Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/571

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

BISTORT OF GOODHUE COUNTY 491 of Charles Roos, where it lipped over a granary. Gathering force ami volume it next struck the house of M. Turnquist, cleaning the place entirely. This performance it duplicated at the house of Mr. Lindstedt. A young son of Mr. Lindstedl was killed and the rest of the family, four in number, injured severely. Then an unfinished building belonging to P. Jonson was strewn around and the house of X. Anderson was cast into a wheat field, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson being slightly injured. The Orphans' Home was scattered in all directions with frightful results. Three children was found dead, one died later, and fifteen were severely in- jured. Mr. and Mrs. Stranberg and Mr. Wigman were injured. The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Holm was carried past the Or- phans' Home, and Mr. and Mrs. Holm killed, a son of the family found near by, dying later. The hurricane just passed the Luth- eran church hut lifted the roof off the parsonage. The next victims were E. Swenson and a four-year-old daughter, who were hilled during the destruction of their house. Mr. Swenson died the next morning, Mrs. Swenson was badly injured. and the daughter escaped injury. Frank Hallberg lost a child eight months old and all his property. Thence in* due course Ola Anderson. August Peterson, Peter Larson. Mr. (Julbranson and Peter Johnson lost their houses, barns and other property. Other buildings and property were also destroyed." BURNING OF THE "GALENA." The burning of the "Galena," a large Mississippi river steam er, July 3, 1858, was a red-letter event in the early days of the city of Red Wing. The fire broke out a little past midnight, just before the boat reached the landing, and the glare of the burning boat furnished light enough for a large part of the pas- sengers and crew to seek safety in the water, and eventually to reach the land, drenched and suffering from the nervous shock, but otherwise unharmed. A passenger describes the disaster as follows: "The boat's freight had all been discharged at the foot of Lake Pepin. An attempt was made to gain time by increasing the speed. Before I retired the chimneys appeared like volcanoes emitting showers of sparks, and the upper deck and mid air presented a scene worthy of a pyrotechnic of the first water. But this, you know, is not uncommon. No danger was anticipated from this source, and it is not known, and prob- ably never will he, whether the disaster originated from that source. My impression is that the fire was communicated from the lower portion of the chimney to the surrounding woodwork. About 1 o'clock, to give my own experience, some one caught my foot and shouted. 'The boat is on fire.' My state room door was