Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 June 1899 — LOSS OF MANY LIVES. [ARTICLE]

LOSS OF MANY LIVES.

TORNADO SWEEPS MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN. Town of New Richmond, Wis., Wiped Ont—Fire Completes Storm’s WorkDamage at Hudson, Wia.—Mnch Stock Killed—ipamage to Crops. A great storm swept over eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin Monday evening. It broke over St. Paul at 5:57, over Hastings at 6:03, over Hudson, Wis., at 6:12 and over New Richmond, Wis., at 6:20. The tornado spent its fury at the last-named village. The business portion of the town was swept away and all telephone and telegraph wires went down. Latest reports from points near New Richmond state that the town is gone south of the Highway bridge and that the estimated number of killed will reach 150. Many of the houses were consumed by fire after the cyclone, and many other .people were killed while attending the circus which was showing there. A dispatch from Winona says: “Minnesota City is almost wiped out of existence. At Stockton the damage is fully as bad. The damage is appalling in the country surrounding these places.” J. A. Carroll, a traveling man, who was in the Nicollet House at New Richmond when the storm broke, arrived at Stillwater, Minn. He saw the funnel-shaped cloud as it came up the principal street, and took refuge in the basement of the hotel, which was completely wrecked, to gether with every other business house in the city. In terrible sheets of rain following the cyclone Mr. Carroll and his comrades sug? ceeded in recovering the proprietor, Chas. McKennon, wife and one child from the debris, and they also removed the laundry girl, who was fatally injured. They also removed two men named Barrett and Newall, who were very severely injured. Mr. Carroll drove to Stillwater for relief, and a train with doctors left there at midnight. Mr. Carroll says fire followed the cyclone, and that what was left is being consumed. Many people are killed, and the damage will run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of the most terrific ’cyclones ever witnessed in that vicinity passed through St. Croix County, Wis. It formed in a water spout four miles so*uth of Hudson at Lake St. Croix. It was twenty rods wide and destroyed everything in its.track. The first building struck was that of F. C. Mattison, whose barn was destroyed, the other buildings being left unharmed. H. S. Mattison’s farm was the next in line. The family saw the storm in season to take refuge in the cellar. The cellar , door had just closed behind them when the crash came. Not a building or tree was left standing. Strange to say, none of the family were injured. Many cattle and horses were carried away and have not yet been found. Proceeding, the storm destroyed the barns of Ed Daily, Julius Berse, Dave Heffron and all the buildings belonging to A. Lacy, north of Burkhardt. Mrs. Heffron was killed and Mr. Heffron badly injured.

A courier from near Boardman reports that village wiped out, with many injured and possibly some killed. At Minneapolis the storm was very severe. For fully an hour midnight darkness fell over the city and the sky had all the appearance of a tornado. There was very little wind, however, but an immense volume of water fell, the gauge showing 2.34 inches. Little damage other than the flooding of basements and floating of pavements resulted from the storm. Bridge square in the lower part of the city was afloat for a time and was passable only in boats. The storm came from the south. The worst rainstorm in seventeen years swept over La Crosse. Nearly five inches of rain fell. All railway communication except the South Dubuque and Southern Minnesota division of the Milwaukee line was cut off. Fifty families in North La Crosse were compelled to desert their homes in boats. Over 100 head of live stock were drowned. Nearly every bridge in the La Crosse river valley is gone. There were no mail trains on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, Chicago and Northwestern or Chicago, Burlington and Quincy roads to La Crosse on Monday. The storm swept away dams and bridges on all the water courses near Winona. Minn., including a dike and stone arch bridge built to protect South Winona. The entire south side of the city was under water, and many families were carried out on rafts. Henry Schultz of Stockton was struck by lightning and killed. From all sections of country visited by the disturbance come reports of great damage to crops and the killing of many head of live stock.