The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-08-22
MOVED A SWATH
LAKES TO RIVER
The Twister Passed Thru the Most
Populous District of the
City.
HUNDREDS OF HOMES
ARE SAVED BY TREES
Early Rain Drove People to Cover,
Thus Preventing Many
:. Casualties.

Entering Minneapolis from the d.
$ect1on of Lake Calhoun and rush
Ing furiously toward the northeast, a
! tornado, accompanied by a downpour
of rain which resembled a cloudburst,
and violent, binding electrical dis
play, ripped it's way across the city
Saturday evening. It uprooted and
splintered thousands of giant trees,
stripped off portions of roofs and
Knocked down scores Of chlmneys
and pinnacles in the residence sec
ton, and destroyed thousands of dol
lars worth Of plate glass and other
property in the retail district Near
the Tenth avenue s bridge it crossed
the river, passed lightly over South
east Minneapolis, continued with ac-
celebrating speed thru St. Anthony
Park, and then, turning, swept into
and out of st. Paul, doing great dam
age there.
But one person was killed in Mime
Rpolis, and he not by the wind, but by
the lightning and in a location re-
moved from the track Of the storm.
The injured number only seven. The
property loss, while mounting, per-
haps, into the hundreds of thousands
Of dollars, appears small in the face
Of the devastation. ....... .'-
Rain a Godsend.
There Is an explanation for each of
these remarkable records. Rain fell
for more than an hour before the
tornado struck the city. The tnclem-
ent weather kept thousands indoors
who otherwise would have been in
The streets.
/ Had the usual Saturday night
crowds been In the downtown streets
when the storm came. the loss Of life
undoubtedly would have been heavy,
for huge stone cornices were knocked
from office and store buildings, glass
from O. thousand broken windows
went crashing to the sidewalks, and
signs were wrenched from their fast
tngs and hurled thru the air.
Out among the residences and
churches trees and telephone poles
Fell, the latter carrying with them
tangled masses Of deadly live wires
But they did not kill and MAIN be.
cause people were within doors.
Il Trees Saved Homes.
TO the trees Is due credit for the
small amount Of damage to houses.
The wind, sweeping along at one time
at the rate Of two miles a minute
rushed at magnificent stone houses OF
fra1l frame dwellings, threatening tt
faze them or to wrest them from theil
foundations.
But tall, sturdy oaks, or elms, Of
poplars, or Eastwood trees stood guart
In the yards. They let the wind spill
from them their spreading limbs OF
rip their big roots up out Of thu
ground and send the natural giants
crashing to earth-and saved thu
homes and the families within. Tha
this service Of the trees was per
formed Is shown by the fact tina
where there were none, as alont
Cedar avenue between Fifth AM
Franklin, houses like those which
stood unframed in other places wer'
sadly wrecked.
Before the Blow.
The afternoon had been bright AM
warm. Clouds flecked the sky at
o'clock, and an hour later the sun wa
obscured. BY the appearance O
things portended q thunderstorm. an,
this came about $50. The downpou
was heavy, and about 1880 the raj
was falling in sheets. Then came hal
and the little white balls of ice dance
on stills and porches. Suddenly Their
was a gust of wind which made pedes
TRANS try to make two hands perform
. the work of a dozen, holding ont
Umbrellas that wanted to soar an
hats which wouldn't stay on. The
the wind shifted and umbrella
pushed hard against the north vino
became light as a feather and trie
3 to float away. Many of them did.
moment later umbrellas were useless
Persons in the streets gave up hope c
reaching home and broke for plac
Of shelter, splashing blindly thru raj
and mud.
Family scares.
4 At home, meanwhile, there was
general scurrying to close all wir
dows and doors. Then followed tn
roar and hiss of the wind, with no
and then the crash of a falling ire
& or pole nearby, or the rumbling {
brick or stone as chimney or porto
of wall fell and bounded over tn
roof.
Families were gathered together
groups, and there was much huggir
and kissing and some weeping. Ce
lars were sought, even by many WI
lived in big brick houses When tt
wind subsidized and tenants peered OIL
thru the windows between the blint
ing flashes of lightning which sti
continued, or timorously poked the
noses out of half-opened doors, thel
F. was much wondering and many volt
BILE disquisitions on the marvellous e
capes everybody realized they ha
had.
Course of the Storm.
Evidently the wind, after sweepir
over the territory this side of Waconi
crossed the Calhoun and Harriet di
trict without doing much damage, a
tho clipping off a tree here or a pa
of a roof there Just to let the res
dents know it had been there, can
into Minneapolis proper at abo
tI,r- n CGonpd