Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-10
FATAL FUNNEL.
A Cyclone Sweeps Over a Portion
Of the City of Reading, Pa.
Not Less titan Sixty Persons Killed Out
right and One Hundred injured,
Many Fatally.
The Ruins Take Fire and Several of the En-
tOmbed Men Are Roasted AlIve-The
Money Loss Immense.
BULLETIN.

READING, Pa, Jan. "a cyclone
passed over this city this evening doing
considerable damage and killing more
than fifty people.
A silk mill in which $50 girls were en-
ployed blew down just before the,hour for
quitting work. Everything is in con-
fusion. The loss of life is probably much
heavier chan at first reported. About
the same time there was an explosion
and fire in the same neighborhood by
which eight men were burned to death.
WORK OF THE FUNNEL CLOUD.
READING Pa. Jan. 9.-This was the
saddest night in the history of Reading.
A deathlike pail hangs upon the city as a
result of the most horrible disaster in its
history.
One hundred households are in mourn
ing as a result of one of the greatest
calamities in Pennsylvania. A cyclone
swept over the northern section of the city
this afternoon and laid waste everything
within its reach, and with terrible loss Of
life.
The lives that have been sac
rificed and the number that
have been injured can only be
estimated. The most reliable Informa-
ton tonight is that not less than sixty
persons have been killed outright and
one hundred injured. How the terrible
calamity occurred is about as fellows:
1t was raining hard all morning. To-
wards noon it ceased almost entirely and
by 'clock there was every indication
that there would be an entire cessation
of the rain storm. Half an hour after
wards the bright sunshine made every
effort to penetrate the clouds. Tints or
q rainbow were seen in the eastern sky.
1t portended beautiful sunset. There
was clear sky overhead. This contin-
ued for half an hour longer.
THEN THE SCENE CHANGED
with suddenness that was appalling.
The fleecy clouds gave way to ominous
signs of a coming storm. Dark, heavy
banks of clouds marshalled themselves
and soon gloom seemed to have settled
over the city. There was the stiffness of
coming danger. Then the wind whistled,
roared and tore in mad confusion. The
storm clouds grew heavier still and
louder roared the wind. In the western
sky a storm was seen approaching with
laundering noise. The swath it cut was
narrow, but its effect was terrible. Per-
sons residing along the track of the storm
say they saw the first signs of danger in a
IUIlu6l-SUdD6u uld6lSbIOuu Wl1Cu 5CCnLCI
to gather up everything within its reach
and cast it right and left. The track Of
this destructive element was not more
than 200 feet wide and it is lucky it only
touched only the suburbs of the city. 1t
came from the west. but passed along
THE NORTHERN BORDER OF READING.
First, it touched the Mount Penn
stOnewOrks. Here a corner of the build
ing was struck and a portion Of the roof
was cut off as nicely as if done with
pair of scissors. Then the storm cloud
hurried across the fields, took off pOr-
ton of J II. SOneburg's drilling mill,
and a number of dwellings were unroOfed
as readily as if their tin roofs were pa
per. The storm then hurried across the
property of the Reading Railroad Com
pany and crossed the railroad. Here a
passenger car was standing. This was
overturned as if it was a toy, and its
splinters were scattered in every direc-
ton. Meanwhile the rain poured down
in torrents The atmosphere became
heavy and oppressive and it was almost
as dark as night. Directly on one side
the track of the Reading Railroad was
situated the paint shops of the company.
1t was one-stOry building about 60x150
feet in size. Here about thirty men were
employed in painting passenger cars.
There were eight or nine of these cars in
the building. They had been built at the
company's shops in this city at a cost Of
$4,000 each. The building was
STRUCK SQUARELY IN THE MIDDLE
and the bricks were scattered about as if
they were playthings. The cars were
turned topsy turvey. while the men were
buried under the debris. Some of the
bricks were carried away. The chambers
of each of the passenger cars were al
ready flied with gas, as they were ready
TO be taken out on the road in a few days.
These exploded one after another with the
fearful Dang of a cannon. There was
a considerable quantity of gasoline in the
building and this added fuel to the flames.