New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-01-16
THE DEADLY CYCL ONE
How it Let itself Loose in Pennsylvania and
Killed and Mangled Many People.
AT READING, PA.

READING, Ia. Jan. 9.-Ihis was the sad
dest night in the history of Reading. A
death-like pail hangs upon the city as the
result OF the most horrible disaster in it's his
tory. hundred households are in mourn-
ing as the result of one OF the greatest ca
lamities in Pennsylvania A ,,ycione swe nj
over the northern section of the city this af-
ternoon and laid waste everything within it's
reach and with a terrible loss Of life The
lives that have been sacrificed and the num-
Der that nave been injured can only be esti-
mated. The most reliable computation is
that not less than sixty persons have been
killed outright and 100 injured How this
terrible calamity occurred is about as fol-
lows:
1t was raining very hard all morning.
towards noon it ceased almost entirely and
ny clock there was every Indication that
there would be entire cessation of the rain
storm. Hall an hour afterwards bright sun
made every effort to penetrate the clouds.
The tlnts OF a rainbow were seen in the
eastern sky 1tportended beautiful sun
set. There was clear sky overhead This
continued for halt an hour longer Then the
scene changed with suddenness that was
appalling. The aeecy clouds gave way to the
omlnous signs OF q coming storm. Dark
heavy clouds marshaled themselves toward
the town and soon gloom seemed to have
settled over the city. There was a stiffness
as OF coming danger. Then the wind whistled,
roared and torei in mad confusion The storm
clouds grew heavier still and louder roared
the WIND. In the western sky
me storm was seen approaching
with a laundering noise. The
swath it cut was narrow, but its effect was
terrible. Persons residing along the track of
the storm say that they saw the first signs of
danger IN q funnel-shaped maelstrom which
seemed to gather up everything within its
reach and cast it right and left Out in
the country houses and barns were unro oied ,
uprooted and destruction spread in every di-
rection. The track of the destructive ele-
ment was not more than two hundred feet
wide, and it is lucky that it only touched the
su burbs of the city.
Meanwhile the rain poured down in tor
rents. 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 a one-story
building about 60 by 15O 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
scattered about as if they were pla ythings The
cars were turned topsy turvy, while the men
were buried under the debris. Some of the
bricks were carried away. The chamber ofeach
OF the passenger cars was already filled with
gas tts IHey were Feduy 10 De taken out on
the road in a few days. They exploded one
after another with the fearful bang ofcannon
Bang, bang: bang, they resound ed over the
city, causing the people to run out from their
houses, thinking it was the sound of an
earthquake. There was considerable
quantity Of gasoline in the building and this
added fuel to the flames. A sheet of flame
shot upward with the roar of mllsketry
Some twenty of the men had a chance to
crawl out of the debris, but four of their
companions were enveloped in the flames
While this was all going on the storm was
travelling forward with fearful rapidty
1t must have Travelled at the rate of one hun
dred miles hour. 1t struck some more
private houses and unroofed a dozen private
residences. The huge sheets oftin were carried
half square away and deposited in a lot
Then the storm proceeded in it's full fury
Directly in it's path, at the corner of Twelfth
and Marion streets, stood the Reading silk
mill, one eiudustries ofthe city in which the
citizens took the greatest pride. Here about
IT'S happy girls were working. The building
was huge structure, most substantially
built. four stories in height and had base
ment besides. 1t occupied an entire block of
ground. The size of the building itself was
nearly 300 feet in length and about $50 feet
wide, 1t was surm ounted by massive tower,
fully 100 feet from the ground. The funnel
shaped storm clouds truck the building direct
ly in the center on it's broadcast side, which
faced the west. 1t fell to pieces, as if
composed OF so many building blocks
Nearly two hundred human beings went
down in the awful wreck. Human tongues
can never tell the terrible scenes ofthat hour
The walls gave way, the floors fell down, one
on top OF the other, and carried their greet
mass Of human beings to the bottom The
bricks were piled up in the greatest confusion
WHILE amid the hurricane and whistling, rush
ing, roaring wind terrible cries for succor
were sent up to heaven. 1t was a moment
that al noct cir
taneous with the fall of the building came
the awful cries for relief. Girls with black
ened faces, bruised and broken limbs their
clothing tattered and torn, dragged them
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 place the bricks
were piled twenty feet deep, and under
meath are lying tonight human bodies by
en- 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 in
the neighborhood of IT'S, and, as before
stated 100 of these were rescued by friends
or dragged themselves out Immediately after
the accident. The alarm for relief was i'm
mediately sent out. and in a short tt me thou
bduuS Oh CiulZeuS arrived TO uelp out Una dead
and dying. The scene was narrowing one
and beggars description
The work OF rescue will be pushed all night,
but itmay be far into tomorrow before all
the bodies are taken out. The rescuers still
have the greatest hopes that some of those
inside are still living, and there is every rea-
son for saving them, and the persons who be-
ieye that way are right. Ali il chaos and
confusion around the mill The managers
are missing, and the correct number is mere
ly guess work. 1t may not be over forty,
and then again, at this hour, there is a like
lihood that it will reach sixty or eighty
THE STORM AT PITTsBURG.
PITTsBURG, Pa. Jan. ga terrible storm
of wind and hail, the worse known for years.
swept over the city shortly afternoon to- day,
carrying with it death and destruction The
storm was formed with suddenness that
was overwhelming, and as the wind, accom-
panied by hail and torrents of rain, swept
along the streets, pedestrians were hurled be-
fore it, and barely escaped being crushed I'M
So vnhinlaS no al tho 81