The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-03-29
ShRIEKS AND SoBS
Followed the Crash Of Buildings and
the Roar Of the Wind.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, March 28.-W. II.
Robertson of this city, conductor of the JEFF
ferson. Madison s. indianapolis road, left
Louisville about 9 o'clock, and by bringing
his train In over the Ohio e. Mississippi
tracks. avoided the obstruction on his own.
which was caused by a tree blowing across
the track, and got his train into Indianapo-
lis at 3.15 this morning He gives graphic
story of the main points Of the disaster, and
says in all probability fully 800 lives have
been lost.
Mr.. Robertson says he was at supper in
the Metropolitan Hotel at exactly o'clock
when there was crashing and roaring on
the outside and all the diners made a rush
for the street. Once there, they were con-
fronted by additional terrors, for the air was
full of flying bricks, signs and roofs and to
add to the horror Of the occasion everything
was inky darkness. But only for a moment.
The roaring crashing sound seemed to pass
on into the darkness and in the track left by
1t, there sprang up In every direction long
flashes OF light by which the scene could be
examined. Then from the masses Of ruins
came shrieks and sobs, and means. The
confusion caused by the tornado was soon
succeeded by that Of people running to and
lLOs ubiuOitu6 OfCA tuO uCOlio WAsii WHICH
the streets were strewn. For a time every
body seemed paralyzed with fear and appar-
emily in doubt whether to flee or wait for
whatever the fates had In store for them.
Work of rescue was at once begun and along
that of part Of the town In which Mr.. Rob
ertson was, the sidewalks were soon piled
high with crushed and maDgled, wounded
and dead victims of the storms wrath.
Wagons of all kinds were pressed into ser
vice and the dead and wounded were hauled
~ In inf fhn a 6orIrn
fused condition Of the streets would permit,
to the houses outside the path of the cy-
clone.
Mr.. Robertson remained in the town only
an hour after the.storm struck it. and conse-
quently had but a very limited opportunity
for observation. What he saw, however, is
sufficient to show that when the full extent
Of the catastrophe is known 1t will be one of
the worst in the nations shistory. The storm
came from the southwest and seems to have
been veritable cyclone.
Lit by Blazing Ruins.
The force of the wind was hardly felt
above the Gait House, but below that, so far
as could be seen by the light of the blazing
ruins, everything was laid fiat on the earth
The fires that were known to be burning
when Mr. Robertson left were as follows:
On Fourteenth street, at Eighth and Main;
on Jefferson, above Twelfth; on Walnut
street, between Seventh and Eighth; big
foundry on Fourteenth street, the Kentucky
FIGURING Mills.
The sheds at Seventh street depot were
blown down, covering the Louisville and
South trains which were being made up, in
turing large numbers of people. Street cars
were blown from the tracks In some cases,
and crushed against the walls of buildings.
When the fire broke out in the ruins on
Seventh street, man, his wife and little
girl we're seen wedged under the debris, and
although they shrieked and moaned, and the
spectators made almost herculean efforts to
release them from their position, 1t was i'm
possible. and they slowly burned to death In
the presence of helpless hundreds.
None of those whe came through on the
j. M. & l. train could estimate the extent of
the disaster, in the time given them for OBJ
servation, but everywhere that a fire served
as a beacon light everything seemed to be
swept clean. In the streets through which
the passengers went to reach the depot there
were dead and dying. and from known facts
and 1oasineah nehg HHGGm6oer of dead would reach
fully 1000. The gas works and electric light
plants were wrecked; and from the conduct
Of the fire department it was thought that
the water works had also been wrecked, as
there was difficulty In getting water to play
on the fires, which, as the train pulled out,
were springing up In all directions.