Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-08-25
SIXTEEN PERISH
IN BIG TORNADO
Damage in St. Paul Is ST..
100000; in Mime
apolis as Much,
FORCE OF WIND TERRIFIC
Wind Makes a Clean Sweep-High
Bridge. Stretching 200 Feet Above
the Mississippi, Is Partially Demol-
ished BY the Storm.

sons are reported to be dead, two
score are injured and property worth
S2,000.000 is ruined as the result Of a
tornado which swooped down on ST.
Paul and Minneapolis shortly after
p. m. Saturday,
st, PAUL. MINI, Aug. 22.-sixteen
persons were killed, scores were in.
iured and property was damaged
s2,000,000, according to latest re-
ports. by the tornado which swept
over st. Paul, Minneapolis and other
adjacent places In the Mississippi
valley Saturday night,
The destructive wind started near
the confluence of the Minnesota and
the Mississippi rivers near Fort
Smelling, split on the Mississippi
river and descended on the Twin
cities and their environs. The
weight OF the storm struck OF. n=ui.
From Fort Smelling, where the
storm first struck with damaging
effect, the tornado came northeast,
uprooted trees and demolished build.
ings on its way to st. Paul,
1t tore off two spans OF the high
bridge as completely as if they had
been unbolted from the rest OF the
structure and carted away by work.
men,
This mass Of steel was carried
eighteen feet to the fats below In
West ST. Paul, where flying steel
Orders and heavy planks fell on sew.
eral small frame houses and crushed
them. None OF the occupants OF
these houses was hurt, as they had
taken refuge on the hillside, where
they were safe.
The storm tore along the fats. up.
roofing trees on Harriet island with a
deafening roar and amid the hiss and
splash of falling sheets of rain IL
struck st. Paul at the Wabasha
street bridge.
AT the bridge entrance. on opposite
sides of Wabasha street, were stu.
ated the Tivoli concert hall and the
Empire theater both of which were
crowded with men watching tho per.
formances. Both buildings, whose
sides were open, were wrecked, The
audience became panic stricken when
the buildings swayed. Men and boys
rushed over each other for the exits.
The lights went out and the sheet
lightning flashes. whose reports fol
lowed one another with gun FIRE
rapidity, illuminated scene of pan
demonium which was intensified by
the crash of glass and the tearing of
| timbers as the frame structures gave
way before the tornado. }
Sections of the roof were blown
through tho air and landed In East
| Third street, block distant.
Underneath the debris of the TT.
| voli were found when tho storm had
passed, the mangled bodies of Lorin
+. Hokanson, an employe Of the con
cert hall and George Kwenton, a
spectator
Tho storm rushed on to tho north.
east over the wholesale quarter,
crushing glass and splintering tim
bers.
Tin roofs on several buildings
were rolled In bundles and deposited
In the street. Flying plate glass,
mixed with rain, battered everything
and carriages were swept along the
streets. which In short time we're
allsd with water
Wires we're torn down and part of
buildings reaching skyward above
the smaller ones in East Third street
were shaken and In several skylights
were blown out.
The German-American bank build
ing and the Pioneer Press building,
ten and twelve story structures, had
scarcely whole pane Of glass left
above tho second or third story on
the sides exposed TO the stC,in.
| These with the First National bark
building in East Fourth street, ami
several wholesale houses farther
east have tho appearance OF having
been bon.Larded by a battery OF
guns.
In the path OF the wind stood the
long freight warehouse Of the Chi.
| cago Milwaukee ~ ST. Paul railway
and section Of this building about
tour hundred feet lorg was cut out OF
tho middle.
In East Fifth. Sixth and Seventh
streets, the conditions were simila-
tr:cert that I'm East Seventh more
damage was done to roofs and glass.
In Minneapolis, hundreds OF buiia
lngs were damaged, all wire systems
were paralyzed and hundreds OF trees
uprooted For three minutes. the
wind blew ninety miles an hour and
rain fell in torrents. Two persons
were killed and several persons were
injured, but mono seriously.