Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1910-09-01
HURRICANE AT HEATON
twisting or turning as the Heaton

twisting or turning as the Heaton
Storm
The people of the town saw the
cyclonic clouds forming to the south
west, and the cyclone came so sudden
ly that they had no chance to flee
from the places they happened to be
in at the time. The storm hit the
village, practically destroyed it, and
all was over in 80 seconds.
Many queer, freakish incidents
happened as with other storms of that
kind. The big Monarch elevator,
standing $50 feet from the railroad
track was split into. Half of the
building was carried across the in
tervening space, and set down on the
main line track crashing through the
west end of the depot building, smash
ing the freight house end, but not
injuring the Office end of the depot.
The agents house was in differ
ent part of the town, and his wife
was hit by piece of flying scantling
as she was crossing to another house
to get away from the storm. Her
own home was the only one that
was not damaged in the town. Had
she remained in her. own house she
would not have been injured in any
way.
The Occident elevator, on the other
side of the track, was lifted clear off
the foundation and smashed to pieces.
There were three persons in the ele-
vator, and they were left on the
floor unhurt. There were, no per-
sons in the Monarch elevator at the
time.
One of the strangest incidents of
the storm was the escape of the peo-
pie in he house of Louis Falk. The
house was completely lifted from the
floor and carried away some distance.
There were eight or ten persons in
the building. They were lifted with
the floor, and followed tn house,
and were let down again some 800
feet away, no one being injured ex-
cept by a slight scratch or two. A
baby in It he house was soon found
to be missing. The mother who was
one of the persons carried away, with
the floor, began searching for the
child and soon after saw the little
one coming towards her from the
direction of the house. How the
kid escaped is still mystery.
The brick bank building that was
destroyed was located between two
frame buildings and appears to have
been sucked 'out and demolished,
while the two slighter built frame
structures were left unhurt and not
moved from their foundations. The
only persons killed were the old man
and baby on the outskirts of the
town. Their names were Halvor
Thorinson and the child was daugh-
ter of Albert Alison. None of the
other people of the town were in
'jured seriously except the depot a.
gents wife. Rev. Saunders was
slightly bruised about the back. The
Congregational church was twisted
around and left standing side ways,
and the force of the twisting wind
was so great that the concrete steps
of the church were broken in two.
Several other houses were twisted
and turned on their foundations, the
buildings facing the south, being left
facing the northeast.
While the clouds were forming rain
was falling in quantities, but after
the storm had passed the rain ceas-
ed, Three box cars of the railroad
company overturned.
The wonderful part Of the storm is
that no one in the town, where the
greatest destruction occurred was
killed out right, but escaped death
what scenes a miraculous chance.
The storm did little other damage
elsewhere than in the town itself.
CROOKSTON UNEASY
80