Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1889-01-11
NEARLY 100 KILLED.
Terrible Work of Cyclone in
Reading.
Factory Overturned
And IT'S were Buried Beneath
the Walls.
COMPLETE DESTRUCTION.
Cries of the Wounded Come
From the Piles of Debris.
Fire Follows the Storm.
Appalling Scenes in the Desc
lated Town.
HORRORS At PITTSBURG
A Dozen Killed and SO Wound
by Falling Walls.

READING. Pa. Jan. "a cyclone swept
over the northern section of the city to-day
and laid waste everything within reach with
terrible loss of life. The most reliable com
putation at 10 O'Clock tonight is not less
than 60 persons were killed outright and 100
injured. The story of the calamity is as
follows: II rained very hard all the morn
ing but ceased almost entirely toward noon.
About 1870 the sun tried TO penetrate
the clouds and rainbow appeared in the
eastern sky portending beautiful sunset.
The heccy clouds gave way to signs OF the com
ing storm. Darkness and gloom settled over
thcCity. There was an ominous stiffness. then
the wind whistled and roared tore in
great confusion. In the West the tornado
was seen approaching with noise like thun-
der and cut a swath not over POO feet wide.
The effect was terrible and persons residing
along the track of the storm say they saw
the first signs of danger in the funnel shaped
maelstrom which seemed to gather up every
thing within reach which was cast right and
left.
Out in the country houses and barns were
unrooied, farm buildings overturned,
crops rooted up, and destruction spread i'll
every direction. 1t passed along the north
oln border of Reading and first touched the
Mount Pennsylvania stone works, cutting
of a portion of the roof nicely if done
with pair of scissors. Then the storm
clouds scurried across some fields. took off Il
portion of the roof Of j. H. Steenbergh 5
rolling mill, unroofcd ii number of dwellings
and hurried acros, the property of the Read
ing passenger car and scattering its splin-
tiers in every direction. Meanwhile the rain
poured in torrents and the atmosphere be
came heavy and oppressive. 1t was almost
a. dark as night.
Directly along the track of the Reading
railroad was the paint shop of the road, n
one-story building 60 by 100 feet in size
Here about 30 men We're painting nine
passenger cars built in the company shops
costing 5000 each. The building was struck
square in the middle and the brick scattered
ABOUT if they We're play things, the cars
were turned topsy turvey, the men buried
under the debris and some of the derrcks
carried square away. The chamber of each
passenger car was already filed with gas as
they were ready to be taken out on the road
in few days. These exploded one after an
other like the report of cannon,
y
and the people ran out of their houses think
ing it was a sound of earthquake. a quan-
tity of gasoline in the building added fuel
to the flames and a sheet of flame shot
hea vcnWard with roar Some 20 men
crawled out of the debris. but four were en-
VcOped in the embrace of the flames. Their
cries were heard for IA moment and then
were huNhed forever and the men were
quickly roasted to death
The fire from the nine passenger cars lit
up the heavens for miles around. The frc
departments services We're unavailing 0hd
the building and cars were consumed in ii
minutes, leaving nothing but hackened and
smoking ruins The men burned were John
Kahlcr, Albert Lanbergcr, Sheridan Jones
and George Schaefcr. 1t is rumored
that several others were killed. Aaron
Dawalt. another employe, had an arm broken.
George Knabb was injured internally, nc
doubt fatally, The loss to the railroad i,
$4,000.
The storm travelled on at the
rate Of 100 miles an hour and
unroofed dozen private residences
At the corner of 18th and Hiram street,
stood the Reading silk mill, a huge structure
most substantially built four stories in
height with basement. 1t occupied tho
entire block and was nearly 800 rect long
and 100 feet wide, Surmounted by n massiv,
tower 100 feet from the ground. About III
girls were working in the mill. The funne
sh aped storm cloud struck the building
directly in the centre on its hroades
side It fell topiece- as if composed of omanN
building blocks, carrying down nearly 20C
human beings in the wreck, the walls CAV,
way and the floors fell down one ON top o
the other and all went to the bottom
Amid the hurricane and almost stimuli
taneous with the fall Of the building
came the awful cries for relief
The girls with Llackened faces, bruised
broken limbs. clothing torn and tattere'
dragged themselves from the ruins, 50 prob
ably - to 100 escaped or were dragged on
by friends.
Those who worked on the upper Hooh
were thrown near the top of the debris A
some places bricks We're piled 20 feet deep
Underneath are dying tonight human being
by the score About 25O girls and yOunl
women are usually employed in the mill a