Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-10-30
Unequalled ia Violence by
any Disastrous Visitation
ofa Similar Character.
Philadelphia Suffers Severe Loss
Of Life and Property.
Churches Unroofed and 6teeples
WhiEled Through the Air Like
Featherv.
Numerous Other Points in the
State Seriously Damaged.
Depots, Dwellings, School Houses
and Other Buildings Sadly
Wrecked.
DESTRUCTIVE GALE.


PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 23.-A tempes.
tuous gale,unprecedented in severity
swept over this city early this morn.
ing. Incalculable damage was done
by the wind. Not in many years, ii
ever before, has there been so much
damage done in the streets, public
squares and along the river fronts
Many public school buildings are
damaged and the public squares de-
vastated. Over forty churches of all
denominations, are more or less dam.
aged by the demolition Of steeples,
ETC., several of which are expected to
fall in at any moment. Walnut street
Presbyterian church 10 badly damag-
ed. The spire, hich 10 $50 feet high,
was blown down and in its fall struck
the roof of dwelling and very bad
ly damaged 1t. In its fall portion
OF the church roof was carried with
it and the vestry Of the church and the
organ loft filed with debris, and the
organ completely demolished. The
damage tath church is $4,000. The
steeple Of the First Baptist church, on
Thirty-sixth and Chestnut, which is
Ito feet high, was blown down. In
its fall the spire doubled up, the base
falling into the church yard and the
top with the bell fell into the street.
Damage, $4,000. The spire Of Eman-
uel German Lutheran church, on 4th
and Carpenter streets, 222 feet high,
was also blown down. A great ma
ny market houses and passenger rail-
way depots were badly damaged and
hundreds Of dwellings, chiefly in the
section Of the city were
some of them being entire-
ly demolished. The shed for depart
ing trains of the Pennsylvania rail-
road in West Philadelphia was de.
involving loss of $4,000
to $4,000. The factory Of F.
Fitzgerald, Columbia Avenue and
American street, had the entire
roof carried OF. The whole eastern
end of the Twelfth and Sixteenth
street passenger railway depot was
leveled 10 the ground. Shoemaker's
piano forte factory, Eleventh and
was damaged to the
of $4,000. The knitting mills
of Aaron Jones & Son, Germantown,
were unroofed. The building also
caught fire and panic ensued among
the operatives. Loss $4,000. The
large depot of the Philadelphia, Viii.
mington and Baltimore Railroad,
Washington Avenue wharf, was re-
duced to ruins and the Southside
Pennsylvania grain elevator blown in
two. The western spans Schuylkill
bridge, on the Reading Railroad, fell
into the river aud stopped all travel
in that direction. Along the Della
ware river front no less than twenty
are without roofs and
the water is running into stores on
the east side doing great damage. 1t
is estimated that at least SO store
houses along the wharves were
blown from their fsstenings and
great quantities of goods floated off
with the tide. The Reading railway
ferry house aud slip above South
street were demolished The tide
was the highest known for ~ years.
fatal casualties are reported
roughly estimated, the injured will
number Is.