The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-05-19
A DEADLY CYCLONE.
Several Buildings Demolished
MANY Persons Killed. tnciuosng
Number Of School,
LATER REPoRrs CONFIRM THE
NEWS.

IGATIuI ELQl Va
owe this city to-day, continuing
from IL O'Clock until noon. The
Court House, on Second street, was
totally demolished above the second
story.
A number of persons were hurt
there.b but hone killed as far as known
at this time.
The Lathrop school building, on
Eighth street, was partially wrecked
and many children caught In the
ruins. Seven are said to have been
killed, and the full extent OF the DIS
aster is not yet known. /,
An overall factory on Second
street was blown down, and five
death. reported from there,out OF HI
teen girls at work in the building,
while nearly all Others are wound
ed.
At one O'Clock a report from the
Lathrop school makes ten badly
hurt besides those killed. The old
water works building, near the
court house, was blown down, and
one or two persons there are miss
ing.
At the We tern Union Telegraph
office out one wire is working out Of
the city. -.
LArER.-The span of a bridge
next to Harlem was blown down
and it is reported that forty persons
were killed at the bridge.
One span at the north end OF the
railroad bridge across the Missouri
river was blown into the river, block
ing the Hannibal and ST. Joseph,
Rock Island, Wabash, and Kansas
City, ST. Joe and Council Bluffs
roads.
Eight girls have been taken out OF
the overall factory, four of whom
are dead Many Others are IN the
ruins, but there is scarcely a hope
for their lives.
In the confusion it is Impossible
10 ascertain definitely the extent oil
the calamity, but it is said that over
twenty employees are imprisoned In
the basement of the factory.
The disastrous fury of the storm
was confined to the north end OF the
CITY, except in the destruction OF the
Lathrop public school building, on
Eighth street,and buildings general
ly excepting those mentioned, with
stood the force of the storm.
The main Office of the Western
Union Telegraph Company, in this
portion of the city, and the poles
are heavily weighted with wires
which were broken off, letting the
wires down in a tangled heap many
wires were also down with the bro
ken bridges.
KANSAS Cry, Mo-, May IL
About 1890 o'clock this morning
ominous storm clouds began gather
ing over this city. They first APP
peared in the northeast and surging
westwardly across the city turned
suddenly about in their course, and
descending rapidly broke upon the
city in terrific bursts of wind and
rain that swept all lighter objects
before them. The darkness was al
most like night and people fled to
the nearest shelter and awaited with
blanched faces the fury Of the tenn
pest. The clouds seemed to Craze
the roofs of the highest buildings,
and poured out their torrents in APP
parently solid masses for a time.
The storm struck the cityin full force
about twenty minutes after IL and
ragged for half an hour. The streets
were running rivers OF water, carry
ing boxes and signs and other SINH
lar freight, blown from the buildings
or swept up by the flood. A num-
Der of vehicles were overturned and
in numerous instances drivers abap-
doned their horses to their fate, and
sought refuge in stores and houses.
Some hail accompanied the storm,
but the fall was not great. Other
wise the loss to property would
have been enormous from water
streaming in at broken windows.
As it 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 the disaster wrought by
the storm became known.
CROWDED SCHOOL HOUSE DEMOLISHED
The Lathrop school building eccu.
pied 4 prominent site at the corner
of Eighth and Main streets. 1t con.
sisted of a main building. to which
an art wing had been added. The
building was surmounted by a tower
which for some time had been con-
sidered unsafe. 1t had been twice
condemned once within a few weeks
but no action had been taken in the
matter. This morning the building
was crowded with children, many o.
whom went nearly frantic with griei
over the appalling darkness and the
stiffness which preceded the temp
est. The wind swept madly across
Broadway from the West and seem
ed to concentrate its force in a de.
scent upon the tower, which yield
ed with q crash carrying down ths
heavy bell, which plunged through
the intervening heors to the base
ment The main building is a mas
of ruin within shattered walls which
still stand. The wing was compare
lively uninjured and the scholars il
there were unhurt. In the mair
building however, the effect was aw
ful. The falling floors precipitateC
the terrified children 10 the base
ment, where masses of bricks anC
beams crushed them to the grount
aud buried them from view. Per
sons near. hearing the crash, mad,
their way as best they could agains
the beating storm to the scene TIT
gale quickly subsidized and the worl
of rescuing was undertaken by cage
hands. Owing to the prevailing ex
element the first work was not yer,
effective, but the fire departmen
and police soon arrived and an OF
ganized search commenced. TIL
dead and wounded were taken on
a quick as possible and carried I
the natatorium adjoining, which wa
turned into a hospital. Here tn