Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-04-15
THE LOUISVILLE CYCLONE.
IMPRESSIONS OF AN EYEWITNESS
OF THE GREAT DISASTER.

Annexed Is the substitute Of n
private letter received. in Denver
from Louisville:
In your note Of the 29th ultlmo
you asked me TO detail 10 you some
Of the experiences we had. / Will
undertake herein 10 give you ade-
scription Of such part Of the tornado
as / witnessed.
The ElcsHin0 Times Of the 9th
had a column Of matter stating
that the signal service had predicted
terrific cyclone for Louisville for
that or the next evening. The sig
nal service has made so many pre-
dictions Of late, which have never
been fulfilled, that said to myself
after reading the prediction. swell,
that's some more of Greely's hog
wash. Thay've cried Wolf wolff
50 often that don't believe I'll be
frightened" That evening after
supper ] started out TO see some
friends. As opened the front door
blast OF hot air as from fiery fur
mace greeted me, and remarked that
II was excee, iingiy warm and suffo-
eating and we would probably have a
storm. 1t had clouded by that time,
ii nd save for the almost continuous
flashes OF lightning which reached
from one horizon to the other, IL
was the blacklist night | ever be-
held. You could scarcely sec your
hand before your face. But when
the lightning flashed Il was as II 4
thousand electric lights had been
turned on at once, rendering the
surroundings as clear as day and
continuing for half n minute at a
stretch. Then IL would become inky
black again for minute or two,
when the fiashts would repeat
themselves. When | reached my
destination, about thirty minutes
afg-r my departure from home, large
dr1I OF rain began to descend. The
rain increased steadily until it fell
In torrents, accompanied all the
while ty the lightning and thunder,
which sounded like distant rumb-
ling Of muffied drums.
About $50 there came an extreme
ly brilliant flash CT lightning accom-
panied by a clap OF thunder which
SCUM, eI as II a bomb he'd exploded
in the room. Then Immediately fol-
lowing this there was a dead calm
and tken q noise as II thousand de-
mons Were flying screeching through
the air, each one OF them running q
buzz 81 " at the rate Of 10, 900 revolu-
lions a minute. This lasted for about
two minutes, and then the noise
ceased and the wind subsidized.
Shortly after this we heard the
boats on the river repeat the distress
whistle and ring their bells frantic
ally, and | knew that something
dreadful had happened, but as we
were 4 ST on the outskirts o. the
cyclones path, could not realize
that it had been an ything 50 terrific
On arriving there he .rd the wild
est kind OF stories, or they seemed so
to me, about the damage that had
ieen done. | luld scarcely believe
them, but started out 10 look and see
for myself.
1 fist went TO the Falls City hall,
or what bad been that hall, which
Is about three squares from my
Office, and on the westernmost edge
Of the toronado's path, where II in
tersected Market street. Gathered
In front Of the ruins were hundreds
of people, apparently stuIified by
what had happened. while an inn
provised relief corps Of the sturiiest
hearts was at work in the debris,
taking out the injured, the dying
and the dead. Two bonfires made
from the ruins OF the building were
burning In the street, and cast n
weird light on the scene Of suffering
and death. ! stood in front Of the
ruins for fifteen minutes and saw
them carry from the debris six or
eight mangled cOrpses. Men,
women and children had been
caught alike in thy death trap and
ground i'm the mass Of mortar anu
bricks until the bore little resemb-
lance 10 human beings. Their hair
was matted, and thebrickdustand dirt
vas ground into their very flesh.
clOgged with their own life blood.
turned 10 the other aide OF the
treet, where an unler:aker's esiab-
ishment escaped from the wreck
had been converted into a tenn
porary hospital and morgue. There
the injured We're receiving such at
tentiJm ms could be afforded them.
The shriess OF the women. mingled
with the suppressed gr0ans OF the
men. who tried as bert they could
to stifie them, were distressing. Ii
was, indeed, heartrending. l never
before saw such a sight, and / hope
[ may never be called upon TO be-
hold another. l turned from this
scene and proceeded up Market
Street, impelled by nothing more or
less than a morbid curiosity
On all hands there was wreck and
devastation. Roofs, Telegraph poles
and wires and demolished buildings
rendered the streets almost impass-
sble. / loked at such of the devas-
tation as | could, and returned to
the office, stupefied, as were all the
rest whom | encountered. No one
seemed 70 realize the magnitude Of
the disaster, and l don't believe
any one ever can completely do so.
After the storm it turned suddenly
cold, and the calm Of the atnOs-
phere was almost painful, while the
moon peeped out from iehind the
clouds, red in its ghastliness with
what might have seemed the blood
Of the storms victims.-Er.