The Worthington advance., 1896-06-04
Its Track In East St. Louis.


In East st. Louis the track Of the storm
is as clearly defined after touching the
Illinois shore as If plated by surveyor.
Tearing diagonally through the city from
southwest to northeast. 1t cut clean,
swath OF, destruction. Bloody island, the
strip Of land. now joined to the mainland.
that was the ter1nini of all the railroads
centering there. Large freight sheds were
strung along the river front. Nine OF the
largest of these are In ruins. The greatest
damage was done to the Vandalia, the
Mobile G. Ohio. the Big Four. the Chicago
& Alton, the Wabash and the Louisville &
Nashville sheds. AT the Vandalia the loss
Of life was greatest. There the structure
seemed lifted up and dropped again over
tho foundations. Fourteen OF the dead
enumerated were taken from these sheds.
Across Cahokia creek, in the city proper,
the destruction was complete The relay
depot, an abomination which even the cor
roding hand of time could not destroy, went
to pieces before the storm. The switch
depends the movement Of hundreds OF
trains. was made useless. Three small
hotels in the vicinity were DESTROYED.
North and east OF the relay depot
wide residence section. mostly small houses
occupied by mechunics, was cleanccup 1t
ta through this part that the majority Of
the fatalities occurred. The high dykes to
the west that shut of the waters Of the
Mississippi were no protection and the frail
houses went down like houses OF cards.
The viaduct across the mass Of tracks east
Of Cahokia creek was made useless. The
new Martell house, the McCauseland opera
house, the city hall, FlanniGan's hall, three
churches, the high school and residences
that covered IA blocks of ground east OF the
viaduct, were demolished. Farther on to
the north and east. in the stock yards vicin-
ity, everything was swept away. The
definite limits of the storm. indicated
above. may be clearly noted here. The
National hotel was uninjured. while two
blocks southeast house owned by Fl. D.
Sextonswas torn to kindling wood. Passing!
on outside the city every suburban garden,
orchard and field. ia RACED Of its growth.
III all this desolation death ran riot. High
above the storm were heard tho cries OF
suffering and the shrieks Of people strug-
Cling helplessly against the, storms fury.
The Points Of greatest disaster, the water
front and the vicinity Of the relay depot.
have, not yet given up all their dead.
Scarcely q single person in the storms
highway escaped some injury.
Dlsaaters ON tho River, Il u
The track Of the storm across the river
was practically the same as that OF the
great storm Of August4, 1873. The trendof
the main volume Of wind WIS from south
west to northeast. leaving the Missouri
shore at the center Of the southern half OF
this city and striking the Illinois shore IN
q path whose northern edge was the Eads
bridge sand extending south three-fourths
OF mile. Within this path were moored |
Is steamers large and small The storm
fell 30 suddenly that none OF the vessels
were prepared: In ALT ten large passenger
steamers, five ferryboats, two transfer
boats, two tugboats and half q dozen small
pleasure barges were driven to the opposite
shore or sunk outright. s,,t ....,i
The steamer J. J. Odn was loosened from
tts moorinss ana blown against the second
pier Of the Eads bridge, where 1t sank.
Just before the boat struck her boilers
blew up. Nine Of her crew of twelve are
reported Al missing Those Of the crew
who reached land in safety are Jack Nor
About the same time the Odil struck the
pier the towboat Dolphin No. was blown
from her wharfboat at the foot Of Morgan
street.. dashtEg her UP against the drst