Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-09-22

lence and in the country surrounding
the city corn fields and orchards sui.
fered heavy loss as the result Of the
wind and rain The wind broke upon
the city without warning coming after
a drilling rain and being followed by
veritable flood. The rainfall. during
the night was about three inches.
Spencer Wholesale House Damaged.
The heaviest loser is the H. L. Spen-
Ger Co., one Of the Oldest wholesale
grocery houses in the state. The wind
lifted the entire roof from the big
three-story building, which is 100 feet
by so feet long and eighty feet wide.
Part of the roof was carried 200 feet
by the storm and large section was
hurled through the roof of the Con-
gregational church, just in the rear Of
the Spencer building. Immediately the
rain began falling in torrents and the
property of the grocery firm as we'll as
the furnishings Of the church and the
contents Of the other buildings which
were damaged were drenched by the
flood
The retail furniture store of Stull &
McGregor, situated one block from the
| Spencer store, was unroofed and the
| Fitch harness store, between the two,
| was partially unroofed. The Brad
shaw livery barn, which also lay in the
| path of the storm, was almost blown
down and sustained extensive dam
age.
The Iowa Central depot and round
house were partially unroofed.
Odd Fellows Building Struck.
The greater part of the roof of the
| Odd Fellows building, a three story
structure, was lifted off and the rain
| did great damage there. The Odd Eel
lows hall in the third story and sever
| al lawyers Offices on the second were
damaged to the exent of hundreds of
dollars. The water descended to the
ground floor and the basement, dam
aging the grocery stock of Campbell &,
Cox and creating havoc in the Asher
restaurant. A barber shop in the
basement was completely flooded.
Lumber Yard In Storms Path.
The Kalbach lumber yard, block
distant from the Spencer store, was in
the path OF the storm and sheds, lum-
Der piles and panels of high fence
were blown down. heavy damage re.
sulting. Throughout the city, plate
glass windows were broken, lawns
were damaged, shrubbery and even
large trees were uprooted. The cen.
ter of the storm, however, seemed to
reserve all it's force for the Spencer
building and the damage sustained by
that firm alone will total between $35,
0 and $4,000.
Wreck Caused BY Storm.
| The rain caused washout on 4 the
Iowa Central a few miles north of the
city and freight train which left
Oskaloosa soon after the wind had
died down. was wrecked Twelve
cars were ditched and several hours
were consumed in repairing the dam
age sufficiently to allow traffic past
the scene Of the accident. Passenger
trains to and from st. Louis stopped
on either side of the wreck and the
passengers transferred during the
| night.
No One Injured.
Fortunately no one was injured. sc
far as can be learned today Neither
! in the city or at the scene of the
wreck are there any reports of acct
dents to people, though the property
loss is large.
/ Hail Five Inches Deep.
| Abba, Sept 2O-(SpeciaD- The
storm at this point last night was un
precedented In the history Of the town
in the size of the hail stones which
fell and in it's duration At places the
hail was five inches deep on thu
ground Considerable damage was
caused to property.
Barn Burns at Newton.
Newton, Sept 20.-The barn owned
i by Mr.. Fitzgerald few miles west OF
Newton, was struck by lightning and
entirely destroyed last night, during
1 the heavy storm which ragged here. II
contained 800 bushels Of oats and large
amounts of corn and hay, as well as
the household goods of son, Elmer
Fitzgerald, who moved to Oskaloosa
recently.
! Much other minor damage is report
ed at this point, and wires are dowr
in all directions.
Damage at Boone.
Boone, Sept. 20.-During the terrific
storm here last night barn, said te
belong to A. B. Abix, was struck by
| lightning and burned to the ground. II
| is few miles in the country from
this city. The. storm ragged fiercely
here for the space of half an hour.
Severe at Fort Dodge.
Fort Dodge, Sept. 20.-A heavy fall
of rain, accompanied by fierce down
fall Of hail. visited this section of the
state last night. Hail stones as large
as walnuts did much damage about the
city Electric signs were riddled
and The Larson greenhouse, covering {
solid square, was badly damaged. A
/ 10 ,.sre, r,aur additinrl .,.aceiuad tho Iar1roe