Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-01-17
PITrsBuRcH.s DISASTER.

PiTTSBuRGH'S DISASTER.
Buried-Other Work Of the Dreadful
Cyclone.
PITTSBURGH, Pa, Jan. IA terrific
storm OF wind and hail-the worst known
for years-swept over the city shortly
after noon yesterday, carrying with II
formed with q suddenness that was over. 4
whelming and as the wind, accompanied I
by hail and torrents of rain, swept along
the streets pedestrians were hurled before
it and barely escaped being crushed under
vehicles passing along the thoroughfares.
Suddenly, in the center of the city, there
was a terrible crash and few minutes
later the central fire alarm bell sounded
call from box IL on the corner OF Diamond
and w God streets. Hundreds of people with
blanched faces hurried to the scene, when
it was found that the cyclone had caught
the building on Diamond street, owned by
C. L. Wiley, and hurled it to the earth,
covering up two scores OF mangled human
bodies. The building was in the course OF
erection. It was 30x80 feet in dimensions
and was seven stories high. The 'front.'
had not yet been put in and the vino
seemed to enter the high shell from the
open end and the high walls of bricks and
undried mortar were parted, one falling
each way, partly wrecking nearly q dozen
surrounding buildings.
The main force of the crushing building
was thrown against Weldon & Co.'s book
store on Woodland and the barber shop OF
Fred Shumaker. at Al Diamond street. The
rear end of Weldon's store was crushed in
and the front of the building forced out
into Wood street. The barber shop was
completely demolished. The leather store
next to the Wiley building, occupied by
w. III. Thomas, was also totally wrecked.
The rear end of 81. Watt & Co.'s book
store was crushed in, while some OF the fall
ing structure struck Joseph Eichboum's
! building, fronting on Fifth avenue, break
ing the windows and injuring number OF
| employees. A portion of the wall of a mill
| linery store next'to Thomas was crushed
| in and the windows and doors in num-
Der of surrounding buildings were broken.
At the time of the disaster about twenty
| five men were at work on the building AMI
| not one escaped injury. In the barber
| shop, next door, seven men were lmpris-
| oned, while half dozen more were buried
| beneath the debris of the Weldon building.
Chief Brown. Coroner M. Dowell, Building
| Inspectors Frank and Echley, and q
| score of physicians were early at the
scene The hospitals were notified and a
short time later the clang of ambulance
| bells and patrol wagon gongs were heard.
| Contractor Booth and Finn had twenty
| five wagons and carts on the scene inside
| of an hour and private expressmen lent
/ their wagons and their aid in helping to
rescue the victims. When poor unfor-
tunate was found he was given temporary
| relief by the ply sicians and then carefully
removed to one of the hospitals.
The work was continued all afternoon
| and at eleven O'Clock last night numberlof
| persons were known to be still underneath
rhe debris. Up to that hour forty mangled
/ l1n1 heo <o1y fvNvr
! the ruins. Some were dead, others were
| dying and many were fatally injured.
| One or two died on the way to the hos
| pital.
From the best information obtainable,
eight were killed outright or died in a
short time and thirty five others were in
| jured, but it is believed that the list Of
/ dead will be greatly increased.
A little girl named McGlone was walk
| ing along the street with her brother when
| the building fell and the two were buried
| in the wreck. The girl was terribly in
| jured and her brother probably fatally
hurt.
The body of George Kirsch, barber,
| eighteen years old, was found in the eel.
lar of the barber shop.
| DR.. j. L. Reed, a prominent physician of
| Allegheny, was in Weldon's at the time
and is still missing and it is feared that he
| is dead.
The cyclone wrought terrible destruction
| in other parts of the city and out along
| the railroads centering here portion
of the foundry of Mcintosh, Hemphill &
| Co., on Thirteenth street, was wrecked, rs
| was also a house in Allegheny.
| At Walls Station, on the Pennsylvania
| railroad, a large brick building owned
by the Westinghouse Airbrake Com
| pany was partially demolished, and
at Wilmerding, Pa, a coal tipple
was wrecked. At McKeesport
houses were unroofed, trees blown down
and windows smashed Three houses in
| course Of erection were blown to pieces.
| On the river q number of boats were torn
from their moorings and cast about like
| corks, but they were secured before much
| damage was done. The velocity of the
wind was fifty miles an hour-the highest
| recorded for years.
! Inspector of Police McAlees states that
he is of the opinion that from fifteen to
| twenty-five persons are yet in the ruins.
| OF the thirty-five injured six are in q
dangerous condition and will probably
| die.
| DESTRUCTION AT sUNBURY.
| SUNBURY, Pa, Jan. 10.-In this city at
| $3.50 O'Clock last evening a rain and wind
storm came up suddenly and blew over
two of the stacks of the Sunbury nail mill,
| situated between the Reading & Pennsyl-
vania railroads on the on skirts Of the city.
The first is the pudding mill, having six
| furnaces Stack No. was thrown over
I; on the roof dropping with it stack No. 8.
| They crashed through the roof. completely
demolishing the pudding department..
| Thirty-fve men were employed in this
department and half of them were buried
| in the debris. The fire alarm was sounded
and soon hundreds surrounded the mill.
| Men were carried out half naked and men
are at work yet, as it is supposed several
| others are in the ruins.
The following is the list of killed and
| wounded:
Killed-A tramp, name unknown; c. c.
Showers, of Milton.
i LII % IL =