The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-01-29
WORK OF A TORNADO.
Lives and Property Fall Prey
to Its Destructive Sweep.
Houses Unroofed, Trees Torn Up
and Buildings Blown Down.

A dispatch received from St. Louis, Mo-,
stated that at twenty minutes after four
o'clock in the afternoon a gale of wind
swept over that city, killing three persons
and damaging more than 300 buildings. The
day was showery and sultry, the ther-
mometer reaching seventy degrees at noon.
An hour later stacks Of black clouds began to
pile up in the southwest. The wind
increased, and at four o'clock it was
blowing violently with the clouds scud-
ding before it. Suddenly deluge poured
down, surprising any rainfall in the memory
of the oldest inhabitant In five minutes
the streets were flooded, the sewers choked,
and the lower portions of the city covered
with water. At this moment sulphurous
cloud was seen approaching from the south
west. 1t assumed the twisting tornado form,
and on reaching Lafayette and Grand
avenues, in the extreme southwestern part Of
the city, it began the work of destruction.
Two brick houses were first unroofed, and
Mrs. Miller and her child dangerously hurt.
The wind continued in anortheasterly course
across the city, blowing down steeples, tele-
graph poles, roofs, fences and houses. The
greatest damage was done in the northern
part of the city, where it passed across the
river into Illinois.
Near the corner Of Ninth and Mound
streets, the roof of two-story brick building
was carried away. The house collapsed, and
a man, woman and one child were killed by
falling walls. All the houses in an area Of
two blocks by four in this neighborhood were
wrecked and damaged. The killed are Mrs.
Maggie Connors, age forty; Bernard McCon-
NELL age forty, and "Joe" Weaver, age nine.
The Mcconnell and Connors families occu-
pied the house jointly. There was party
for children in progress when the building
went down. -Four persons were seriously
hurt. One child was taken out from under
the roof 100 feet away, and, though badly
injured, will live.
The wind passed over the lumber district
on its way to the river, and literally filed
the river with lumber. Whole stacks of pine
were picked up and carried over to the Ili-
nois shore. Among the buildings damaged
were the Anchor Mills, the Hodgins School,
the Missouri Pacific Hospital the First
Lutheran Church, the Second Presbyterian,
brooks furniture factory, Kingslands &
Ferguson's factory, the Advance Elevators,
Helfa.,a-a a-ah.;--f~-t--y~-I LAla hundred
Others The churches named lost ther
steeples.
A messenger which had just arrived from
the east side Of the river said that the storm
in st. Clair County, H., was unusually Sc
pie, seemed to have suffered most, as the
damage at East st. Louis and at Venice was
largely confined to railroad property and
small dwellings and telegraph and telephone
poles. Brooklyn is about three miles north
of East st. Louis It's population Is largely
composed Of colored people. Though several
persons were injured, no lives were lost. A
number of dwellings were in ruins. The
Baptist Church was entirely demolished, and
the Methodist Episcopal Church, frame
building, unroofed and turned clear around
on its foundations. At Belleville, ILL.,, sever
al public buildings were unroofed, but no
one reported injured
A late Wabash train arrived at the relay
depot in East st. Louis about S.15 P. N. The
engineer and conductor reported that during
the storm they feared that their train would
be thrown from the track, so great was the
force Of the wind.
The storm passed over Clinton, KY, at ten
minutes after o'clock in the evening. Ten
persons persons were killed in wretched dwellings,,
and fully sixty were injured, many OF whom
will die
The financial loss is estimated at $50, 900.
The storm shivcred to spinters every dwell
ing in path one block wide. The course lay
through the eastern portion Of the town, and
it fortunately missed a young ladies' seminary
which contained about 100 inmates. The dead
and wounded were all taken from the ruins
of their homes.
The work Of rescue was at once organized:
Cairo, H., responded with physicians and
supplies, and offers of aid came from Hickman
and Paducah. ,Over $1,000 was collected next
morning, and it is believed that the town can
take care of the sufferers.
News from the country shows that the
storm swept everything in its path to the
north and south Of the town. Clinton has
12O0 inhabitants and is the county seat OF
Hickman County.
!: At Wickliffe, KY, the storm was destruc.
tive. Asin the case Of Clinton, the town is
situated on bluff, all except the railroad
station. Thirteen of the principal houses,
wrecked, and twenty-five people were more
lor less injured, none fatally: Five loaded
freight cars standing on the illinois Central
track near the depot were lifted off the track
twCnty feet away. The town is wrecked.