Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1896-05-30

est disasters of recent years overwhelm-
ed the city of St Louis tonight In the
shape of a cyclone, which began shortly
after o'clock, and for thirty minutes
tore its AWFUL way through the city with
velocity of over eighty miles an hour.
Although reports from here are very
meagre, owing to the almost total de-
struction of the telegraph wires, 1t seems
certain the number of dead and wound
ed will amount to fully 1000 and the
damage done to millions Of dollars.
The city hospital, which fortunately |
survived the storm, is filled to overflow
ing with mangled men and children,
and the morgue, within two hours after
the end of the storm, was so full of
corpses that 1t was necessary to provide
other quarters for the reception OF the
dead. In addition to those who were
killed in their houses and streets, hun
dreds are beneath the waters OF the
Mississippi river.
OF all the steamers on the levee when
the storm broke, but one is now afioat.
All the others have gone down, In
many instances every seul on board
being lost and in Others not over two
or three being able to reach place OF
safety.
Among the boats destroyed is the ex-
cursion steamer Great Republic, one of
the largest steamers on the lower river.
Not a man escaped from her, and 1t Is
said she was crowded with excursionists
when the storm came.
Many buildings have been demolished
and others partially wrecked. The
streets are utterly impossible to street
cars andln many places progress on foo
is matter of great difficulty. To add
to the horrors of the night, the electric
plants were rendered incapable of SER
vice and the gas lamps are also shut of,
leaving the city in total darkness. Fire
also broke out in several portions of the
city, and the FIRE department was unable
to make an effective fight because of
the choked up condition of the streets
and the large number of firemen who
were engaged in the work of rescuing
the dead and wounded
The only authentic information from
the stricken city tonight was sent out by
the agent Of the Associated Press, who
managed to reach an outlying tele-
graph Office and sent a brief dispatch
as follows
"Tornado blowing at the rate of over
eighty miles an hour struck St. Louis
tonight and ragged for half an ho"r with
great fury, and as a result hundreds of
lives are lost on both sides Of the river
Many building are blown down and
many river steamers sunk with all on
board 1t is impossible at the present
time to estimate the number of lives
lost and the hospitals are filled with In
/ jured and the morgue is filled with the
slain, while great numbers of the dead
and manned are lying among the ruins
in all directions. A portion of the east
end of the Eads bridge is destroyed,
the grand stand at the fair grounds is
down, the woman's portion of The jail
is gone and the immense Cupples block
is partially destroyed, the Waters Pierce
Oil works are burning and other build
ings in various sections of the city are
on FIRE. "
The Western Union telegraph com
pany announced that because of It's in
ability to keep up It's wires it would be
impossible to send out any more mes
sages tonight from St Locis or It's vi
cinity.
After sending this brief dispatch the
telegraph wire failed. One of the worst
features of the disaster is thought to
have taken place at the race track at
st. Louis, where the races were in full
swing and the grand stand was crowded.
Returns from the ST. Louis races are re-
ceiyed at the track at Lakeside, Ind,
and few minutes after { o'clock the
operator sending the report of the races
stopped his work long enough to re-
mark "rhere goes the grand stand"
and then his wire collapsed and moth
ing more was heard from him.
In few seconds the same message
was reported from Lexington, KY, with
the additional information that fully
$50 people were dead. This information
was subsequently corroborated by the
operator of the Wabash road at Deca.
tur, who said that In his second message
received from East ST. Louis 1t was de-
clared the grand stand at the races was
down and that fully $50 people we're
buried in the ruins.
Quincy, ILL.,, May 27.-A report has
reached here that at Drake ILL.,, near
Rood House, cyclone struck a school
house, utterly demolishing 1t, killing
eighty children and injuring nearly as
many more. Nearly every house In the
village is wrecked and though no other
fatalities are reported, 1t is more than
probable other lives have been lost.
Wrenched on n FO0a.
Pocatello, May 27.--Advices received