The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1886-05-14
Kansas City Becomes the Victim
of a Terrific Hurricanes
Wrath.
Twenty-Five Lives Lost and Thirty
Five Persons More or Less
Injured.
0ne-Half Of Those Killed Are Children
Crushed in the Ruins Of d
School Building.
The Courthouse and Other Strue-
lures Blown Down-The Property
Loss Estimated at $4,000.
DISASTER IN KANSAS CITY.

fore noon yesterday violent wind-storm,
accompanied by hail and followed by tor
rents of rain, fell suddenly upon the city,
demolishing the courthouse, the Lathrop
school, the Third street overalls factory,
wrecking d span of the great iron
bridge and the water-works, damag
ing many buildings, and carrying
widespread death and destruction in
it's track. AS far as can now be ascer
tanned, twenty persons were killed in
stantly or have since died OF their injuries
and twenty were wounded, numbers Of
them so badly that death is likely to fol
low within few hours. Many of the
killed are little school children who
were caught in the falling walls
of the Lathrop building and hor
ribly mangled by the heavy timbers
and broken iron work that crashed down
upon them as they sat terrified at their
desks, while others are young women EN-
ployed at the overalls factory, where, OF
twenty girls at work at the time the storm
began, four were taken out dead and the
others are dangerously hurt. At the
schoolhouse fifteen children were killed
and thirteen Others more or less badly in
iured. At the courthouse three were killed
and four were wounded. AT the overalls
factory seven were killed and fourteen
wounded. At Smith & Moffatt's spice
mills four were killed. At the United
States Engineers office four were injured.
Total killed, twenty nine; wounded, thirty
five. 1t is probable that the list of killed
and wounded will not be completed for a
day or two, when the missing ones are &C
counted for. Several OF the injured were
probably carried away without names be-
ing reported.
The loss on property can not be stated
with any definlteness being chiefly in small
and numerous amounts. Following are
some of the estimates made: On the bridge
$50, 900; on the court house, $4,000; on
the overalls factory, $4,000; Smith &
Moffatt, stock, $4,000; building owned
by Frank Oglesby, $40, 900; on the school
house, $4,000. There was much dam
age in the aggregate to partly fin
ished buildings. Twenty-Five small houses
in process of erection in the south
eastern part OF the city were blown down.
The Central Presbyterian Church, Eighth
street and Grand avenue was damaged to
the extent OF 50, 900; the German Catholic,
at Ninth and McGee streets, 81 200. Two
stained-glass windows of the First Congre-
gational, on Eleventh and MCGEE, were
blown in; loss, 5000. Locust and
Humboldt schools were damaged to
the extent of $1,000. A row of
houses being built at Eighth and
Cherry were damaged over $4,000. On
the Kansas City sewer-pipe factory, partly
demolished, the loss is $4,000. Yates
Ice Company stables, at the foot OF Broad
way, were wrecked, with large number of
similar casualties with equal or smaller
losses also reported. The total damage is
roughly estimated at $150,000, a por-
ton of which is covered by storm in
surance.
The storm-clouds began to gather over
the city about half-past ten O'clock and
descending rapidly broke in terrible bursts
OF wind and rain that swept all lighter OBJ
jects before them. The darkness was al
most like night. The clouds seemed to
Craze the roofs of the highest buildings,
and poured out their torrents of water in
apparently solid masses for time The
storm struck the city in full force about
11:20 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 up by
the flood. A number OF vehicles were over,
turned, and in numerous instances drivers
abandoned their horses to their fate and
sought refuge in stores and houses. Some
hail accompanied the storm, but the fall
was not great.
The Lathrop school building occupied a
prominent site at the corner of Eighth and
May streets. The building was surmount.
ed by a tower, which for some time had
been considered unsafe. 1t had been twice
condemned, once within few weeks, but
no action had been taken in the mat
ter. Yesterday morning the building was
crowded with children, many OF whom vent
nearly frantic with grief over the appalling
darkness and the stiffness which preceded
the tempest. The wind swept midway
across Broadway from the West and
seemed to concentrate it's force in de-
scent upon the tower, which yielded with a
crash, and, carrying down the heavy bell,
plunged through the intervening floors to
the basement. The falling floors precipi-
tated the terrified children to the base
ment where masses OF bricks and beams
crushed them to the ground and buried
the.a from view.
When the gale had subsidized the
work of rescuing was undertaken
by eager hands. Owing to the pre-
vailing excitement the first work
was not very effective, but the fire depart
ment and police soon arrived, and an
organized search was commenced. The
dead and wounded were taken out as
quickly as possible and carried to the ma
tatorium adjoining, which was turned into
al \
OF the little ones soon gathered, each
searching for his own, and uttering heart
rending cries as they recognized in the
manned and bleeding forms those whom
they loved.
Many heroic scenes were enacted during
the rescue, and the wounded children
seemed often to have greater control of
themselves than their elders. One little
girl, half buried in the debris, over whom
the rescuers were busy, begged them to
leave her and help a boy beside her, be-
cause, she said, he was only six years old.
The scenes in the natatorium as the little
ones were brought in and laid upon i'm
provised cots, the dead placed together
upon one side. were pitiful beyond express
sion. Fifteen dead were taken out during
the day and their bodies sent to the houses
of sorrowing families.
At 10 West Third street stood three
story brick building in the middle of the
block, the third floor OF which was used as
an overalls factory, conducted by Haar
Brothers; the first and second floors by
the Graham PAPER Company. III tn; az
tory were about twenty-five employees.
chiefly girls. When the storm broke out
they started for the cellar. The building
lell with crash, being RACED entirely to
the earth, and most OF the affrighted girls
were caught in the ruins. Seven have been
taken out dead, a number of Others are
wounded, and some are still missing.
The county courthouse stands at Sec
ond and Main streets on the hill exposed
to winds from the north and west. The
building was erected nearly twenty years
ago for hotel purposes, but when COM
pleted was purchased by the county for
100000 and converted into a court