Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-04-05

Several lines of hose were soon throw
ing water on the flames, bat 1t was more
than an hour before the work could be
proceeded with, and then it was carried
on with much more difficulty than be-
fore, on account of the heat.
Up to twelve o'clock thirty-five dead
bodies and twenty-five wounded and
dying were taken from the wreck. The
corpses were laid in the various houses
across the street. and in Dougherty &c
Keenan's establishment on the block
below. At the latter place people passed
in and out, one by one, to look at the
bodies, hunting for friends and relatives.
One man said he was looking for Louis
Lipp, and the very first sheet lifted re-
vealed the corpse of the person wanted.
The man covered his face, groaned and
would have fallen had he not been sus-
tanned.
At about 1880 o'clock the room where
the children were dancing was reached
Mr.. Louis Simms, Jr., had for hours
been moving about in an agony of grief
in front of that portion of the wreck
where this room had been, for his wife
and four little children were there.
When the room was reached Mrs. Simms
was the first one found, and she was IA
tally hurt. Then, within about fifteen
minutes of each other, three of the
Stmms children were recovered. They
were unconscious and there is only a
faint possibility that they will live.
While the father was imploring the
workers to get his other child, fire broke
out and work was suspended.
The last man taken out alive before
the flames started was John Hepden,
and just previous to that a woman, who
was unable to give her name, was re-
covered. 1t was not possible to tell the
extent of the injuries of either. Mrs.
Whitman, wife of policeman Whitman,
jumped from the third story Of the hall.
She was terribly injured and will hardly
live.
The waterworks are ruined. The big
standpipe through which all the water
is forced into the reservoir was demol-
ished by the cyclone. The city water
supply is thus cut off and it is not known
how long it will take to repair the dam
age. water famine is sure to follow.
All the windows of the pumping station
were blown out. The standpipe was 100
feet high and was built of brick, iron
and wood and was four feet in diameter
on the inside.
The tobacco industry is fearfully Grip
pied. The Old kentucky, Falls City,
Enterprise, Green River, Louisville,
Central, Crescent and Planters ware
houses on Main street are utterly de-
ems, Headly & Co. and Sawyer, Wallace
S Co. warerooms are considerably
wrecked. The Globe and Farmers are
uninjured.
Sergeant Burke, signal service OBJ.
server, says the storm possessed the
characteristic features of a genuine cy-
clone. There were three distinct mo-
tions-an outward motion, at rate OF
speed varying from twenty-five to sixty.
five miles per hour; second, spiral
movement around vertical axis, with
an estimated velocity of from 200 to
1000 miles an hour, and third, bound
ing motion, with contacts with the
earth at irregular intervals.
The saloon of John Thierran crum'
bled beneath the storm. The woodwork
ignited from the stoves and Nick Sulli-
van, William Diemer and Ben Cheit
were burned to death. The corpses
were charred beyond possibility of iden'
tity. The residence of j. w. Bernheim,
at 1908 Second street, was struck by
lightning in the midst of the crash and
was utterly demolished
The space traversed was not less than
~ 4 ID
spread destruction was visible. Massive
buildings of brick and stone were
crushed and scattered on every side and
hardly residence fell that some of the
inmates were not killed or injured. The
cries of the survivors and the groans oi
the injured mingled together and added
to the appalling desolation of the scene.
At first there could be no organized eff
fort at rescue. Hundreds of homes had
been demolished, husbands and wives
parents and children had been sepa
rated and each, knowing nothing of the
condition of the other, ran frantically
from place to place looking for the lost
Large crowds from other districts soor
| assembled and inaugurated search, but
the means were inadequate and the
heartrending cries that broke the all
completely unnamed the searchers. A:
if to add to the horror fire at once broke
out in all parts of the devastated dis
triot, and the bewildered firemeI die
not know which of the half dozen places
to go to first. The Terrill & Deitz house
on Eighth street, Sims furnishing house
the colored Odd Fellows Hall and See
gan's saloon, all some distance apart
were on fire at the same time.
GALLATIN, Tenn, March 29.-Th'
worst storm that ever visited this sector
passed over this city Thursday night
Two miles from Gallatin several houses
were blown down. The brick residence
of John Hibbett was completely blowr
away. The walls fell in and killed ;
baby of John Hibbett, also by twelve
years old, son of Palo Langford. Hib
bett is dying and his wife is horribl,
mangled. Across the pike from Hib
belts, William Patterson's residenc,
was blown down, iniuring five. Resi-
dences were completely wrecked anc
large trees were uprooted and carried