The news boy., 1896-06-06


wandered aimlessly about, charmed
by che very horror Of the scene.
On either side Of the roadway the
railroad yards were torn into q horri-
ble burlesque on chaos. Great, heavy
freight cars had been lifted from the
tracks in their entirety and hurled
yards away, plunging down embank.
ments and landing bottom side up in
the morasses and marshes OF the iss
land. sg
Somestimes the trucks had remained
on the track, the bodies being literally
torn from them and hurled in indis-
criminate confusion hither and thither.
Mixed with this great mass OF rail.
road debris were the former homes OF
people who had lived down around this
part of town.
Parts sofdifferent houses were thrown
together, seeming more like the ruin
of one home rather than an aggrega-
tion of different fresides.
The long low line of frame houses
that stood to the right of the bridge
where the bridge trolley met the local
street ears Is gone. Not even the
wreckage is in sight. The ground is
| almost swept clean.
Further on brick house stands by
| the roadway. Part of the roof is gone.
The front wall of the second story
has been blown out and there can be
seen the whole contents of the room.
| By one of those freaks of the storm
the conten is of the bed room have
been untouched. With the roof and
front wall gone the pictures even are
still hanging on the walls. A lamp
stands on the little center table and
the bed, but for the black stains of
mud and water, stands still untouched,
in perfect order.
Across the street from this house
was u white horse, with great bloody
stain on his side. His team mate is
twenty yards beyond. both dead.
The wagon they were hauling, Il great
heavy dary, was hurled upside down,
with its wheels twisted off and splin-
tered against an iron pier of the big
bridge.
Looking far off to the right, the
ruins of the East st. Louis Cold Stor-
age Co. loom up, and nearer to the wa
ter the shattered remnants of the Keh-
lor mills.
BY the waters edge are the battered
steamboats,, thrown high and dry upon
the shore, deserted now, all save the
City of Quincy. A bedraggled horse
could be seen standing weakly on the
slanting deck, with head down and
tail blown away by the wind-a mis-.
cradle picture.
A little closer to the bridge tre-
mendous barge, loaded with ;ron, is
lying half on its side. the end nearest
the water half torn away.
AT the left the relay depot still looms
up intact, but the deva station about
it is unspealsable.
The Vandalia and Chicago, Rurling-
ton q Quincy and other freight depots
are wiped from the face Of the earth.
y smolderirg mass of charred ruins
shows where the Hetzel mills once
stood.
The fremont and the Mantel houses
are totally demolished. the latter hav-
ing been blown into Caholsia creek.
Mrs. Hayes, the wife of the pro.
prietor of the fremont house. was
killed and her son desperately in jured.
The proprietor escaped. Three others
are supposed to be now in the ruins,
and men can be seen working to re-
cover the bodies.
No one is supposed to have been
killed in the Manteu house.
Martell was reported dead, but later
turned up alive.
. Death in the Vandalia freight depot
} was rampant. Cashier Frank McCor.
J mick, Yardmaster Joe Franks and
Albert Nalknan are known to be dead.
: Frank Bland and Dan Kelly were re.
ported to be dead, but later it was
found that they were only injured.
Cashier Fout. of the Illinois Central,
, was killed in the crash which carried
away the freight depot of that com.
5 pany.
The residence portion of the town,
/ Ball and Pennsylvania avenues and
Gross park, were spared almost en-.
tirely.
When the storm came up Mayor Ba
der was in the city hall. He ran for
the police station, but was thrown
down an embanliment and stunned,
He was rescued from lot of debris
l by Detective Hickey and later recov.
l cred enough to help with the rescue
work.
+ A Louisville & Nashville train was
: blown off the track at the Relay depot
and one unknown person seriously iu-
: jured.
l The Douglas public school, on the
/, island, was blown entirely to pieces.
c One of the morgues is the undertake
n ing establishment of j. A. Kurrus, OF
e Third street. At 6 a. m. there were
: II dead bodies, most of which haG
been identified.
While the reporter was in the deat
q room Two girls came in.
q They were red-eyed with weeping
n and pale from fear and sorrow an,
/. sleepiessness. Their hearts wcr,
a heavy with the fear that their brothc,
y was dead and they were looking TO
~ him.
Il 'Oh, our little brother" moaned on,
q of them, wringing her hands, lis h
4 here? Oh, Peter. Peter