The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-06-03
DEATHS AWFUL PAIL.
1t Hangs Over St. Louis and East
St. Louis.
Terrible Destruction Wrought by a
Tornado that Swept Every
thing Before It.
List of the Dead Already Aggre-
gate Over 800, While Scores
are Fatally Injured.
Thousands of Buildings in the Path
of the Storm Demolished as Easily
as Though Made OF Paper.
A Number of Small Towns In Missouri and
Illinois Also Felt the Terrible Fury
of the Elements-More Than
100 Persons In These
Places We're
Killed.

ST. LOUIS, May ga terrible cy-
clone swept over the city of st. Louis
on Wednesday afternoon and death and
destruction mark its pathway through
the twin cities. The list OF the dead
cannot be estimated until the alarming
reports of loss of life in the collapsed
buildings can be confirmed. Many
smaller towns in Missouri and Illinois
also suffered tremendous damage from
the hurricane.
The history of the storms move
ment is quickly told. The day was
an oppressive one in the city. There
was no wind and the people suffered
from the heat. About o'clock in the
afternoon the entire western horizon
was banked with clouds These were
piled one upon the other, with curling
edges, yellow in tinge. A light wind
sprang up and sudden darkness
came upon the city. This darkness in
creased until the storm broke. 1t gave
the first alarm to. the. people. There
seemed to be three separate cyclones.
They came from the northwest, west
and southwest. When they reached
the Mississippi river they had become
one. 1t was a quarter to FIVE when
the storm broke. Its descent was so
sudden that the fleeing women and
children were caught in the streets
and hurled to destruction or buried
under falling walls
Before the mass of clouds in the
west-hanging over the villages OF
Clayton, Fernridge, Eden and Central
gave vent to their frightful contents
tunnels shot out from them. Some OF
these seemed to be projected into the
air, others leaped to the earth, twist
ing and turning. Lightning played
about and there was a marvellous cleo
trical display. Then came the out
burst. Three of the tunnels approached
st. Louis with wind that was travel
ing at the rate of so miles an hour
From them and the clouds above, {
strange, cracking sound came. Thi
| ullCu bllC ull anu uO Wbo obi OLS5 VI
than the incessant peals of thunder
The tunnels enveloped the whole west
ern side of the city and in 80 minute
were wrealsing destruction.
So irresistible was the cyclone and s.
much greater In magnitude than an.
the country has ever previously known
, that some of the stanchest bushes
blocks went down before it. Iror
beams were torn from their fastening
and carried blocks away, as If the,
had been feathers Roofs, braced ant
held to their positions by every devic
known to the best builders of the day
were torn off as if held only b.
threads. Telegraph poles fell in loni
rows, coming down in groups of do2
en- or more at time.
The east end of the Eads bridge
one of the most solid and finest bridge
in the world, was destroyed. Th
other great bridges spanning the Miss
issippi river were all injured. Score
of persons were drowned, or, afte
being killed on the land, blown int
the water.
Steamers were blown high on tn
banks. Others were turned arounC
Still others, after being torn fror
their moorings, disappeared and hav
not been heard from. AS a rule tn
smaller crafts were sunk.
Not while within the city limits di
the tunnels rise and fall from tn
ground, as is usually the case in c.
clones. There was no reboundins
Consequently whatever was in til
path of the wind was either destroye
or badly injured. And this destructio
was done within an hour.
In East st. Louis the dcvastatio
was as great as in st, Louis prope
Fire added to the destruction, and ;
the streets were Uttered with rubbs
and debris the fire department W;
helpless. The loss by fire alone wi
approximate $9,OOO,oO
Every flagstaff on the Auditoriu
building, where the republican co
vention will be held, was broken al
the pole on which the stars and strip
waved an hour before was blown c
and the flag ripped into shreds. II
east roof of the building was blow
off. The flying boards shattered wi
dows within radius of $50 feet. II
plaster on the roof was carried ava
This caused many holes and crevice
through which the water poured al
submerged the floor of the buildin
After the storm had laid its hea'
hand on the southern half of the cit
fire came to complete the work of &
struction. Five columns of flame sh
up, but thanks to the deluge OF ra
they were mainly confined to the
starting points In three instanc
the engines were unable to get near
than block of the fires.
A district in this city bounded
the north by Choteau avenue, west
Grand avenue, south to the city linn
and east to the river, is virtually
mass of ruins. Not an electric lig
has burned nor car run in that 81
tion, comprising 70 city blocks, sin
$50 p. m. Wednesday. Within this t
ritory scarcely building has escap
injury and thousands of them are
ruins On surveying the desolate see
one maryels that the deaths are I