, 1890-03-29

city bearing the associated press represen
tatives from Indianapolis, evidences were
first noticeable fully fifty miles out. First
came to view an occasional dead tree,
broken in pieces, her larger and more
substantial trees and finally monarchs OF
the forest Many little towns along the
Jetfersonville, Madison & Indianapolis
railroad are fairly stripped of signs ard
ginger bread work.
When the scene of the disaater was
reached an appalling sight was presented.
Crowds of people thronged the Fourteenth
street station and from there up Main
street to the heart of the city was a mass
OF humanity. On either side was wreck
and ruin. Great masses of brick aud
stone in heaps presented the appearance
of having simply crumbled to the earth.
Gangs OF rescuers are at work on the great
masses of debris in search Tor victims of
the awful calamity. The wreck was so
great 1t beggars attempt at detail.
Immediately upon the burst of the
cyclone the hre bells sounded aud the
police were at work within ten minutes.
A posse appeared at the Falls City hall
wreck. The walls of the adjoining house
we're first propped and then began the
work of cutting through the roof that
covered all. After an hour of ceaseless
fiabor the first victim, Mrs. Sarah Kelley,
was unearthed. She was found sitting
upright, her head bruised and one arm
broken. She said that at the first quake
a mad rush was made tor the enhance,
and women were knocked down and tramp
led on. Seeing the overwhelmingly IAN
at the door several remained behind. The
excavation then moved from the rear to
the front, where it is supposed the greater
crowd gathered AS soon as the roofing
was removed and the mass of brick be
meath, ten women locke1 In each others
arms were drawn out. Inside of the next
hour sixty men and women were drawn
out dead. but with no wounds. 1t is
thought all met death from suffocation.
The gas pipes were broken and flooded the
the fire might have proved. Ways were
pierced into the breast of the ruin and
bodies drawn out dead and dying.
AT ll:30 the room where the children
we're dancing wa reached. Lewis Simms,
Jr., has for hours been moving about in
agony in front of that portion of the
wreck where the room had been, for his
wife and four children were there. When
he room was reached Mrs. Simms was
found fatally hurt. Then within about
fifteen minutes of each other three OF the
Simms children were recovered. They
we're unconscious, and there is only a
faint possibility OF their living. Willie
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 iimes started was
Hepden.
A thrilling experience was that of
George III Capito. who was present at a
meeting of the Knights of Honor in a
odge room on the top floor. He says the
first Intimauon of danger were two DIS
tinct BOOKINGS of the building, about
which time a window was blown from its
castings and Immediately after the plaster
ing began to drop from the ceiling. A
wild rush was made for the auteroom
which carried me with it and | inst
reached the door when the entire floor
gave way and we were D~recipitated to the
basement, blinded and almost suffocated
by a cloud of dust, and crushed and
damned by the falling timbers. In some
way the door frame fell with me and main
tanned an upright position, when il
stopped and | was enabled to extricate
myself from the debris and make an exit
to the street through an adjoining house
whose doors | kicked in. | at once re.
turned over the ruins with several men
and extinguished the fire. By this time
the rain was falling in torrents. The
lightning flashes only gave momentary
views OF the position of the ruins and
binding everybody. The entire building
collapsed in the front and rear. OF the
east and west side walls nothing was
standing above the second story.
There were nearly 100 members
present at oar lodge Meeting
Fully two thirds Of them were
ladies. Besides our lodge. another order
was holding a meeting on the same floor
with us. a band was rehearsing on the
second floor and a party OF decorators
we're at work in a large hall preparing for
an entertainment. So far as | can Judge
there were less than a dozen all told who
got out unhurt and the groans that issued
from the broken and twisted heap was
proof that scores were still there unable TO
escape.
At IL o'clock the opening of a porto n
of the debris OF the Falls City hall
caused a draught w%hereupon the smould-
ering fire broke out fercely, spread rapidly
and forced the workers to desert the place.
As soon as the fire gained headway the
groans of the imprisoned people became
shrieks. so great was their horror. The
watchers grew frantic and screamed and
ran about like mad, the terrible sufferings
which they were unable to alleviate driy-
ing them to despair. Several liens of hose
we're soon throwing water on the flames,
but it was more than an hour before
work could be proceeded with, and then
was carried on with much difficulty on ac-
count of the heat. Up to II o'clock only
about twenty five dead bodies and twenty
five wounded had been taken from the
wreck.
The LOUISVILLE hotel was unroofed and
otherwise wrecked. The next building
west was occupied as a cigar store upon
the first floor and sleeping rooms upon
the second and third. 1t was RACED to
the ground. not a single brick remaining
in place. In the destruction of this
house many lives were lost, principally
persons who occupied sleeping roo ms
there. Many of them were girls en-
ployed at the hotel. The saloons and
other available places are turned into
hastily improvised morgues, where
bodies are taken as recovered and left to
await Identification.
Eleventh street seemed to serve as a
kind of f1ue for the storm. All intercept
ting objects in that line were practically
raJpoaI 10 nathtuao no,, H.. 49,.