The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-10-09
STORM DEALS IN DEATH
ST. Charles, MIMI, Is Laid Low BY
a Terrible Cyclone.
Number Of People Killed and Thirty
or More Injured.
The Damage TO Property Will Reach
100000 and More.

No Insurance on Any Of Buildings De-
strcyed BY Tornado.
From Mondays Daily.
The Dead.
John Evens, ST.
VIM. Evens, his son.
Will Adams.
Oscar Crittenden, farmer.
George Jenesen, farmer.
Ed. Murphy, laborer.
Ed. Peters of Dover, Mimi.
The Injured.
Pike, farmers boy, fatally injured.
P II. Rockaway, skull crushed.
A. Jaeobb Helm, farmer, crushed.
Daughter Paul johnson, farmer, crush
ed.
Jacob Murphy, crushed about body.
ID. j. Chandler, head cut.
Mary Ebens, bruised.
Ezra Stevens, foot crushed.
Agent Waite, Chicago Great Western,
bruised by falling timbers.
Charles Crippen, leg broken, amputat-
ed.
L. Sheridan, back sprained.
Judge Ned Gould, both legs broken.
John Blankenburg. head cut.
c. W. Babcock, Chicago, leg fractured,
foot crushed, lip cut.
- Selsinger, farmer, badly bruised.
William Stevens, bruised.
Mrs. DIR. Rollins, shoulded dislocated,
ankle sprained.
Baby Rollins, face cut.
Carrie Ebens, arm broken and seriously
hurt.
Seven lives crushed out, about thirty
people injured, four fatally; half hun
bred store buildings and residences total
ly destroyed or partially wrecked, caus-
ing loss of possibly 100000, on which
there is not dollar of insurance. This,
in brief, is the terrible work of a tornado
which Saturday afternoon struck st.
Charles, town twentyfv miles west
of Winona
Two storm clouds met over the south
western limits of the city and formed one
storm which, with terrific roar, swept
+bro,,ol, bo oaptar IF tho town ttaripO
death and destruction in its path.
Over fifty buildings were badly dam
aged Those totally destroyed were:
Spencer's, Ebbens and Logan's saloons,
the Chicago Great Western depot, Hen
dee & Siveley's wagon factory, st. Charles
furniture house and stock, L. Sheridan's
jewelry store, Sorenson's store, Steven
sons elevator and SHELLS elevator. Al
most every building on the main street
had its front torn off and was partly or
wholly torn off Part of the high
school was torn away. The Congrega-
tional church and big livery stable were
unroofed and the opera house was badly
damaged The new flour mill was dam
aged to the extent of $4,000. There was
not dollar of tornado insurance on a
single building destroyed. In Ebben's
saloon John Ebben and his son Will and
Ed Murphy were killed under the ruins.
Mary Ebben had a miraculous escape.
She was in the saloon and when the
storm came she grasped her fathers
hand When the fathers body was dug
out she was holding his hand and prac-
tically unhurt.
w. o. Crittenden, farmer, got in
his wagon to drive home. The wind lift
ed the pillow and drove the share through
Crittenden's neck, almost severing his
head. William Mitchell had his hand on
the shoulder of Crittenden when the lat
ter was killed, but Mitchell was unhurt.
Crittenden had cancer of the stomach.
He had Just consulted doctor and was
told that he could not live. He was 60
ing home to get his affairs in shape
when he was killed. In Spencer's saloon
young Spencer jumped under a billiard
table and was unhurt, although the sa
loon was a total wreck. A negro crawled
out from under the ruins unhurt.
When the big furniture store fell, P.
H. Beckway, the manager, was struck
by falling wall and his skull was frac-
tured. The Chicago Great Western depot
was wiped out completely. Girls in the
telephone building and DIR. Scott were
imprisoned in the ruins and had to wait
for help, but they were not injured.
Seveley & Hende, the proprietors of the
wagon factory, were in the building
when it was crushed. The former was
saved by standing against one wall which
did not fall, and the latter was saved
by lying down beside the timbers. He
was completely covered with wreckage,
but escaped unhurt Three teachers were
in the school building when part of it
was blown away, but they escaped. Had
school been in session hundred pupils
would have been killed or injured. Mrs.
c. Sorenson was in the second story of
the building when it collapsed, but she