaurant, estimates the number
Of dead at 400. He says that when the
rainstorm, which preceded the tornado,
broke, not less than twenty persons rushed
into his place for shelter. He Is positive
that not more than four besides himself
escaped. The building was a substantial
frame structure. E'-
Gallman Brothers circus was In New