The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-03-29

many lives were lost, principally per-
sons who occupied sleeping rooms therc,
Many Of them were young girls employ.
ed at the hotel next door. Saloons and
other available places have been hastily
turned into improvised morgucs, where
the bodies are taken as fast Us recovered
and left awaiting Identification. Patrol
wagons are being pressed into service
as "dcad wagons to convey tho corpses
to the required places.
Eleventh street seemed To serve rs a
kind OF tlue for the storm, as MI inter.
cepting objects in that line are practi
cally reduced to nothingness. As it
rushed down this street it carried with
1t the fronts Of the buildings. which are
mostly residences, on each side, leaving
in many instances tho furniture and
other contents unmolested. Frequent
ly from the center Of some three.sided
dwelling the unbroken chandelier is still
swinging.
Jefferson and Market streets are in
almost as bad a condition rs Main, and
hundreds of wagons are busy cnrting
away soilcd and broken furniture from
homes that were yesterday, but are to.
day no longer. The massive trees in
the Farmer Jefferson street have been
twisted and broken like reeds and lay
crossed and piled upon each other.
FIRE AT THE CITY HALL.
AT 1o o'clock the opening up OF por-
ton Of the debris Of the Falls City Hall,
caused drausht to penetrate the ruins,
whereupon the smouldering fire broke
out with tremendous tierceness. 1t
spread rapidly and forced the workers to
desert tho pile. AS soon as the fire
gained headway, the groans OF the i'm
prisoned people became shrieks, and so
great was the horror Of the moment that
the watchers grew frantic and screamed
and ran like wild; the terrible suGering5
which they were unable to alleviate
driving them to despair. Several lines
of hose were soon throwing water on the
flames, but it was more than an hour
before work could be proceeded with,
and then it was carried on with much
difficulty on accouat Of the heat.
Up to l2 o'clock only about So dead
bodies and % wounded and dying were
taken from the wreck. The corpscs
were laid in tho various houses across
the street and in Dougherty 4 Koenan's
undertaking establishment, one block
below. At the latter place people drop.
ped in and out one by one to look at the
bodies, hunting for friends and relatives.
One man said he was looking for Louis
Lipp, and the first sheet lifted revealed
the corpse OF the person wanted.
The man covered his face, groaned
and would have fallen had he not been
sustained.
- A PATHETIC INCIDENT.
At about 1880 the room where the
children were dancing was reached.
Mr.. Louis simms, Jr., OF 1l24 Market
street, had for hours been moving about
in agong Of grief in front OF that por-
ton OF the wreck where this room had
been, for his wife and four children were
there. When the room was reached
Mrs. Simms was the first one found, and
she was fatally hurt. Then within
about fifteen minutes OF each other,
three OF the Smms children were re-
covered. They were unconscious and
there is only faint possibility OF their
living. ~
While the father was imp!oring the
workmen to get his other child, fire
broke ont and work was suspended. The
last man taken out alive before the
flames started was John Hepden, OF 2lOC
| West Broadway, aud just previous to
that woman, who was unable to give
her name. was recovered. 1t was not
possible to tell the extent Of the injuries
Of either. s-a .ss
A. TERlLL1SG EXPERIENCE
was that Of Mr.. George II. Capito, O.
| 1881 Stewart Avenue, who was presen,
ut the meeting OF Jewel Lodge No.
Knights and Ladies Honor, in theil
lodge room, on the ton floor OF the Falls
! City Hall, when tho building collapsed
under the terrible impact Of the cyclone
Ho says the fret intimation OF dauge
| they had was two distinct rockings o.
tho building about which dormcr win
dow on the lodge room was blown from
its castings, and immediately after, the
plastering begau to drop from tho cell
ing. "a wild rush was made for the
ante.soom, which carried me with it
and had Just reached the door whcr
the entiro floor gave way and VIC were
percipitatcd to the basement blinded apt
almost su0ocated by cloud OF dust anf
crushed and jammed by falling timbers
| In some way the door frame fell Will
me aud maintained an upright position
when it stopped and l was enabled tt
extricate myself from the DEBRIS ant
make m exit to the street through NJ
adjoining house, whose doors l kicket
in, Meanwhile the shrieks and groan
,, Of those still imprisoned by the wrecl
formed q chorus that, in connection viii
| the bowling Of tho storm, made me yer,
: heart sick. l was, so far qs a hasty eI
animation went, comparatively unlu
Il jured, and Mt once returned to the ruins
: with several men, to the rear OF the plac
and extincuished fire that had begal
, to bla,o tiercely. By this time the raj
was falling in torrents, and It vas dini
cult for those who had gathered irda
I tle neighborhood, or who had been q
:; lucky as was 10 escape with life, to tel
where ts begin the work OF rescue.
| 4 TERRIBLE sseeEsu. Il
, 1.-THE vivid lightning flashes only gay
!. momentary views Of the position Of tn
|, rims and blinded everybody. Anon
:. those whom ! saw and recognized as ha,
j, iug eacapeb from Jewell lodge, l ca
a name only one; Aiy Lizzie Walters
, itreas,ir.r Of the lodge, WHO Was copese
: with dust. drenc.s.a BY tho storm an
we'll nigh distracted by the probaG..:. tat
! Of her aged father, who had attended tn
8 lodge meetiug with her mud was still il
: the ruins. 4
1.-THE entire building collapsed in iron
i and rcar and Of the east wides side wall
4 nothing was standing above the secon
l., story. There were nearly hundre
r members present at our lodge meeting
0 as several candidates were up for ipilji
0 ton. ~ " ..f'' 'll5 7'Nf'II
). l"Fully thirds OF those there wer
| ladies. Besides our lodge, another orde