Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-05-28
DEATH IN THE GALE.

Five Wounded-One-Half of Those Atlle"
Arc Children Crushed in the Ruins OF q
scl,ool-Building-The Court-honsc ana
other Structures OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES III
Indiana and Virginia.
KANSAS Cry, Mo-, May 12.-Shortly be-
fore noon yesterday a violent wind-stor'n:
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 a span OF the great iron
bridge and the watcr-works. dnmag
ing many buildings, and carrying
Widespread death and destruction IN
lis track. As far MS a now be asccfs
tanned, twenty-nine persons were killed IN
stantly or nave since died OF their %inlurles,
and twenty were wounded, numbers OF
them so badly that death is likely to fol-
low within a few hours. Many OF the
killed are little school children who
we're caught in the falling walls
of the Lathrop building and hor'
ribly mangled by the heavy timber
md 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 workat the time the storm
began, four were taken out dead and the
others are dangerously hurt. At the
schpol-house fifteen children were killed
and thirteen others more or less badly in.
iureG. At the court-housethree were killed
andf four were wounded. At the overalls
factory seven were killed and fourteen
..-..ll.l "A C.-:kl, f. AT~ff,f{3o ay;oo
mills four were killed. At the United
Total killed, tw%enty-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 detin,teness, being chiefly in small
and numerous amounts. Following ore
some Of theestimates made: On the bridge,
$50, 900; on the court house, $4,000; on
the overaus factory, $40. o00; Smith e.
Moffatt, stock, $12, 600; building, owned
by Frank Oglesby, $40, 900; on the school
house, l 10000. 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 SO, 1000; the German Catholic,
at Ninth and McGee streets, 81, 200. Two
stained-glass windows OF the First Congre-
gational, on Eleventh and MCGEE, were
Humboldt schools were damaged to
the extent OF $1,000. A row OF
houses being built at Eighth and
Cherry were damaged over $1,000. 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 a large number ol
similar casualties with equal or smaller
losses also reported. The total damage is
roughly estimated at $15O,oOO, a por-
ton OF which is covered by storm in.
surancc.
The storm-clouds began to gather over
the city about half-past ten O'Clock, and
descending rapidly broke in terrible bursts
OF vim and rain chat swept all lighter OBJ
jects before them. The darkness was I'll
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 a time. The
| cVO WIZ SItS III 4uh u Ioout
11:2Oand ragged for halfanhour 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 anC
sought refnge in stores and houses. Some
hail accompanied the storm, but the fal
was not great.
The Lathrop school building occupied 3
prominent site at the corner OF Eighth anc
May streets. The building was surmount
ed by a tower, which for some time hac
been considered unsafe. 1t had been twice
condemned, once within a few weeks, bu'
no acton had been taken in the mat
ter. Yesterday morning the building was
crowded with children, many OF whom ven
nearly frantic with grief over the appalling
darkness and the stiffness which preceded
the tempest. The wind swept midwa,
across Broadway from the West ant
seemed to concentrate it's force in a de
scent upon the tower, which yielded with I
crash, and, carrying down the heavy bell
plunged through the intervening floors tx
the basement. The falling floors precipi
tated the terrified children to the base
ment, where masses OF bricks and beam.
crushed them to the ground and buried
them from view.
When the gale had subsidized thu
work OF rescIing was undertaken
by eager hands. OwiAg to the pre-
vailing excitement the first worl
was not very effective, but the fire depart
ment and police soon arrived, and az
organized search was commenced. Thu
dead and wounded were taken out a.
quickly as possible and carried to the ma
tatorium adjoining, which was turned into
a hospital. Here the parents and friend,
OF the little ones soon gathered, aacl
searching for his own, and uttering heart
%ronding cries us they recognized in tn,
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 O
themselves than their elders. One littl
girl, half buried in the debris, over whom
the rescuers were busy, begged them t.
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 littl
ones were brought in and laid upon i'm
provised cots, the dead placed togethe
upon one side, were pitiful beyond expires
sion. Fifteen dead were taken out durin.
the day and their bodies sent to the house
Of s%orrowing families.
At ITO West Third street stood a three
story brick building in the middle Of tn
block, the third f.Or Of which was nse1 :,