St. Paul daily globe., 1889-01-10

roasted 10 uedun. flTe ITOll Ill0 ulnG
passenger cars lit up the heavens for
miles around. 1t was beautiful sight
and could have been enjoyed but for the
awful calamity which accompanied it.
In the meantime the fire department
was called ont. but its services were un-
ayailing. The building and cars were
consumed in fifteen minutes and moth
ing left but blackened, smoking ruins,
under which lay four human beings
burned to crisp. Their names are:
JOHN KAILER,
ALBERT LANDBERGER,
SHERIDAN JONES,
GEORGE SCHAFFER.
1t was rumOred that several others
had been killed, but these are the only
ones who it is known have lost their
lives. Aaron Dewalt, another emplove
in the paint shop, had his arm broken,
and George Knabb was injured inter-
nally, no doubt fatally. The loss to the
railroad company is fully $4,000.
While this was all going on, the
storm was travelling forward with fear
full rapidity. 1t must have travelled at
the rate of 100 miles an hour. 1t struck
some more private houses and unroofed
dozen of them. The huge sheets of
tin were carried half square away and
deposited in a lot. Then the storm p1o-
ceeded 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 IT'S
HAPPY GIRLS WE'RE WORKING.
The building was a huge structure,
most substantially built, four stories in
height, and had basement besides. 1t
occupied an entire block of ground.
The size of the building was nearly 800
feetiu length and about $50 feet wide.
1t was surmounted by 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 aw-
| full wreck. Human tongues 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
the greatest confusion while, amid the
hurricane and whistling, rushing, roar
| ing wind, terrible cries for SuccOr were
sent up to heaven. 1t was moment
THAT TRIED MEMS SOJTIS
and almost simultaneously with the fall
| of the building came the awful cries for
| relief. Girls with blackened faces,
bruised and broken limbs, their cloth
ing tattered and torn, dragged them
selves from the ruins. So probably
seventy-fve to 100 escaped, or were
dragged out by their friends. These, of
course, 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 underneath are lying to-
night human bodies by the score.
About $50 girls and young women are
usually employed in the mill, but at
o'clock about eighty were relieved from
duty for the day. They returned to
their homes before the storm came.
| The most reliable estimate of tonight
places the number in the building
when it went down lB the neigh
borhood of 175, and as before
stated, 100 of these were rescued
by friends, or dragged themselves out
Immediately after the accident. The
| e., lof o+alx
out, and in a short time thousands of
| citizens arrived to help out
THE DEAD AND DYING.
The scene was narrowing one and
beggars description. The mill is situ-
| ated near the foot of Mount Penn, a
high mountain overlooking the city.
When the people arrived everything
was enveloped in darkness. Then huge
bonires we're built, which cast a
dismal glare on the surrounding
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 a
thousand people were in among the
! debris carrying out bricks, pulling
away timbers and assisting wherever
they could, all at the same time, but
their work was slow compared with the
| demand for the rescue of the victims
of the disaster. Here a young woman
was taken out all bruised, suffering
with cuts and bruises. One body was
noticed, as it was dragged out, had its
head cut off. Others were in various