The Evening Sentinel
LeMars, Iowa
Tuesday Evening, June 16, 1885

THE WIND'S WORK.
Additional Accounts of the Destruction in Town, and Reports from Neighboring
Places.

Experience meetings were numerous yesterday and today. Everybody had
something to relate of their feelings and observations of the night of
storm. Many of those who had cellars fled to them for safety and they were
not ashamed to say so. Fool hardy was the unnecessary courage that tempted
men to feign calmness when they wind twisted trees to pieces, and chimney's
hurled from their places, and houses crushed like egg shells by the mighty
demon of the air. It was a time to be frightened more or less. It don't give
a many any chance, and the cellar is about the only place of safety, and the
man who had one and didn't go down was facing death or injury unnecessarily.
The streets were filled with sightseers yesterday, and there was plenty to
see and talk about. The readers will no doubt be interested in the plain
narratives of losses, and we therefore resume the sad detail where we
stopped off yesterday.

IN TOWN.

The houses of A. Duerr and Prof. Wernli are no doubt the worse wrecks among
the residences of the city, the loss in both instances will be considerable,
as the roofs are gone and everything drenched and the structures terribly
racked out of shape.

The house of George Hewes was taken about five feet off foundation; family
in the cellar and deluged with water, but not otherwise injured.

The front of Dallas M. Young's cigar store was partly torn off.

C.P. Woodard's agricultural warehouse was torn down and lies in a heap.

The little cupola on Union block was tipped over, the 4x1 pieces snapping
off like pipe stems in the might wind.

Pitt Seaman had his hennery completely carried away. He had a half acre of
ground nicely picketed, surround commodious houses for the chickens, of
which he had a hundred or more hens of choice varieties, exclusive of a
couple hundred little chicks. He had just received an incubator and brooder
at a cost of a hundred dollars, and everything is gone, except a couple of
dozen half dazed and nearly featherless old hens who stand around wondering
what has happened. His loss will reach $500.

Postmaster Vogt had a window crushed in and a portion of the sash with
jagged glass dropped down upon his foot and made several deep cuts,
compelling him to walk with a crutch.,

G.A. Sammis had his barn considerably racked.

The house of P.H. Diehl escaped with one chimney down which broke three
rafters and crushed in the shingles. Phil was in the cellar and thought the
roof had gone. The wind broke in a cellar window and blew soot from the
furnace all through the house.

A.H. Treat's barn, built extra strong as proof against wind collapsed, and
the old family horse was found standing on his hind feet in the vault of the
water closet, and was rescued with much difficulty after the rain was over.

A looking glass hanging to the second floor front of Laux Bros. building was
found out in the street still attached to the nail on the wall, and
unbroken.

J. Walkinshaw's house was so badly used up that it had to be vacated
yesterday by Dick Hines, who occupied it.

The two bank buildings did not altogether escape, part of the ornamental the
wall on Dent's going off, while the cornice on the First National Bank was
stripped off.

D. Cronen's barn tumbled in and the horses covered with timbers, but they
were rescued without injury, and were doing duty on the drays yesterday.

Dr. Schwind's sign was carried across the street and thrown into Dr.
Prosser's stairway.

The sign of the Albion House can't be found and the same is true of the
Sentinel's roof sign.

The grand stand at the fair ground is sadly demoralized.

A part of the tin roof from the mill struck Dr. Jackson's house and Doc
thought his time had come.

A board about sixteen feet long shot into the second story of Farnham's shop
and pierced its way in about six feet. Mr. Farnham proposes to let it stay
there as a memorial of the storm.

Dr. Foster's orchard was badly damaged, many trees broken off, while others
are denuded of limbs and leaves, the young fruit being pretty well shake
off, and this latter is generally true of apple trees everywhere in the
track of the storm.

T.L. Bowman's house escaped very well, except that the tin is torn up on the
roof of the porch and an outhouse or two were tumbled around the yard.

The main damage to Bunt brothers buildings came through flying timbers which
penetrated the front in several places and battered in the side wall of the
second story of the brick building.

A.M. Duus had his new barn demolished and a 2x4 piece from the wreck was
shot into his residence like a bullet from a gun and passed through two
partitions.

There was quite a marked difference in the thermometer last night when it
stood at 45, and Sunday night when it stood at 90. Last night was decidedly
cool, while Sunday night was sultry to a point positively uncomfortably.

The windows in Wallace Winslow's meat market were nearly all broken. The
business houses on the east side of Main street were the only sufferers from
broken glass.

E.F. Augir was busy yesterday in looking up his outbuildings, well curb,
etc. The wind also broke in a window of his house and let in considerable
water.

Richard Ricketts brought, his wife and child to the Mickley house last
night, his house being quite a wreck. He asked for extension on an insurance
note a couple of weeks ago, but no reply has been received and he is fearful
that his insurance is no good.

The Floyd river is very high and running over the low lands along the
borders. The St. Paul train men report heavy rain last night in Sioux
county, which in several places assumed the properties of a water spout.

A grain shed in the rear of Greer's elevator lies all in a heap.

The wind peeled the shingles off of a roof wherever it had the slightest
chance.

The statues of St. James and the Virgin as well as the altar service at St.
James church were picked out of the debris uninjured.

The cornice on C.D. Hoffman's building was torn off.

Several large trees near Gehlen's mill, regular giants for this prairie
country, were prostrated by the wind, after having withstood the storms of
perhaps a century or more.

Father Meis had a tornado policy for $15,000 on St. Joseph church.

There will be no stoppage of the gas works. The retort was not injured, nor
none of the apparatus, and the making of gas will go right on. The work of
restoring the demolished walls will begin at an early day. Architect Loft,
of Sioux City, was here yesterday to see about plans.

The lumber sheds of Moore, Loving & Co. are pretty badly torn up.

The roof of the Plymouth mill is being temporarily covered with tar paper.
The wind's work about the mill was quite extensive. The great smoke stack
was broken into several pieces, the roof of the engine house was damaged,
the grain conveyors between the elevator and mill are broken in several
places, and the cog house is a complete wreck.

Cobbe, Eller & Co. suffered by the breeze, their rendering house was
completely demolished, and tanks upset, while the factory building is
considerably wrenched, and smoke stack thrown down.

The Gilbert brothers have about a thousand bushels of oats and corn in their
elevator.

George Brunskill's house on north Main street had the tin roof taken off and
his barn partly tipped over.

The damage to trees is very extensive, and it will take years to make good
the loss.

Dr. Brick's buggy shed helped to knock down Fred Tomlinson's high board
fence, but it was clear cut wind that downed several of Fred's finest trees,
and beat down his and Heeb's gardens.

The losses to the insurance companies will be large. The agents here have
between four and five hundred claims filed with them already in about
twenty-five companies. Taking the great scope of country over which the
storm traveled the loss will be immense.

IN THE COUNTRY.

The Frank Fuller place out in Johnson Township was torn down; the tenet,
George Husted, with wife and eight children found the cellar a place of
refuge.

Mr. Goetsche is not improving much from his injuries, according to reports
today.

Silas Forbes' house, east of town, is a complete wreck. The family sought
refuge in the cellar, but Mrs. Forbes went back upstairs to get a pet dog,
and was carried off in the building and badly hurt.

John Madden's fine grove in Washington Township, was badly used up. Trees
from 20 to 30 inches were snapped off like weeds, while others were torn out
by the roots. Mr. Madden thinks the grove saved his house and barn.

D.E. Hayes, who was hurt about the head in the wreck of his house, was
brought to town today and is at Clark's back of Corkey's stable. His mother
and aunt, with collar bones broken, and a lady friend, all visitors at his
house, are at John Madden's prostrated from the hours of terror spent in the
wind and rain.

MERRILL:

The Methodist Church was badly damaged, and the loss is put at $500.

Wm. Semple's barn on his farm nearby was destroyed, and the tenet, C.
Denges, had a horse killed.

Henry Manz had his barn destroyed and a horse and colt killed.

John Eastman's barn was taken.

A. Blacker lost his barn and had three calves killed.

H.J. Calhoun had his barn, shedding and cribs badly used up.

Felix Carley's barn was demolished.

John Patterson had cribs and pens swept away and five pigs killed.

Mrs. Moran's barn was thrown down.

REMSEN.

The Catholic Church built a couple of years ago at a cost of $6,000 is a
complete wreck; insurance $1500.

The schoolhouse was turned upside down and really demolished. It cost $2700
last summer, and is insured for $2000.

The howls of Conrad Small was carried off its foundations about 15 feet, and
I.D. Smith's new house was served about the same way.

The Blake house was damaged in a variety of ways.

The tin roof was taken off of Schultz's agricultural warehouse.

Lawyer Roseberry had his house and barn damaged to the extent of a hundred
dollars or more, and half of the remaining houses in town were damaged more
or less.

A Holland family, newcomers, and bearing a queer name, tenets of one of I.D.
Smith's farms, was badly used up. The house was demolished, one child
killed, another had its leg broken, the man was severely hurt on the head,
and the woman somewhat bruised.

Rudolph Lang, brother of the county supervisor of that name, and Mr. Kinne,
both newcomers, who had built good houses and barns on their farms near
Remsen had everything swept away by the blasts, and both were wounded. Mr.
Lang was badly hurt.

The fine barns of Nic Kaiser and of the late Nic Plettchette were totally
demolished and Kaiser had a horse killed.

John Lemon and family occupying the house of J.H. Page, vacated it during
the storm and one of the children, a little girl in her nightshirt, was lost
and not found until nearly morning, and then in a nearly perishing
condition.

H.W. Alline's farm buildings were badly used up.

The lumber yards of Townsend brothers and Z. Gilman were both demoralized.

J.H. Brown and Lyman Spencer had their barns demolished.

KINGSLEY.

The storm was quite destructive to property in both town and country.

The engine house of the steam elevator was demolished, as also was the corn
cribs.

The lumber yard of G.H. Phelps was mixed up with his corn cribs.

The tin roof partly torn off the public school building.

Several houses were unroofed, one or two moved from foundations, and several
glass fronts in business houses blown in. There was considerable hail. No
lives lost nor serious injuries reported.

SENEY.

The storm here come and at 11 o'clock and lasted about an hour. More or
less damage was done to nearly every property owner in town. The principal
losers are as follows:

A.W. Gilbert's office carried away, and elevator badly damaged.

Peavey & Co. elevator considerably torn.

P.J. Keefer, front of blacksmith shop torn off.

T.J. Reeves, residence considerably shaken up, taking off the plaster and
chimney gone, and large corn crib bent to pieces.

E. March, corn crib demolished.

Henry March, barn wrecked.

W.S. Darvill, barn and demolished.

No loss of life or injury to limb in town, and none reported from the
country.

MARCUS.

The M.E. church was totally demolished. The Lutheran Church was moved about
12 feet from its foundation. The Christian Church was badly damaged while
the roof was partly taken off the Catholic building.

The house of W. Gano was destroyed and Mrs. Gano and child were killed, and
Mr. Gano badly hurt. The freight depot was demolished. Jackson's lumber
sheds were wrecked. Several houses were unroofed, many barns damaged or
demolished and ruin everywhere. The M.E. church five miles south is a bad
wreck.

MERIDEN.

The M.E. church and freight depot were demolished, and much general damage
wrought.

CHEROKEE.

The new schoolhouse was unroofed and damage to the extent of $10,000. Many
houses were unroofed. Reports from the country give accounts of great damage
to property, and not less than 10 persons were killed.

JAMES STATION.

The destruction in this vicinity was general. L.B. Hungerford's house was
blown to atoms, just family finding safety in the cellar. Fred Schindler's
new warehouse near the depot was greatly damaged. Albert Cadwell's house was
blown down, the family finding refuge in the cellar. Wm. Lerch's grove of
fine timber was almost ruined. Wm. Brill's grove was also badly damaged. A.
Drake, on the Fisher place, had everything swept away except his house. G.B.
Waddington, on the Humbert place, had barn destroyed, houses blown off
foundation, and 60 acres of corn washed out. Bert Luce's barn was
demolished. T. Sullivan had his barn demolished and 35 acres of corn cut to
pieces by hail.

SIOUX CITY.

Hundreds of buildings were more or less damage, but no one killed. The
Hubbard house was bombarded with timbers from the roof of the Pierce block,
occupied by Tootle, Livingston, & Co., and made things lively for guests.
The St. Paul R.R. shops suffered perhaps more loss than any other place.
Chesterman & Barrow's building was perhaps the greatest sufferer not less
than $3000, roof and upper floor gone. The Episcopal Church is a total
wreck. Dr. W.R. Smith's fine grounds were terribly demoralized. The pork
house was badly damaged, but the Journal contains columns filled with
numerous mishaps.

ELSEWHERE.

There was no general wind above Seney, nor much east of Storm Lake. In
Nebraska, west of Sioux City, there was much destruction.