Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1889-01-19
WORK.

| tipn-Four Men Cremated at Reading
/, Pain the Same City an Immense sill
MIL Is Blown Down Burying 800 Pec'
ple In the Rulus Eighty Of Then
Though to Have Been Killed, ant
Nearly All of the Rest InJured-Sever
Lives Lost and Over Thirty Person,
wounded by the Demolition Of Several
buildings at PIttsburgh-Loss of Life al
kuubury h storms Work in Ohio,
Illinois and Indiana,
READING, Pa, Jan. IA cyclone swept
over the northern section Of this city
wednesday afternoon and laid waste
every thing within It's path, with a terrible
loss Of life. The number of lives that
have been sacrificed and the number Of
persons injured can only be estimated,
The most reliable computation at midnight
Is that not MOI less than sixty and perhaps
and lQ injured.
1t rained hard all day until about 4 p,
m. when the sun shone for about half an
hour. Then the scene change with a sud
denness that was appalling. The feecy
clouds gave way to the ominous signs Of a
coming storm. In the western sky the
storm was seen approaching with a
laundering noise. Persons residing along
the track Of the storm say that they
saw the first signs Of danger in a funnel.
shaped cloud which seemed to gather up
every thing within its reach and cast il
right and left Out in the country houses
and barns were unroofed, farm outhuild-
ings were overturned, crops rooted up
and destruction spread in every direction.
The track Of the storm was not more
than 100 feet wide, and it is lucky that it
only touched the suburbs of the city. 1t
came from the west and passed along the
northern border of Reading.
First it touched the Mount Penn stove
works, Here the corner Of the building
was struck, and a portion of the roof was
cut off as nicely as if done by a pair @s
scissors, Then the storm crossed some
fields and took of q portion of the root
Of }. Il. Sternberg's rolling mill.
A number of dwellings were UNI
rooted as readily as if their tin
roofs were paper. The storm hurried
across the property of the Reading
Railroad Company and crossed the rail-
road. A passenger car was overturned
as quickly as if it had been a toy, and its
splinters scattered in every direction.
Meanwhile the rain poured down in tor
rents. The atmosphere became heavy and
oppressive, and it was almost as dark as
night.
On one side of the track Of the Reading
railroad was situated the paint-shop Of the
company. 1t was a one-story building
about GO by 100 feet in size. Here
about thirty men were employed in paint
ing passenger cars. The building was
struck squarely in the middle, and the
bricks scattered about as if they were
playthings. The cars were turned topsy.
turvy, while the men were buried under
the debris, Some of the bricks were
carried away. The chamber Of each of
the passenger cars was already filled with
gas, as they were ready to be taken out on
the road in a few days. They exploded
one after another with the fearful bang of
a cannon. Bang, bang, bang, they re-
sounded over the city, causing the
people to run out of their houses
thinking that it was the sound of
an earthquake. There was a con-
siderable quantity Of gasoline in the build
ing, and this added fuel to the flames. A
sheet Of flame shot upward with the roar
of musketry, About twenty of the men
had a chance to crawl out of the debris,
but four of their companions were en-
veloped in the flames. Their cries were
heard for a moment by the terrified work
men and then their voices were hushed
forever, They were quickly roasted to
death.
The department was called out, but it's
services were unavailing. The building
and cars were consumed in fifteen minutes
and nothing left but biackened, smoking
ruins, under which lay four human beings
burned to a crisp. Their names are:
John Kaller, Albert Landberger, Sheri-
dan Jones and George Schatfer.
1t was rumored that several others had
been killed, but these are the only ones
known to have lost their lives. Aaron
Dewalt, one of the employees of the paint
shop, had his arm broken, and George
knabb was injured internally, no doubt
fatally. The loss to the railroad ompan
is fully $4,000.
When this was going on the storm was
travelling with fearful rapidity. 1t must
have travelled at the rate of 100 miles an
hour. 1t struck some more private houses
"iNA - oLS Y lOoltSllNCS.
The huge sheets of tin were carried half a
square away and deposited in a lot. Then the
storm proceeded in its full fury. Directly
in its path, at the corner of Twelfth and
Marion streets, stood the Reading silk
mill, one OF the industries of the city in
which the citizens took the greatest pride.
Here about 115 girls were working. The
building was a huge structure, most sub
stantially built, four stories in height, and
had a basement besides. 1t occupied an
entire block of ground. The building
itself was nearly 800 feet in length and
about $50 feet wide 1t was surmounted
by a massive tower fully 100 feet from the
ground. The funnel-shaped storm-cloud
struck the building directly in the center
on its broadcast side, which faced the west
1t fell to pieces as if composed of
so many building blocks. Nearly 200
human beings went down in the
awful wreck. Human tongue can never
tell the terrible scenes of that hour. The
walls gave way, the floors fell down, one
on top of the other, and carried their great
mass of human beings to the bottom. The
bricks were piled up in the greatest con.
fusion. Amid the hurricane, the whistling
and roaring of the wind, terrible cries
for succor were sent up to Heaven.
1t was a moment that tried mems
souls. Girls with blackened faces, bruised
and broken limbs, their clothing tattered
and torn, dragged themselves from the
ruins. SO, probably, IS to 100 escaped
or were dragged out Ivy their friends.
These worked on the upper floors
and were thrown near the top of
the debris. At some places the bricks
were piled twenty feet deep and under
meath are lying human bodies by the
score. About $50 girls and young women
were usually employed in the mill, but at
io'clock eighty were relieved from duty
for the day.
The alarm for relief was Immediately
sent out, and in a short time thousands Of
! citizens arrived to help out the dead and
the dying. The scene was narrowing
and beggars description. The mill is
situated near the foot of Mount Penn,
a high mountain overlooking the city.
When the people arrived every thing
was enveloped in darkness. Huge hon
fires were built, which cast a dismal glare
on the scene. The fire companies left
the burning paint-shop and assisted in
the rescue Of the dead and the dying.
The entire police force was called
out. The ambulance and relief corps
and 1000 people were in among the
debris carrying out bricks, pulling away
timbers and assisting wherever they
could. A young woman was taken out all
bruised and cut. One body dragged out Of
the wreck had its head cut of. Others
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