The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-07-04

uOl Dduiy uuit -4ss ~
PitifuI. Sight to Gaze Upon.
!; Mr.. Beatty's once picturesque farm
yard is a pitiful sight to- behold.
About the north and west sides of
the house is thick grove OF cot
tonwoods, naples and boxelders, and
quite "a few apple trees. Some of
the larger trees were nearly two
feet in diameter, but they had, been
twisted off like straws, Over half
4 of the trees have been blown down
or broken off, and, the mass of fallen
4 branches is impossible. The chin
! neys were blown off the house.
Some dishes were on table which
was near north window. The wind
4 coming in from the opposite side,
blew the dishes through the window
and scattered them upon the
ground. A tea cup was found
4 which had been blown out of the
\ house, and it was not even cracked.
i A chicken-wire fence around a vege-
4 table garden was torn off the posts
and rolled up like rope. The WOW
en- wire fences about the pasture
i were blown full of straw from the
\ straw stack. Telephone wires were
4 Melted with grass, leaves and straw,
4 A hay rack, was lifted off. wagon
4 and blown for about ten rods, and
4 lies. heap of boards. The shingles
\ were ripped off the roof of the
4 house like scales from q fish, A
i large manure pile is what kept the
1new barn from being blown COM
4 pletely over 1t held the east side
of the building. almost in place, but
4 the east wall is bent like rain
bow. Some Of Mr.. Beatty's farm
implements which were standing
about the yard were seriously dam
1 aged by being struck by. the whirl-
| ing mass of wreckage, Boards were
scattered through the fields for. rods.
The machine shed roof was carried
4 some distance, and deposited up in
a new binder
] Crying Won't Help, Things"
! The owner of the demolished build
ings, smiled grimly as he told the
story, but was not in the least down
hearted. whats the use," he said
4 Dhilosophically. at can't be helped
Crying won't help things any, We
ought to have bumper crop this
4 year, but it will take it all and more
to pay for the damage done me. i
think that in money, / have suffered
Ito the extent of over $1,000 !
didn't have any tornado insurance,
but there was a man here only last
week who wanted me to take out a
1 policy. wish / had now, but per
haps if l had, this would never have
happened.
4 'The storm seemed. to come from
the southwest as near as L can
Judge. l think that it was real
cyclone and that the lower end of
the funnel must have been whirling
rapidly to twist, off the trees as il
did. It travelled northeast for about
three miles, but did not sweep every.
hing in it's path. 1t seemed to rise
and fall, and whenever it struck the
ground, things moved rapidly
+ A barn on the farm of Peter
Rrower, about a mile west of Mr.
EBeatty's farm was seriously dam
aged but no stock was lost. The
roof was bent into the middle OF
the barn, but the damage is not
great.
About mile north of Mr.. Beacty's
farm is that of John Gintner The
hurricane did not seem to strike
nearly so hard here, as only the
windmill and the machine shed were
destroyed. No windows were brok
en-, and only few shingles were re
moved. Mr.. Gintner estimates his
'oss at about $780, He carried nc
tornado insurance, but the same in
surance man who talked with Mr.
Beatty also talked with him. Joseph
Meyers building near to Mr.. Clint
hers were not damaged, although
he trees suffered great deal al
; about.
On Jacob La Fontain'e farm, about
mine miles north of Mankato, barr
which is but four years old, was
simply torn to shreds. 1t was fifty
four. feet long and thirty-four fee
wide. and is now nothing but a pile
Of broken boards. A section of the
gable roof is perhaps the larges
I1iece left. The building was re
! moved from the, foundation abou
thirty feet to the east but the
boards are. not scattered very far
= t appears that. some, great weigh
!, truck the top. of the barn anl
6rumpled it up like paper. A new
chicken house, not quite completed
vas also destroyed, and scattered, fol
some distance. None of the othel
buildings were. injured
Horses Under Wreckage.
= In the barn were six horses, ant
all were found in the wreckage. TIL.
hay floor had to be chopped ava,
to remove them, but they were no
seriously injured. They were al
1rushed to the earth by the weigh
, If the frame work, but they la,
perfectly still and did not max,
. matters worse by useless struggling
! Only small amount of hay was il
he barn at the time, else it's weigh
Iwould have crushed them to death
Mr.. LaFontain's impression of tn
storm was the same as Mr.. Beatty's
flthough he was not nearly So mucl