Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-03-26
ILLINOIS THE CENTER OF LARGE
AREA VISITED BY CYCLONE
LAST NIGHT.
DAMAGE REACHES
INTO THE MILLIONS
Buildings Collapse, Wires Are Torn
Down and Trees Uprooted by the
Wind - Raging Rain Adds to Fury
of the Storm.

Chicago. March 25. Death and
ruin lie in the wake of the cyclone
which, accompanying the heavy rain,
swept over northern Illinois and In
diana last night, unroofing and blowing
down houses and barns, driving peo-
pie from their homes, and doing
millions of dollars Late dispatches
today from the storm swept area, which
includes nearly all of Illinois and ex-
tends into Iowa, Wisconsin and Michi- q
gan, indicate the damage done was
even worse than at first supposed.
Reports from the outlying towns
agree that the storm was the most vio-
lent Illinois has experienced for twen-
ty-five years. Houses were unroofed.
trees uprooted, buildings blown down
and telegraph and railway communicas
tion interrupted over the entire norths
ern part of the state.
Electric light wires were blown down
in many of the cities and the darkness
increased the fear of the terror-strick-
en- residents.
Indiana Harhor Man Killed.
Hammond, East Chicago and Indi-
ana Harbor bore the brunt of the
storm. So far as can be learned six
teen people were injured. One man,
M. Barker, proprietor of store, WAS
pinned beneath falling timbers OF his
building and killed.
Joliet Suffers Ds15ssre .,a,s..
Joliet, ILL.,. March Is. Il score 81
housese were unroofed here by the
storm of last night. Many barns and
small buildings collapsed.
Buildings Blown Down.
Whiteheath. H., March 25. The
Universalist church, Murray's eleva-
tor, Flanigan's hotel were blown down
the Methodist church was unroofed
and several houses were lifted of
their foundations by the storm here
last night.
Damage At East ST. Louis.
East st. Louis, ILL.,, March 25. Nv The
wind and rain storm here last night
caused heavy property damage, injur-
ed many persons seriously and crippled
the local and interurban car traffic No
fatalities are reported
Blizzard in North Dakota.
l AS4oIldiCh, ~. ~, NldECH SlUC9
5 o'clock last night the worst blizzard
OF the winter has been raging through.
out this state. Snow Is drifting from
three to six feet deep. Traffic on the
Washburn and 500 lines is suspended
and street cars are out of commission.
1t is feared there will be heavy losses
| of stock.
/ Chicago Is Isolated.
Il
l Chicago, March 25. - For hours
last night Chicago and her SUBJ
urbs were cut off from communica-
tion with the outer world as effectually
as If she was the tiniest village on a
bleak western prairie.
\ Owing to the severity of the storm
all telegraph wires were down after
u Z o'clock except those belonging to the
i Western Union, which remained in
commission until 8 o'clock.
i The high waters prevented street
car traffic west on Madison street, the
wind blew down the wires and poles
along the car lines running south Of
Chicago, and the Evanston line was
unable to run cars for four hours while
the storm was at it's height.
i At Evanston and Rogers Park the
4 telegraphs, telephone and electric light
WlICS were DlOWu uOWu duu tIlo pail
of darkness lent it's terrors to the
floods.
Suburbs All Suffer.
1 All the suburbs were swept with the
worst inundation known in the history
of the city. The rapidly rising waters
Of the already swollen streams were
augmented by the heavy rainfall dur
/ ing the night, and the water which
covered the streets in haywood, Dau-
phin Park, Grossdale, Riverside, Avon
dale, Lyons, and Evanston stood sew
eral feet deep in many places.
1t Is estimated that more than ST.
100000 worth of property has been de-
stroyed and 375 families have been
driven form their homes within rad
! ius of .seventy-fve miles by the high
water.
b The Kickapoo river at Prairie du
. Chen, Wis, rose foot in the day and
inundated the railroad tracks between
Steuben and Wauzeka. 1t is probable
!" all train service will have to be sus-
j, pended for several days.
Heavy Storm at Lake Geneva.
e A fierce wind storm which swept
! over Lake Geneva last night did much
. damage to property, scores of Earns
n and sheds being unroofed. Because of
/. the damage to telephone service it is
d impossible to estim ate the loss on the
q Continued on Page D