Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1884 — A WHIRLING DESTROYER. [ARTICLE]

A WHIRLING DESTROYER.

Towns in Minnesota and Wisconsin Laid Waste by a Furious Cyclone. Several Persons Injured, n Few Killed Outright, and Valuable. Property Rained. The towns of Clayton and Clear Lake. Wls.. and White Bear Lake, Minn., were recently swept by a destructive tornado, the particulars of which, as telegraphed from St Paul, are given below: Great devastation was wrought at Clear Lake. The greater portion of the town Is in ruins, and three lives were lost. The scene after th- storm passed over was terrible in the extreme. Men, women, and children were running about in a perfect frenzy of excitement and fear. Here and there people could be seen coming out of their cellars almost paralyzed with fear, 'l-he strongest mmi was as a little child, for no human power could have resisted the cyclone's terrible force. One house, a brick veneer, was taken from its foundation and turned completely round, while the bricks were felled from the wood as if sliced off. A large barn was blown away, leaving the floor and mangers, with the horses peacefully eating their supper. A little child was taken in the arms of the tempest and landed in the branches of a tree but slightly injured. One large frame house was blown completely out of sight. Not one particle of the house or furniture could be tound, though search for a mile was made in the track of the storm. The family had, fortunately, taken refuge in the cellar. Many families are lett destitute—not a vestige of their worldly possessions remaining. Those killed at Clear Lake were Mrs. Peleg Burdick, wife of the Postmaster, and two young men, William Cavanaugh and A. H. Sanderson. Walter Briggs was also badly injured and two Scandinavian children so seriously that they cannot survive. Bill Nye, the humorist, had his left leg broken below the knee. He was at Clear Lake visiting his brother. District Attorney Nye. They were out In the country for a drive in the midst of a dense forest, and seeing the storm coming on, were driving as rapidly as possible to escape its fury, when both gentlemen were thrown out. The road was so thickly strewn with fallen trees that it was impossible to reach him with a team, and he was obliged to lie on the wet ground in the drenching rain for two hours, until men could be summoned from Clear Lake to carry him in. He was taken to Hudson. A tract of country twenty miles in width, from southwest to northeast, passing just- north of Stillwater, was swept by the cyclone. Everything was swept away. The clouds were of the indescribable green color known to all who ever witnessed a cyclone. Almost every house in Marine Mills, twelve miles north of Stillwater, was more or less injured. Several persons were injured, and there were many hair-breadth escapes. Wherever the storm Bwept through the country, houses, barns, and fences disappeared like chaff. Almost every building in Marine was blown down or more or less damaged. At White Bear Lake scores of huge trees were blown down and many houses suffered serious damage. Most of the windows were blown in. Boat-houses were wrecked and the boats blown in all directions. Near Hudson, Wis., half a dozen houses were leveled. Horses and cattle were blown against barb-wire fences and badly lacerated. At Grant twenty-five houses were demolished, and in the Hudson Prairie district six dwellings were torn to pieces, and one person killed. The loss In crops, barns, and outhouses is very heavy.