The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-05-29
DETAILS OF THE
ST. LOUIS HORROR
Wholesale Nreekage Of Property and
Life on Both Sides Of the
River.
MANY MIRACULOUS ESCAPES
The Damage Estimated ia the Millions.
Mach Of Which the INSURANCE Com
Paaiss Viii Manage to Is.
cape rayiag.

st. Louis. May a-when darkness tenn /
porarily interrupted the searcb for the |
storms victims tonight. Sl5 people we're |
known 10 b. dead on both SIDES OF the /
river. and although the complete death |
list win never be known. It Is believed |
Il win approximate ~ Ia the TWO cities. /
The number of injured Is larger ana 1
many OF the manned cannot survive. The 1
property loss Will reach well into the 4
millions. but the insurance people. nre- /
men and police alike. refuse to hazard /
a guess at accurate hguras The uncer- |
tainty regarding the loss OF life and prop |
crty Is due mainly to the wide extent OF |
the havoc by the storm. Miles Of wreck |
ed buildings. as yet unexplored. and more |
numerous collapsed factories, towards the |
Investigation Of which little progress Is |
made. may hide almost any number OF
bodies as the police have been unable /
to secure anything like an accurate list
Of the missing.
In the factory districts many OF the en-
ployes on duty at the time the storm
broke were without relatives in the city.
and their disappearance would scarcely
BE- noted. even though they be buried
In the ruins. II is believed By the police
that owing TO the suddenness with which
the crash came many tramps ana home
less ones sought shelter among buildings
which were levelled and nothing will be
known OF their death until. perhaps
weeks hence. their bodies are found.
The list OF the known dead in st. Louis
Is iCa and In East st. Louis lls. The city
is in darkness tonight, the repairs on the
electric light wires having scarcely been
begun and but few OF the trolley lines
are running. All over the stricken dis
trict the debris choked streets are crowd
cd with sight-seers, and through the dim
gas lighted aisles OF the city morgue at
i2th street a constant stream Of people I
is urged forward by lines OF police.
St Louis, May 2E-colonel wetmore.
manager OF the Ligegtt & Myers Tobacco |
plant, which was wrecked. estimates the /
entire property damage at s25.o0q.ooJ I
which will be, he says. almost a total .
loss. owing to the lack OF cyclone insur-
ance. Other estimates range from Sl50o9,-
600 TO SsO,OO0.O0O. but the majority OF them
are close 20 that made By Colonel Wet
more.
St. Louis, May 2S-rhe storm was most
peculiar The wind seemed 10 take the
form OF tornado rather than that OF
cyclone and the wrecked buildings show
none OF the twisted irons ana girders
which usually mark the track OF a rotary
wind storm. The first heavy damage
was in the vicinity Of Tower Grove and
Lafayette Park, where hundreds OF
handsome residences were wrecked and .
many people injured,
st. Louis, May "a river man esti- I
mates that S,5Oo,O00 would not repair and /
replace the boats alone that figured in
yesterdays disastrous storm.
The Louis Lodge broks its hawsers dur
ing the tornado, Four of the crew plung-
ed overheard and were seen TO drown.
Others were rescued. The crew and pas ]
sengers of the ferry-boat Christie had a
remarkable experience. When the storm
broke the boat was torn from its moor
ings at the foot OF Spruce street ana
blown down stream with fearful velocity, |
The passengers were crazed with fear
and sixteen two-horse teams stampeded |
on the lower deck. The water rushed |
over the boat. filling the hull. but by |
a miracle 1t floated and was driven be- |
fore the storm down stream. The river |
was like a raging sea, and the crew was |
unable to launch any OF the boats. The |
passengers crouched in the cabin, expect !
ing every moment to so down, The boat |
drifted as far as Jefferson Barracks, |
where she sunk in shallow water. The |
teams on the lower deck were drowned, |
but the passengers were saved.
ST. Louis, May 2S.--Nothing whatever |
remains OF Broadway from the river to
the viaduet and on the east side for
width of probably 600 yards there is alb
solutely no semblance of a house, freight |
shed or cars left standing The Big |
Four. Vandala, and L. and n. freight
sheds are razed TO the ground, not so
much as stick remaining in an upright
position. At the Vandalia depot the loss
OF life and the number injured is very
great
st. Louis. May 2S.-Business was prac-
tically at standstill today Street ears
were running in some directions, but in
the vicinity of the wrecked district troll
ley, telephone and telegraph wires We're
badly tangled and practically useless for
great part of the day. In some streets
the telegraph poles We're all broken on
close to the ground. making passing al
most impossible owing to the twisted
wires.
Through South ST. Louis damage was
done between Russell avenue on the
SOUTH and Choteaut avenue TO Papin
street on the north. Within that terrific
ry, from the city limits to the river the