Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1899-08-16
IT WAS A HARD TWISTER.
STORM OF LAST FRIDAY DID GREAT
DAMAGE,
Starting In on the Mississippi and Extending to the
kickapco, 1t Brcuga. Destruction to Buildings.
Crops. Timber ann Windmills Some Farms are
Stripped OF Everything and their Occupants Left
Almost Destitute.

Stripped OF Everything and their Occupants Left
Almost Destitute.
Citizens of Vernon county who have
not seen for themselves cannot anpraci.
ate or realize the extent OF financial
damage the storm and furious wind of
last Friday wrought 10 the territory
west and north of ViroGua. While II
was strong here, blowing down sbade
trees and doing some damage to tobacco
ana corn, 1T approached a cyclone i'm de-
struct1veness from the Mississippi river
east about twenty-five miles or more.
The storm clouds looked ugly and
very ominus soon after day break and
the fury of the elements, drenching rain
and a wind with a velocity of sixty
miles an hour, broke fourth soon after
nve o'clock. The most violen. point of
attack along the river was at Stoddard.
where o~utbulldings, trees, chimnevs.
n other things were swept along like
chaff. Here hail fell, breaking MANY
windows. The grain elevator of q.
Huenner was swept from its founda-
tlon and found a lodging place on the
Burllngton slde-track. The wagon shop
OF B1ege q Halverson was twisted ont
OF shape and the brick residence of
Max Wo0dnosky, near town, was I'M
rooted. This does not tell the story of
otoddards losses. The storm passed up
the valley In an easterly course TO
Chaseburg. causing havoc with farm
buildings. tobacco and corn, and break
ing down timber to an alarming extent.
C~haseburg suffered equally as great as
dld Stoddard. The Hoyts, Rennets-
burger, and in fact nearly every prop
erty holder in the village were damaged
more or less from loss by ~unroofing and
wrecking buildings. Some farmers had
every building ON their premises blown
down or damaged. The entire territory
from Chaseburg to Coon Valley. and ex-
tending south to Esofea, suffered in |
like On it swept with it's de-
vastating effects in an easterly course to |
the west Kickapoo hills, where it an
peares to have largely spent it's force.
The editor of the CENSOR drove over
to Cashton on Sunday afternoon to get
a view of the storm swept country.
South OF Westby the damage is compar
atively- light to crops, buildings and
wooded ands. The village of Westby |
sun red little loss or demage, but north
and west a sorry story is told. Newry
appears to have been the storm center.
Here the groves are frightfully demol-
lshed. Between Westby and Cashton
and as far as n is capable of looking
east and westward, with scarcely an ex-
ceptlon, the wlndmills are broken down.
tops blown out or otherwise disabled.
Fully one-half of the tobacco sheds were
leveled to the ground in a heap or taken
from their foundations. One singular
feature is the fact that dwelling houses
In this section almost entirely escaped
damage. Over this region the crops are
not as severely injured as one might
imagine. Some fields of tobacco and
small patches in the corn fields are laid
waste, others badly whipped and fiat
tened, but in the main those crops are
very well preserved.
C~ashtonites thought sure their day of
reckoning had arrived. The wind was
high and shook buildings as if an earth
quake were cut lose. G.. M. Culver's
building was unroofed and the shingles
and rafters carried across the street and
landed against the steam mill. Brodv's
grain warehouse nearly fell upon the
railroad track, Mr.. McManamy's barn
was shattered, t 70 chimneys blown off
t. Il. Nelson's residence, a norton of
the brick and tin cornice ON Heileman's
n Hansons new buildings torn away.
Andrew johnson had a large plate glass
broken in his residence, The railroad
windmill was demolished. North of
Cashton there was practically no devas-
tation by the storm.
The damage to farmers from the Mis-
sissippi river to the Kickapoo, in the
path of the storm, is universal. Itisim-
possible to particularize. None were so
fortunate as to escape it's ravages and
the losses were from one hundred to one
thousand dollars to the farm.
STORM NOTES.
Severe and destructive as was this tor
nado, personal injuries are few and not
nfact we learn of but two. ,
In Christiana the log house of Ole O.
Bakken was demolished. In his endea- I
vor to rescue his family Mr.. Bakken
in contact with a flying log which
broke for him three ribs and bruised his :
breast. Some time after the storm sub )
sided a child, which was presumed to !
have been killed, was found snugly |
wrapped in a quilt, peacefully sleeping, !
and uninjured, under a heap Of logs and
rubbish.
James CroZier, of the same town, had !
his house, barn and granary destroyed.
An invalid daughter became so fright
ened that she has been a raving maniac
since.
Benjamin Smith, who resides in the
vicinity of Coon Valley, had a leg bro
ken under a wrecked granary.
A new Lutheran church abouta mile
distant from Coon town house, was left
in a dilapidated condition. 1t is practi-
cally destroyed, although some use may
be made of the material in rebuilding.
Only the day before the calamity a new
1, 000-pound bell had been placed in the
steeple. That is not injured but it is
almost impossible to reach the same for
removal.
A great amount of machinery and We
hicles were demolished or damaged.
Farmers are in the habit of storing their
implements and vehicles in their tobacco
sheds. Thus when q shed was blown
down or demolished damage was almost
certain to other property. And we
doubt not that loss OF this class of prop
erty is very a as great as upon tobac-
co sheds.
Scarcely a worse period could have
been selected for this destruction. There
is very little tobacco that is not worth
harvesting. Thus with a big crop ready
for the poles, farmers are minus sheds
and it is almost impossible to rebuild OF
repair for its early reception. But far
mers are diligently at work endeavoring
to retrieve their losses
Mr.. James L, Mckee. of Christiana,
was injured about 800 by damage to
buildings, stacks, etc. He says the fu-
rious wind continued fully thirty min
utes at his place. Mr.. Mckee thinks he
is the only farmer in Christians who
carried tornado insurance.
Ex-senator Hoyt WEises from Chase
burg that there are numerous farmers in
that section whose crops and buildings
were totally destroyed, and they are
left practically destitute He believes
that it ought ~ be done, and suggests
that q relief fund be started,
Late Property Transfers.
There has been numerous sales n ex-
Af attxv nrav1nrtr uf+hsr %hn ~ on |