Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1899-06-21
FREAKS OF A TORNADO
Occurrences at New Richmond
Coming to Light.
WRECKING OF DOLLMAN'S CIRCUS.

WRECKING OF DOLLMAN'S CIRCUS.
It Was One of the First Things To Be
Swept into Nothingness by the Wind
The Elephant Instantly Killed by Being
Struck with q Huge Timber-Militia-
men shoot at Midnight Robbers-Many
Bodies Still In the Ruins.
New Richmond, Wis, June 19.-One Of
the tornado features which has been
somewhat overlooked in the losses of
greater moment was the destruction Of
Dollman's circus. A great crowd was
present at the afternoon performance,
ard the tent was scarcely emptied be-
fore the storm struck. The circus was
at the south end of the town, and was
one of the first to be swept into moth
ingness by the wind. The tent was
swirled, torn and rent into a thousand
pieces part of it being carried into the
air and away. Three or four of the cir
Gus employees are reported killed. In
addition, a number Of horses and other
animals were killed. The amusement
aggregation carried one good-sized ele-
plant This animal was struck by
huge timber and killed instantly. The
wagons and other paraphernalia were
also demolished. The circus people re-
manned here until Tuesday, buried the
animals, and departed quietly with the
remnants Of the show.
People Are still Dazed.
The people are still so dazed that,
with few exceptions, the bereaved ones
evince no grief or apparent emotion.
! This gives the impression of indiffer-
| ence, but physicians say they are so
dazed by the disaster that they do not
realize its extent or their losses of
friends and property. One old man was
looking over the ruins of Bannister's
photograph gallery. In answer to
| question as to what he was looking for
he replied, in a perfectly Indifferent
| manner:
ooh, was just looking for picture
| of my wife and children. They were
all killed and my house went, too"
This is a fair sample of the state Of
| mind every one is in who has lost part
Of or all they possessed. Money and
supplies are coming in constantly, but
| as far as money is concerned, 1t is not
| enough to give the desolate town any
thing like a new start. 1t is problem
attic whether or not this once thriv-
ing community will rise from its ashes.
| or rather debris, and attain the pros
perity which prevailed before it was
| demolished.
Policed by State Troops.
! While the immense crowds which
| thronged the rubbish-laden streets of
New Richmond have disappeared in
part, owing to the scarcity of food and
accommodations, hundreds of outsiders
still remain in the hope of finding rela-
| tives or friends still unaccounted for.
| The place is well polced by detach-
ment of fifty men of company c, Tenth
separate battalion, w. N. G., of Chip
pewa Falls, under command of Captain
| w. G. Hartwell. The state troops are
| encamped near the Baker homestead,
which is used for general relief head
| quarters. The soldiers have been OF
great service in policing the town and
saving property from memento seekers
and the floating criminal population
which swooped down, vulture-like, after
the destruction of the town. When
these men are discovered they are
marched out of town at the point Of
| the bayonet. No arrests are made, as
| the confusion and lack Of Jail facilities
makes 1t almost impossible to deal with
offenders.
Robbers Are Shot at.
At midnight two marauders working
| in the ruins were accosted three times
by a sentry. They fed, and the sentry
shot at them several times, but missed
| his mark. Considerable excitement was
caused by the shooting. A detail of SOL
diers was sent out, but failed to catch
the ghouls. For the first two or three
| days the lack of organization in the
town caused great confusion, but with
the arrival of Major Dayon Of Governor
Scofield's staff the work of rescue and
| relief was systematized so that all sur
vivors were fed and cared for o. w.
Mosher of Hudson has directed the
work under Major Dayon. His desk is
a huge dry goods box placed in front of
the rear veranda of the house Crowds
of relatives OF the missing surround him
constantly in search of information
More Bodies I'm the Ruins.
Most of the bodies recovered have
been inferred, but dozens are known to
be still buried deep under the ruins.
| Many DOulcS dIc tApcStSu " ne lOunu
in the mill pond and Willow river. An
| order has been issued excluding every
| one but the workmen and searchers
from the ruins, and strong guard of
| soldiers and deputy sheriffs was placed
to enforce the order. The great force
| of the tornado is shown in every foot
| of ground in the center of the town.
Doors and joists, massive furniture
| and pianos were smashed into splinters
| Immense iron safes were broken or
carried away A heavy shed was lifted
bodily through the air and landed on
| an island in the river half mile dis
tant.
Summary of Death and Damage.
1t is now possible to give q summary
of the death and destruction with fair
accura teness. The official list Of known
dead contains 102 names; five unidenti-
fed bodies have been buried beside
some parts of bodies. a conservative
estimate OF the bodies still in the ruins
of people not reported missing, would
be fifteen This brings the loss of life
to about 125. The best estimate on the
L., IA.