The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-14

New Richmond, Wis, June 13.-Fully
| 100 corpses, twice as many mangled
people, 40 acres of piles of bricks, shiv-
cred panks, scattered heaps of house
hold goods, dead horses through which
| the wind had driven sharp splinters Of
boards smouldering fires where houses
! stood but yesterday, and in the midst
| of it all, Shivered trees as bare of leaves
as ever they We're in the middle of
winter and almost stripped bare of
| bark until they resembled the ghosts
of what they had been "a hours ago
| this is what the storm yesterday
wrought in the space of three minutes
upon the town of New Richmond.
| There may have been cyclones which
| created greater devastation, some that
| have inflicted larger loss of life, but it
was only because there was more ma
| terial for destruction. There never was
| cyclone that made a cleaner sweep
of what lay in its path than the one
| of last evening. In the business por-
! tion of the town absolutely not one
| building was left standing above the
1 cellar windows; everything above a
4 foundation wall was shaved as clean
as though it had been cut with plane.
! Enormous safes were blown into the
| middle of the street and the largest
safe in the town was carried across one
street and half way over the square
beyond. The day had been warm and
sultry, and during the latter part of
! the afternoon heavy banks of clouds
had hung upon the western and south
western horizon, but nothing serious
was anticipated until few minutes be-
| fore o'clock, when a dark blue cloud,
with edges of pale green, was seen
rapidly approaching from the south
| west. In minute long funnel was
seen dropping toward the ground, and
then, with savage roar, the cloud
| swept down upon the doomed town.
circus had been exhibiting during
| the afternoon and the streets were full
/ of strangers, and as the cloud bore
| swiftly down there was a mad rush
for cellars, doorways or any place that
| promised safety. Some of the crowd
| reached refuge and those who did
not are among the dead.
1t will be several days before the
/ number of dead in New Richmond is
/ accurately known, and it is doubtful if
| the entire number of fatalities will ever
be chronicled. In the path of the
storm, both to the northeast and south
| west of the city, We're scattered farm
| houses, and wherever they We're struck
/ by that wind there was nothing left
/ but pile of boards and twisted raft
| ers. How many were killed in these
| houses will not be known for a long
| time. 1t is impossible to estimate the
| property loss, but it is totally in the
best part of the town, and to make
the blow more severe, not one policy of
tornado insurance had been written for
the place. What is gone is gone beyond
/ repair. There is at present no deStitu
| ton among those who have suffered
| by the storm. st. Paul and Minneapo-
| lis, Chippewa Falls and other places
| have sent in bountiful supplies and
there is no suffering for food or neces-
stiles, but the business of the town is
utterly wiped out of existence and NOT
one man in the place will be able to
resume business. The destruction is so
complete that there is absolutely moth
| ing to be purchased in the town, not
a box of sardines, a pound of crackers
Vi d pair VI SllbeS.
The work of searching for the dead
was carried on during the night as well
as it could be done in a drizZling rain
/ and with the aid of few lanterns. 1T
was slow work, and after dark the re-
suit of the work amounted to practic-
| ally nothing. The police of st. Paul
under the leadership of Chief Goss,
| who had guarded the ruins and pre-
served order during the day. We're re-
lieved tonight by Company H of the
| South Wisconsin battalion from Chip
| pewa Falls, under the command of Cap
tain Hartwell. For the balance of the
time the militia will be in control.
The tornado that swept out of exist
ence the prosperous city of New Rich
the prosperous little city of New Rich
mond is the most disastrous in point of
fatality that ever occurred in this Sec
/ ton. The exact number of dead is still
unknown, but it will certainly reach
100, and very probably will considerably
| exceed that figure. AS they were re-
/ covered, the bodies We're brought to
/ the school house or to the Catholic or
/ Congrega tional church. Thence they
/ are to be taken to the cemetery, except
/ in few cases where homes still stand
/ in which the remains can be kept for a
few hours, during which the final trb-
| ute of love can be rendered by the be-