The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-07-10
Wind and Rain Play Havoc with Roofs,
Exhibits, Glass and Doors.
Captive Balloon Wrecksd-Several Boats On
tie Lake Upset and Fonr Of the Nine 0c-
cupants of Yacht Drowned.
Paid Admissions to Jackson Park on
Sunday Not What Was Expected.
Only 43.532 Visitors Purchased Tickets Yes
terdsy-Concs sssionaires Complsining-Pro-
test from the Austrian Commissioner.
TKE WHITE CITY DAMAGED.

TKE WHITE CITY DAMAGED.
Exhibits Injured and Glass Broken by .
suddeo Wind and Rain Storm
Special TO the Indian apois Journal
CHICAGO. July "a wind storm of ter.
rife force. followed by a heavy downpouf
of rain. passed over the White City few
minutes before O'clock this evening. dong
considerable damage to the different build
ings and the exhibits stored within. Some
damage, principally in broken glass. was
done in nearly ali. but the extent OF harm
10 the displays Will not be known until the
exhibitors appear tomorrow.
The afternoon was suliTy and as il drew
to a close the atmosphere became oppress-
lively heavy. Not q breath of air was stir
ring and heavy black clouds banked MP -
| the north and east. At fifteen minutes
| before o'clock the storm burst suddenly
| over the park and the crowds scattered.
| Ten thousand people were grouped about
| the pavilion TO the east OF the Manufsct-
| ures Building enjoying the music being
| given by the Cincinnati band. The wind.
sweeping dense clouds of binding dust be-
fore it, caught them as 1t did everything.
| unawares. They hastily rushed for the
shelter of the big buildings and entered the
doors In much disorder, many frightened
women losing hats and parasols In
the confusion. The guards. after
| admitting the crowds, endeavored to
| close the doors, but the force of the wini
| shut the doors with such violence that the
| glass in the three big entrances was shat
tered into thousands of pieces. while tho
uniformed preservers of the peace were
sent sprawling on the floor. There was
much confusion. but as the blow lasted but
| ten minutes the people soon became calm.
| The gale came from the northeast. and did
| but little damage TO the east front OF the
| building. On the west side, near the north
| end, however, two panes of glass roofing
were blown In, doing great damage 20 the
| japanese section. A number OF handsome
| Japanese fans vases. parasols and carved
bric-a- brao were soaked, and water stood
| on the floor two or three inches deep for
some time. The other exhibits in the near
| vicinity were hastily covered and further
damage prevented.
CROWDS DRIVEN TO SHELTER.
The full force of the gale as felt mainly
In Agricultural Building Large crowds
had thronRed the east front of the building
during the day inspecting the newly ar
rived Spanish caravsls. and. when the
storm burst made q rush for shelter In the
| Dullulugs JUST as tno RreateT pOftiOu ok
them had gained the doors sheet Of glass
roofing over the center. near the north
door. gave way and came to the floor be-
| low with q resounding crash. 1t fell all
| around Miss Minnie Gates, an attendant at
| q candy counter in the center of the aisle.
but she escaped without scratch.
minute later e smaller sheet fell over th:
| edge of the French division OF
the building. This added to the
great confusion and caused fright
ened women to rush from place
TO place and put the building in an uproar.
| and but for the fact that the crowd was
not very large there would have been q
panic. Captain Sanderson. of the Colum.
bian guards. immediately ordered detail
of his men to close the doors and all win-
dows to keep out the draughts. but the
| damage had been done so quickly that his
! well-intended order was uselesa The
storm lasted but few minutes. but the
rain fell heavily for near two hours The
greatest damage was done to the French
section and the New York State exhibit,
the latter, however. being protected by
| heavy tarpaulins thrown over tho sho wcases
by the guards. Many leaks were sprung
| the gallery and main floor, but tho
damage was not great. Two sections OF
the roof of the TRANSPORTATION Buildipg.
seventeen by ten feet. were dislodged by
the force of the gale. and the carriage ex-
| hibit of q New York and Chicago firm
was considerably damaged. force Of
mon was at once puy to WORK removing the
vehicles and mopping out the space. and
Chief Smith says the display Will be pre-
| sentable by o'clock In the morning. A
large amount of glass was broken from the
two domes of Machinery Hall, but no dam.
age was done the machinery. A small seq
tIon of the gloss roof, In the north west cor
ner of the Electrical Building. was
smashed but the damage to the restaurant
on the gallery underneath. WAS nominal
THE CAPTIVE BALLOON WRECKED.
The passengers who were sIoft IN the
captive balloon had q close call and the
balloon itself after being brought to earth
was blown into pieces and the pieces were
carried ont of the grounds ALI
day the balloon had been busy
making ascensions. Each time the
huge body started skyward the basket was
filled. There was no wind TO interfere,
and IL rose straight up each time. When
last ascension Captain Alier noticed, away
over the smoke OF the city. q black
| moving body. 1t was coming toward
him. Picking MP his field glasses be saw
low. scudding vapor. Instantly be seized
the signal flag. Leaning far over the edge
of the basket he slRnaled the lookout to
draw in. in rapidly. Down came
soon. The storm. which hung low.
trayersed the distance in twinkling.
| With O crash and roar IL dashed through
the trees of South Park. As the basket
touched the ground. the passengers were
lot out and as the last anchor was made
| fast the wind struck it. The
| big balloon stands sixty feet
from the ground. When the firss
gust struck it. in spite OF guy ropes il bent
over. The 10000 cubic feet of gas were
but O speck In the gale. Then in an
instant the wind seemed TO shift
and bore down on the great body.
IL fattened out. and shook. and trembled
under the terrible force. like a Jelly. With
a succession of cracks the giant silk cover
ing was rent completely In two. The strong
cordage which had covered the silk
with a network snapped as though it had
been packthreed. One-half BILE w one way
and half another. liz all happened so sud-
denly that one had time TO think. Tie
loss Is about s35. 900.
Across the street in old Vienna the wind
played havoc. Tho big garden was filled
with people So quick did 10 como that
they had scarcely time to rash into shelter.
Ii ripped no signs anu awnings. and
threw down the big mosque N
she oenter of the garden. When the rain
struck the roadway was bare and not q
person could be seen. The gale struck the
Ferris w eel with all it's force. The cars
were all flled. lie blew so hard
that the engineer could hardly keep
did blow it did not move
the structure n hairs breadth. Some
little excitement was shown by timid peo-