Los Angeles herald., 1890-03-29
FALLS CITY HALL HORROR.
Where the Greatest Loss of Life Oc-
curred-Tcrrible Scenes.

LOUISVILLE, KY, March 2S.-Pfobably
the greatest loss OF life occurred at Falls
City hall, which was the center of the
tornado. In the lower rooms of the hall
were fifty or seventy-fve children, with
their mothers and other relatives, tax
ing dancing-lessons. There were at
least one hundred and twenty-five per-
sons on the lower floors, and seventy
five more were attending lodge-meet-
ing on the upper floor when the terrible
wind swooped down upon the building.
The entire structure, in less than five
minutes, was shapeless mass of brick
and mortar, burying 200 victims, of
which number few escaped uninjured.
At 3 O'Clock this morning three dead
bodies had been taken from the ruins,
and fifteen wounded and dying. Only
those on the third floor had been
reached, the room containing the
dancing-school pupils not yet being
opened.
How the Work Was Prosecuted.
Immediately upon the burst OF the
cyclone the fire bells were sounded and
the police went to work. Within ten
minutes posse appeared at the Falls
City hall wreck. The walls of the ad-
ioining house was first propped, then
began the work of cutting through the
roof that covered all. After four hours
of ceaseless labor, the first victim, Mrs.
Sarah Kelly, was unearthed. She was
found sitting upright, her head bruised
and one arm broken. She said at the
first quake she made rush for the en-
trance, where women were knocked
down and trampled on Seeing the
overwhelming jam at the door, several
remained behind.
The excavation was then moved from
the rear to the front, where it is sup
posed the greater crowd gathered. As
soon as the roofing was removed and
the mass of brick beneath ten women,
locked in each others arms, were drawn
out. Inside the next hour six men
with no wounds 1t is thought all met
their death from suftocation. The gas
pipes were broken and flooded the debris
with vapor almost as deadly as fire
might have proven. Ways were pierced
into the breast of the ruin and bodies
drawn out dead and dying.
Fire Breaks Out.
At IL O'Clock the opening of portion
of the debris OF Falls City hail. caused
draught, whereupon the smouldering
fire broke out fiercely, spread rapidly,
and forced the workers to desert the
place. AS soon as the fire gained head
way, the groans of the imprisoned people
became shrieks. So great was the hor-
ror that the watchers grew frantic, and
screamed and ran about like mad, the
terrible sufferings which they were
unable to alleviate driving them to de-
spair. Several lines of hose were soon
throwing water on the flames, but it was
more than an hour before work could be
proceeded with. 1t was then carried OH
with much difficulty on account of the
heat. Up totwelve O'Clock only about
twenty-five dead bodies and twenty-five
wounded and dying were taken from the
wreck
A Fathers Awful Agony.
AT II 80 the room where the children
were dancing was reached. Lewis
Simms, Jr., had for hours been moving
about in agony in front of that portion
of the wreck where his wife and four
children had been. When the room
was reached Mrs. Simms was found ia
tally hurt. Then within fifteen minutes
of each other three of Simms's children
were recovered. They were unconscious
and had only faint possibility of liv-
ing. While the father was imploring
the workers to get his other child fire
broke out, and the work was suspended
The last man taken out alive before
the flames started was John Hepden.
Survivors, Experience.
A thrilling experience was that of
George H. Capito, who was present at a
meeting of the Knights of Honor in the
lodgeroom on the top floor. He says:
"The first intimation of danger was two
distinct rockings of the building, about
which time the windows were blown
from their castings, and Immediately the
plastering began to drop from the cell
ing. A wild rush was made for the ante
room, which carried me with it, and
just reached the door when the entire
floor gave way and we were precipitated
to the basement, blinded and almost suf-
located by the cloud of dust
and crushed and jammed by the
falling timbers. In some way the
door frame fell with me and maintained
an upright position when it stopped,
and l was enabled to extricate myself
from the debris and make my exit to the
street through the adjoining house,
whose doors | kicked in. l at once re-
turned over Jne ruins WITH several men
and extinguished the fire then begun.
By this time rain was falling in torrents
The lightning flashes only gave
momentary views of the positions of the
ruins and blinded everybody. The en-
tire building collapsed in the front and
rear. Of the east and west sides
nothing was standing above the second
story. There were nearly hundred
members present at our lodge meeting
Fully two-thirds of those were ladies'.
Besides our lodge another order was
holding meeting on the same floor
with us. A band was rehearsing on the
second floor, and party of decorators
were at work in the large hall preparing
for an entertainment. So far as l could
judge, there were less than dozen, all
told, who got out unhurt, and the cries
for help and groans that issued from the
broken and twisted heap, was proof that
scores were still there, unable to es-
cape"
IN TENNESSEE!
A Large Section of Country Devastated.