The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1889-01-18
WORK OF A TORNADO.
A CYCLONE FROM THE WEST SWEEPS
THROUGH THE STATE.

A CYCLONE FROM THE WEST SWEEPS
THROUGH THE STATE.
A Cyclone from the West swept
over the State Wednesday of last
week, causing the loss of many lives
and inficting incalculable damage to
property. Pittsburg and Reading
suffered the most. In the former city
four.story building in course of ereo-
tion was blown down, the walls falling
upon other buildings. Eight or ten
persons were killed and forty or forty
five injured. In Reading the cyclone
blew down the Reading silk mill and
/ tie Philadelphia and Reading Rail
road paint shops, which also caught on
IRE from an explosion of gasoline. At
least sixty people were killed in Read
ing and 100 injured.
The storm possessed every feature of
a tornado. A signal service officer
said the storm came from the South
west. 1t made its first appearance in
Texas on Monday, reaching Arkansas
on Tuesday and struck Chicago on
Wednesday morning. The storm then
swerved in direct line for Pittsburg,
which, however, escaped the greatest
severity, as the track of its force lay
Northwest of that city.
ITS WORK AT READING.
The cyclone at Reading struck the
large paint shops of the Philadelphia
and Reading Railroad, demolished it
aud in moment the combustible ma
terial contained therein were mass of
| flames. A few squares from there it
struck the Reading Silk Mill, large,
new fve-story building in which some
300 girls and boys were working, and
crushed the huge building like an egg
shell before single soul could escape.
There was literally not one stone left
upon another The building was lev
eled to the foundations and all the
people went wn in the midst of
grt at heap of beams, bricks and twist
ed machinery. AS soon as the paint
shops blew down the high winds fan
ned the flames into conflagration
that illuminated the whole heavens.
| The fire alarm was struck, followed
quickly by a general alarm. Thous-
ands of people fiocked out, and learned
to their horror that number Of men
who were we1ged in the ruins of the
demolished paint mill were roasting to
death. Their groans and cries for
help could be heard above the roaring
of the storm.
The most heroic efforts were made
| by the fremen and others to rescue
the men from their awful fate, but the
flames had gained such headwsy that
| it was impossible to aid them, aud
their cries soon ceased and their bod
les were reduced to ashes.
A great crowd assembled at the
silk mill, and hundreds of hands began
the work of rescuing the wounded and
getting out the dead. The falling of
the walls had broken the water supply
pipe, the outflow from which began to
fill the cellar and threatened to drown
those who had not already been crush
ed to death bv the fall of the build
ing. After this flow of water had
been shut off the work of rescue was
begun. The sights and sounds that
greeted eyes and ears of those engaged
in the work made the stoutest hearts
quail. Bonfres were built around the
fallen walls to give light
Intermixed with the great mass of
ruins of the huge building were hun
dreds of dead and dying, some in hor
| rible attitudes pinned down by great
beams dead; others crushed, broken
aud mangled, but still alive, calling for
help and beseeching God to send
| death to their relief. Over all this
vast pit of death the workers wrought,
but owing to the great mass of debris
of the fallen factory only those near
the edge could be reached, aud to Sc.
cure a single person often required the
removal of tons OF material. All the
doctors of the city were sent tor A
large detail of police were on hand.
Ambulances, cabs and furniture wag
ons were sent for to convey away the
wounded. Hundreds of the parents
and relatives of those who were in the
ruins thronged the vicinity, eagerly
| scanning the face of each victim
brought out, hoping to recognize some
loved one. Many women faiuted and
went into Mysteries.
PITrsBURG's CALAMITY.
A blast of wind from the Northwest
swept over the city OF Pittsburg be-
fore l o'clock of the same day
and carried 10 its wake death
and destruction. The storm was
formed with a suddehness that was
overwhelming, and as the wind ac-
companied by hail and torrents of
rain, swept along the streets, pedes.
trians were hurried before 1t and bare
ly escaped being crushed under vehlc.
les passing along the thoroughfares.
The people seemed to be nanic-strick-
en-, and there were shrieks which were
heard above the warning of the ele-
ments. The side wall of lofty build
ing in the course of erection on Dia-
mond Alley blew down aud the mass
of debris, falling upon the buildings
fronting on Wood Street, crushed
them like bubbles, and buried In them
the unfortunate occupants. AT We'll
dens & Co.'S. book store horrible devas-
tation was caused. The wall of the
new @. L. Wiley building, reaching
from fifth Avenue to Diamond Alley
was caught by the wind and blown
like curtain over onto the rear of
Welden's store. The heavy bricks
crushed through the rear wall. OF the
forty five or more persons in the build
ing at the time only five or six escaped
uniDjured.
THE GALE AT wILLIAMsPoRT.
During the hall hour of the storms
prevalence at Wiliamsport it caused
at the lowest estimate $250,00O worth
of damages. The foundry building OF
the Demorest Sewing Machine Com
pany, 200 feet long by eighty wide,
was totally destroyed and portion OF
the main structure was unroofed md
otherwise damaged. The loss to this
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