The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-03-29
THE RUINED CITY.
An Awful Picture Of Death and
DesOlation.
LOUISVILLE IN MOURNING.
IN MOURNING.
Handreds of People Killed ana Iajsred-
The Debris Nss Yes Clsared-
Damage TO Other Towns.

Damage TO Other Towns.
1ne news Published in yesterdays Posr-
IsrKLLIGExcxs Of . terribly destructive
storm wrecking great portion OF Louis
vile. i supplemented today BY fuller re-
ports The loss OF hss il not 50
great a. estimated then. but
It il suflicientiy great 70 assume the pro-
portions Of calamity The destruction Of
property is also enormous.
Reports from many points covering .
vide extent OF territory In Kentucky.
Illinois and Georgia show that the path of
destruction was wide one. The force Of
the storm was felt as Ear north as the St
Lawrence river. The news from each
pace - sickening repetition Of fatalities
amid scenes OF horror.
LouizvILIE, March 2s.-when the scene
OF the disaster from the cyclone was
reached today by the Associated Press
train. IN appalling sight was presented.
Crowds Of people thronged Fourteenth
street station, and from there up Main
street 10 the heart of the city was mass of
bleeding and injured humanity. On the
other side was wreck and ruin. Great
masses of brick and stone had the appear
ance OF having been simply crumhied to
earth.
Gangs Of rescuers are ct work on the
great. masses Of debris in the search for vic
tins OF the awful calamity. The wreck
was SO great that il beggars an attempt at
detail.
Immediately upon the bursting Of the
cyclone the fre bells sounded and the
police went 10 work. Within ten minutes
Posse appeared at the Falls City hall.
where the wreck was greatest. The walls
OF the adjoining house were first propped.
then began the work of cutting through
the roof that covered all
After an hour of ceaseIess labor the first
She was found sitting upright. her head
bruised and one arm broken. She said at
the first quake they eli made q rush for
the entrance. Women were knocked down
and trampied upon Seeing an overwheim-
ing jam at the door, several remained be-
hind.
The excavators then moved from the
rear to the front. where it was supposed
the greater crowd gathered. As soon Is
the roofing was removed, and the mass of
brick beneath, ten women. locked in each
others arms. were drawn out Inside of
the next hour sixty men and women we're
drawn out dead. but with no wounds. 1t
is thought that Ill met death from susfoca-
tion.
Gas pipes were broken. and flooded tho
debris with . vapor almost - deadly As
6re might have proven
Ways were pierced into the breast Of the
ruin, and bodies we're drawn out dead and
dying.
Along Main street the pathway Of the
storm extended TO Eleventh street, and
from Seventh 10 Eleventh not . singie
building Is left standing. This morning
presented one OF the most stupendous
spectscles of ruins ever witnessed. In the
course of the storm lay the great tobacco
market. Today the warehouses lay in
ruins. Thousands OF hogsheads of tobacco
Law in . mass of brick and mortar.
The Louisville hotel Was unroofed and
otherwise wrecked. The next building
west was occupied as cigar store upon the
first floor. and sleeping rooms upon the
second and third, which were razed 10 the
ground. not single brick remaining in its
place. In the destruction of this house,
many lives were lost, mostly persons who
occupied sleeping rooms. Many Of them
were girls employed at the hotel.
Saloons and other available places were
turned into hastily improvised morgues,
where Lodies were taken a. recovered and
left awaiting Identification.
Eleventh street seemed to serve as kind
fnr all int ~<at~
jects in that line being reduced 70 nothing
ness. Down this street 10 carried fronts of
buildings. mostly residences on each side,
contents unmoiested-
jefferson and Market streets are in
almost as bad condition as Main. Hun
dreds of wagons are busy carrying away
soiied and broken furniture from shattered
houses.
From Seventh street and the river as far
down rs can be seen, scenes OF desolation
meet the eye and bewilders spectators
who never dreamed of anything like it. The
storm seemed only to have swept Broad
way from Fifteenth to Nineteenth. but
nearly al the houses between these streets
and on insersecting streets are demolished.
From Fifteenth and Seventh are mostly
small frame houses, occupied by colored
families. Roofs were torn of. but not Q
large amount of damage was done other
wise, and none of the occupants were hurt.
From Sixteenth down to Nineteenth
houses was destroyed. The storm was ter
rible in these three blocks The houses
were larger and of much better quality
Nearly every one of them was completely
demolished. hut in most cases the occu-
pants escaped without much injury.
Resceing the Dying
At i2 O'Clock the opening OF portion Of
the debris OF Falls City hall caused q
draught. whe-eEpon the smolaering fire
broke out hercelv. Asrhy xiatlon began
rapidly, and forced the workers TO desert
the place. As soon a. the FIRE gained head
way, the groans of the imprisoned people
became so great as 10 be simply horrisying.
Watchers grew frantic. screamed and ran
about like mad The terrible suffering
which they were unable to alleviate. drove
them to despair.
Several lines OF hose were soon throwing
water on the flames, but il was more than
an hour before the work could he proceeded
with II was even then carried on with
much difficulty on accoun. of the heat
Up TO !: O'Clock only about twenty-five
dead bodies and twenty-five wounded and
dying were taken from the wreck
Al % the room where the children
had been dancing Was reached Lewis
SiEnx. jr.. for an hour moved about in
seoay in front OF that portion OF the wreck