The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-12
And About Half Dozen Others Young Girls
Employed in Factory-The Oldest of the
Dead Only Thirty-Two Years of Age.
A Probability that the List Of Victims
Will Be Considerably Increased.
The School Building Was Known To Be Un-
safe, and Had Been Twice Condemned
One of the Other Structures Insecure.
TWENTY-FIVE PERSONS KILLED.

TWENTY-FIVE PERSONS KILLED.
Appalling Results OF a wind-storm at Kan
sas City-Liss of the Dead.
KANSAS CIrY, May u.-About 1890 this morn
ing ominous storm clouds began gathering over
the city. They first appeared In the northeast,
and surging westward across the city. turned
suddenly about in their course. and descending
rapidly, broke upon the city in terrific bursts of
wind aud rain that swept all lighter objects
before them. The darkness was almost like
night, and people fed to the nearest shelter and
awaited with blanchsd faces the fury Of the
tempest. The clouds seemed to Craze the roofs
of the highest buildings and poured out their
torrents in apparently solid masses for time.
The storm struck the city in full force about
twenty minutes past II, and ragged for half an
hour. The streets were running rivers Of
water. carrying boxes, and signs. and
other similar freight blown from the
buildings or swept ply the food. A number of
vehicles were overturned, and in numerous in
stances drivers abandoned their horses to their
fate and sought refuge in stores and houses.
Some hail accompanied the storm, but tie fall
was not great, otherwise the loss to property
would have been enormous from water streaming
in at broken windows. As 1t was, windows in
quite a large number of buildings were blown in,
and goods and furniture were water soaked. All
this, however, proved entirely insignificant when
the full extent Of disaster wrought by the storm
became known.
The Lathrop school building occupied an i'm.
portant site on Broadway, to which an east wing
has been added. The building was surmounted
by tower, which, for some time, has been con-
sidered unsafe. It has been twice condemned.
once within q few weeks, but no action had been
taken in the matter. This morning the building
was crowded with children, many of whom were
nearly frantic, with fear over the appalling
darkness and the stiffness which preceded
the tempest The wind swept madly across
Broadway from the west, and seemed to concen-
trate its forces in it's descent upon the tower,
which yielded with crash, and carrying down
the heavy bell, plunged through the intervening
floors to the basement. The main building is
mass of ruins, within which the shattered walls
still stand. The wing was comparatively un-
injured, and the scholars there were unhurt In
the main building, however, the effect was aw-
full The falling floors precipitated the terror
stricken children to the basement, where masses
of brick and beams crushed them to the ground
and buried them from view Persons near, hear
ing the crash, made their way as best they could
against the beating storm to the scene. The gale
quickly subsided and the work of rescue was un-
dertaken by eager hands. Owing to the prevailing
excitement the first work was not very ef-
fectiye. but the FIRE department and police
soon arrived and an organized search was
commenced. The dead and wounded were
ak en- out as quickly as possible and carried to
the Natatorium, adjoining, which was turned
into hospital. Here the parents and friends
of the little ones soon gathered each searching
for his or her own, and uttering heart-rending
cries when they recognized in the mangled and
bleeding forms those whom they loved.
Among the first taken out several were dead,
and one or two mangled almost beyond recog-
milton, their clothing torn and the bodies COW
cred with dust and mortar, the deathly rallor
of the skin showing in painful contrast against
grimy and blood stained clothing. One little
girl half buried in the debris, over whom res
cuers were busied begged them to leave her
and help boy beside her. because, she said,
he was only FIVE years old
The scenes in the Natatorium as the little ones
were brought in and laid upon improvised cots,
the dead being placed together upon one side,
were pitiful beyond expression. dozen dead
were taken out during the day and the bodies
sent to the houses of sorrowing families. Sew.
eral of the children belonged to prominent fami-
lies in the city.
At No. IL West Third street stood three-story
brick building, in tho middle Of the block, the