Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1899-06-21
A TERRIFIC CYCLONE!
Over One Hundred Killed at New
s Richmond, Wis.
BUSINESS PART Of TOWN DEMOLISHED.

BUSINESS PART Of TOWN DEMOLISHED.
Hundreds of People are Rendered sHome.
less.--After the Wreck, Fire Breaks Out
Adding Further Horror to the Sad Sit
uation.--Relief Trains at Once Made IN
and Sent Forward.
The known dead now number ia; the
injured number 10: total 224. To which
total must be added the missing, estimated
at from SO to 100.
New Richmond, Wis. June 49,
The number still in the ruins is vari-
ously estimated, some estimates running
up to 100 and others being placed at 50.
O. w. Mosher, who has been at the
head of relief work, said this morning
that fully Is children were still missing
and large number of adults as we'll
The estimate is generally considered too
large. The working parties expect to
find anywhere from 10 to rs bodies in
the basement of Williams hardware
store when they have it finally cleared.
By 10 o'clock this morning the work
OF looking for the dead was proceeding
under a definite system, although the
number OF men available for the work
was woefully small The largest gang
OF men was put to work on the ruins OF
Williams dry goods store. where six
bodies were found yesterday and where
it is believed large number are still
under the massive stones and rafters.
The building had but one story, but it
was fully 20 feet high. The structure
being built of heavy stone, all the stone
work, floors and store fixtures fell d.
rectly into the basement, crushing
everybody and everything beneath it. 1t
will be slow work cleaning out the ruins
and probably several days will elapse
before it is known how many were
killed in the place.
No words can describe the awfulness
of the scene. If such thing were pos
sible the desolation seems even Greater
than ever. The people are gradually
recovering from the shock and as they
come to realization OF what they have
suffered their agony and despair are
painful to witness. Many have seen the
accumulation of lifetime swept away.
but this could be bourn were it not for
the fact that those whom they held
dearest in this world have been taken
away. Some of the merchants will re-
build as soon as possible. Others are
dead. 1t will be months before the town
will resume its former aspect, and it
will be years before the marks of the
awful devastation are obliterated.
The horror of the situation grows, All
through the devastated district the smell
OF the purifying carcasses of dead ami
mails permeates the air, and renders the
situation almost uncomfortable. The St.
Paul fire department, which has been on
duty the past twenty-four hours con-
tinuously, is almost worn out, but is
still doing valiant service.
The fires in the basement OF the VIII
liams hardware store and Smith &
Bells market have been extinguished,
but they have eaten through the walls,
and are now raging in the basement of
the bank, where they are proving stub
born. Great clouds of steam are gen.
Grated as the water falls on the hot brick
and stone and go, sweeping across the
desolate scene as though they were
wreaths of those who, it is feared. are
still beneath the smouldering ruins.
Men are at work Everywhere, but their
progress is slow. - 80
Passengers on the various relief trains
which fastened to New Richmond from
the south had warning of the awful
things they were to see in the deep
was gathering strength and moving to
the attack OF the unfortunate village. It
seems that the tornado had its accursed
birth near North Wisconsin Junction, a
short distance from Hudson. Generally
speaking it would be correct to say that
it followed Willow river and the Omaha
railroad track to New Richmond,
though the path was somewhat cratic.
The first building to give the storm
chance. to test its strength was barn
sides near the junction. This structure
was Tapped up in trice. At Ien-Mi
creek the storm destroyed Farmer
Hurd's barns, but left him his house.
Here the storm got its first taste of
blood, killing Chris Burrowes and
Granville Hurd. Groves were uprooted
and the roof was lifted from John Nc
Coy's farm house. AS if to recon-
pense him for the harm it was to do him
in the village, the cyclone left untouched
the large farm and handsome farm
buildings belonging to John Glover, the
New Richmond banker. At the Beard
farm a herd of cattle were caught and
tossed to death and John Mil was
killed, making the cyclones third victim
The Lacey farm house was annihilated
and Mrs. Kate Hebron was killed.
The nearer it got to New Richmond
the greater the force of the wind The
tops of trees were whipped off, the
banks of the stream sometimes protect
ing the lower parts. Wires were drawn
out of the fences, miles of board fences
were carried away, the telegraph pole
that stood was the exception. Some
times grain fields were spared and again
they were hattened out. Dead cows
and horses lay in the fields. Farm
houses were literally RACED to the ground
and agricultural implements were scat
tered all over the fields. Then it struck
the town with results that are we'll
known.
1t would take the brush of Dore
and the pen of Poe to fittingly de-
scribe the awful hours following the dis
aster. The great roaring sound which
survivors say is so horrible, so awful
and so OMNIBUS that they are utterly
unable to convey any idea of it, had
hardy died away in the distance and the
last building was hardly fallen to its
ruins when the we'll went to work to
rescue the wounded and find the dead.
Relatives searched for relatives and
friends for friends. When the storm
broke the merchants were generally at
their stores. Many of the towns people
were in the business streets which were
| thronged with country people come to