Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1902-07-19
TOWNS WIPED OUT.
Destructive Work of a Cyclone That
Sweeps North Dakota.
Tornado Gathers in Canada ana
Passes Over the State Southeast
erIy-Crops Laid Flat and
Buildings Wrecked.

ST. Paul, Mimi, July 16-3 a. NJ
Tremendous damage and loss OF life
were caused by terrific cyclone which
early last evening swept in south
westerly direction from the interna-
tional boundary across the northeast
ern portion of North Dakota. Accord
ing to the meager reports which were
obtainable at midnight three towns
have been totally wiped out.
Railway and Western Union tele-
graph lines are wrecked and there is
no communication with the section of
the state where the most serious de-
vastation is thought to have been
worked by the tornado.
Telegraph Lines Down.
The first intimation of the extent of
the storm came at o'clock, when the
Great Northern and Northern Pacific
telegraph lines in the storm district
were suddenly snuffed out. A few mo-
ments later communication west of
Fargo on the Great Northern and west
of Ulen on the Northern Pacific was
absolutely cut off. Telephone lines
suffered the same damage and from
the ST. Paul headquarters at midnight
It was impossible to reach farther
than Fargo.
3Orup n Complete Wreck.
The little town of Borup, on the ST.
Vincent line of the Great Northern, is
an absolute wreck. The final report
! last night was that the entire town
was wiped out and hardly a structure
of any sort left standing.
This came from a Great Northern
telegraph operator who, after his sta
ton had been laid fiat, saved his key
from the ruins and tapped the wires at
the nearest available point. He also
reported the razing of a hamlet some
miles distant with destruction of
large amount of property. The report
from Borup came In very soon after
the storm struck and contained no in
formation as to the casualties.
Other Towns Destroyed.
With the report from the ST. Vim
cent branch came reports that the
towns of Emerald, about seven miles
from Grand Forks, and Thompson, be-
tween Grand Forks and Larimore, had
been destroyed.
At Thompson the Great Northern
station lies a confused mass of wreck
age directly across the main line.
Stores and residences are in ruins and
the main portion of the town is wiped
out. The population is about 900.
| Mere fragments of information have
come from Emerado, but these indi-
cate the destruction Of that town of
about $50 people. Neither of the re-
ports from Thompson or Emerald
speaks of loss of life. This is partially
accounted for by the fact that they
were sent before news could have been
received from the outlying districts.
Path of Storm Is Wide.
The reports indicate that the cy-
clone developed southwest of the Lake
of the Woods country and took a
course down across the northern por
ton of the state, travelling toward the
southwest. It's path seems to have
| been unusually wide and the effects of
the storm outside its primary line I'M
usually severe. The devasta ton at
such widely separated points indicates
apparently a storm of unusual vio-
| lence.
TIVE Churches Destroyed.
Fargo, n. D., July 16.-Passengers
on the delayed Great Northern train
| report two churches and an elevator
destroyed in addition to the depot at
Thompson, with 300 telegraph poles
! down from Merrifeld to south of
Thompson. The track of the storm
extended for 13 miles along the rail-
way. Many farm buildings were re-
! ported down.