The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-05-28

egraph ONCE, and send a brief dis
patch as follows:
Tornado blowing at the rate Of over
eighty miles an hour struck st. Louis
tonight and ragged for half an hour,
with great fury. and as a result hum
dreds OF lives are lost on both sides Of
the river Many buildings are blown
down and many river steamers sunk
with oil on board. It Is impossible at the
present time to estimate the number of
lives lost, as the hospitals are filled with
injured and the morgue IS filled with the
slain, while great numbers of the dead
are lying among the ruins in all di-
rectiona. A portion of the east end Of
the Eads bridge is destroyed, the grand
stand at the fair grounds is down, the
womans portion of the jail is gone. and
the immense cupples block is partially
destroyed. The Waters & Pierce works
are burning and other buildings In var
lous sections of the city are on FIRE. The
ST. Louis iron and steel works were
demolished and the Immense cupola
partially destroyed.
"At East st. Louis the destruction
seemed greatest. A rough estimate
would place the number OF killed and
wounded at one thousand. Both the
western Union and Postal companies
are lost. The city is totally dark. Inn
possible to get on any more here at
present"
why News Is Scarce.
western Union company has an
nounced that because of its inability
to keep up its wires it would be imposs-
,ble to send out any more messages TO-
night from St. Louis or its vicinity,
The reports regarding the duration
of the storm are conflicting. About 8
o'clock the operator on the Wabash
road at small station not far from
East St Louis managed TO get the OPP
orator at Decatur, Ills, long enough to
send him word that the round house Of
the wabash road was blown down, and
that the freight house of the vandalia
was wrecked and thirty-flve men were
killed in the ruins. After he had told
this much the wire failed him.
Shortly after the Wabash operator at
Decatur reported to main dispatchers
oftice at Forest, ms, that cyclone had
iust passed through the county to the
south Of Decatur, and 1t was reported to
have done great damage. In a few
minutes he sent word that a second
storm had passed through the country
almost exactly in the track Of the first
and that he was unable to get any
more information regarding it. but
that It was thought to have done great
damage in the country lying east of
East st. Louis.
The operators on the Alton road
were unable to get any information
from their men in the neIghborhood OF
St Louis, but reported that just before
ali their counectinns with st.settg
were broken of they had received word
that there had been a severe cyclone
at Rush Hill, Missouri, which is
small town on the Alton road, not far
from Mexico, Mo.
The dispatchers' office OF the Illinois
Central was unable all night to get any
information from any point on their line
south of Cenralla, It was reported to
them, however, that a cyclone had
swept through all the country south of
that point.
At East st. Louis the destruction
seems greatest. II. c. Rice, the West
ern Union manager at the Relay depot
ON the east side, climbed across the de-
molIshed bridge and made his way to
st Louis. He reports that the National
hotel, the fremont house, Martell house,
Dewolf cafe, the plant of the HeXel
milling company, Horns cooper shop
and great number of other buildings
ore blown down. Many dwellings are
wrecked and many of the occupants are
known TO be dead. The vandalIa round
house, the Vandalla freight house, in
which thlrty-fve men are said to have
been killed, the Baltimore & Ohio round
house, the Standard oil works, East st.
Louis elevator, Crescent elevator and
twelve other freight houses on the level
are destroyed.
The Great Republic and several more
excursion steamers with nll on board
| are reported to have gone down, and
| there Is but one boat now at the levee or
/ ali which were there before the storm
came 1t is difficult to estimate the
number OF dead and wounded, but
rough estimate would place the number
Mt about 1000. Both Western Union
and Postal companies have lost every
wire out of the city
After sending this brief dispatch the
telegraph wire failed.
AWFUL Possibility.
one OF the morst features of the dIsas-
ter is thought to have taken place at the
race track at st. Louis, where races
were in full swing and the grand stand
was crowded with people. Returns
from the st. Louis races are received ut
the track at Lakeside, Ind, and at q
few minutes after 8 o'clock the operator
gendIng the report OF the races stopped
long enough to remark: There goes the
grand stand" and then his wire col.
Iapsed. and nothing more was heard
from him.
In q few seconds the same
message was reported from Lex
Ington, Ky, with the additional IN
formation that fully 100 people were
Killed. This Information was subse-
duently corroborated by the opcrntnr ol
the Wabash road at Decatur, who SAID
that in his second message received
from East ST. Louis II was declared thai
the grand stand at the races was dowr
nnd thnt fully $50 people were buried N