The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-29
Special to the indianapolis Journal.

Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
ST. LOUIS. Mo-, May 2S.-The hands OF a
giant wrought misery, death and destruc-
tion here in the storm yesterday. With the
fury Of a demon the tornado crushed hu-
man beings and great buildings as it passed
on its way. Three hundred is an approx
innate estimate OF the number killed, for
there is not yet. and will not be for several
days, accurate information as to the num-
Der of dead. The disaster came unforetold.
to keep their hands on the pulse of the
storm king. did not read in the signs con-
sequences as terrible as those that were Wis
tied here. The clouds that grew darker
each hour during the day, the varying
winds that blew in gusts and little eddies,
the white cloud apparitions that chased
across the sky under a murky canopy OF
clouds. and the gradual increase in the We
locity of the wind, were not regarded with
apprehension; so when the storm
king, with his mighty hands,
seized his mightiest weapon and as
sailed the city and it's sister
across the river, there was none prepared.
and those who escaped, though In the path
of the storm, marvel at it as miraculous.
And in most cases the escapes were attend
ed by what are considered special acts of
providence. There is little discussion of the
causa Of Tho oraat storm, Jt ia af,-ohf,,,<-
the result. the evidences of which are plain
ly at hand everywhere in the city. Three
children housed in a box car in East st.
Louis, scantily clad and hungry and alone.
a woman stretched out cold in death on the
stone sills OF a wrecked building illustrated
another.
THE GREAT STORM.
There is general disagreement as to the
beginning and the ending of the storm, and
the hours 1t took in wrecking great portion
Of the city. After the hours Of gradually
increasing darkness rain began to fall. The
wind was ftful. The clouds yielded no token
OF the gathering storm, and the people felt
no fear. The temperature had, however.
been remarkable. 1t varied and some
men asserted that they felt themselves
cool at one time and overheated a few
minutes later. The winds when they blew
were not cooling Shortly after 8 o'clock
the darkness became alarming. Those who
occupied high buildings down town saw the
clouds tumbling about like smoke blown
into a jar. The next instant there was a
loud roar of thunder. a stroke of lightning,
followed by forked tongues of flames in
the southwestern sky. and the clouds spun
about in whirlwind. Then came the crash
OF the yielding walls and the dashing of
heavy timbers against weak houses. Min
shrieks of those who ran into the streets
crazed with their sense of helplessness and
peril. The people were not long in under
standing the peril of the moment. The wind
rushed apparently from the northwest to
the southeast with a noise much like a
mighty waterfall. Some say that it went
to the southeast and then returned. Others
equally credible declare that it began in
the southwest and ended in the northeast.
These views are about equally divided. At
any rate, as it went 1t gathered additional
impetus until its work of destruction was
well under way.
The path chosen by the storm aimed
at the heart Of the city's business
and corporate life. 1t is singular
that nearly all the public corporations were
victims OF the storm. The power houses of
the electric light company. the electric street.
roads. the artificial gas and the Fourth
street Cable Company were suddenly
in the rain that followed the scenes were
such as may never be witnessed again. Ab-
solute destruction seemed imminent.
In the streets men and women acted like
mad. Some left shelter and were caught in
the whirlpool OF debris that was being cast
aside by the storm. In this way many were
injured and several were killed The people
became desperate. They covered in door
ways. mistrusting the very buildings under
which they sheltered In safety ana seeing
only death or injury in the open streets. And
all this in darkness like pail.
THE SECOND STORM.
The best opinion OF the lapse between the
first and the second storm is twenty min
utes. The first storm wrecked ST. Louis
proper. or. rather. that portion which Is
known as the South Town. and the levee
southeast OF the river front. The second.
which was even more serious than the FIRST.
seized the river where the flrst had ceased