The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-05-29
EAST ST. LOUIS IN RurUs.
Hundreds OF Buildings DESTROYED ana
$50 Lives Lost

$50 Lives Lost.
East g. Louis. May z-East 81. Louis
Is In rG@ss. The cyclone which swept down
OF the city last aight oblltera.et block
after block OF business houses 'aad dwell
ings, ard left behind its red trail Of death,
scores OF human hesngs being buried be-
Etath the walls OF rattenei buildings or
crushed TO death In the streets BY ,he Az
Ing Debris Tho irprovssed morsues ana
hospitals are fairly choked with dead.
some crushed and battered out OF all hu-
man shape, and through them fow
steady stream Of hysterical women and
grim-faced men. looking for their missing
ones.
II is almost impossible to mako an aecu-
rats estimate OF those killed. At the vari-
Gus rao-sues and AZ 81. Mays hospital
tnere are hfty-six, and SIX are In the Big
roaF freight house ruins How many
more there are scattered about the city
n private houses 1t is impossible 10 tell.
put a conservative estimate would make
the total number at least 80.
The scene Is simply appalling. From the
river bank TO the National stock yards. \
Astance OF over a mile. scarcely a build
Ing Is left Standing. The creates, slaugh-
teS was done on the Island so called
Here were located ne yandalia freight
house and general offices. the river bos,s'
Warehouses. ard the humble sbodez Of
wsrkinSnen- Nothing is left standing.
the places where formerly houses ana the
the aepot stood being literally swept by
the fury OF the storm in The yandaiiA
general Offices alone there were from
twenty to twenty-five killed. the bodies of
some Of whom are still buried beneath
the broken rafters and bricks.
The monetary loss cannot 7e estimated
but IL will run into the millions
The storm struck at the big elevators,
80 ~
the river 20 the Eads bridge, started dag
onaliy toward the relay depot. and con-
tinued on 10 Coliinsvilie avenue. then lift
cd and dropped again at the National
stock yards Nothing whatever remains OF
Broadway from the river to the yiaducs,
and on the east side for q width of proba-
by coo yards there is absolutely no SEM
blsnce TO house. freight shed or cars left
standing The cars In the yards were
thrown on their sides, ends, on top of each
other and into the ponds Astounding on the
island and completely wrecked. The Big
-Four. Vandaila and Louisville 4 Nashville
freight sheds are RACED to tho ground, not
50 much as stick remaining in an up-
right position The ONCE force together
with the freight-handlers at the latter she'd
sought refuge In boxcars to the north Of
the platform on the approach OF the storm.
and owe their lives 10 that fact No one
was hurt there beyond a few slight
bruises
At the vandalia the loss Of M. ara ~.
number injured is very great Nothing re-
mains OF the relay depot 10 mark where n
stood The National hotel at the NatIonaI
STOCK yards Is wrecked, the whole from.
osins torn out. the roof being blown OF
ard every window on all sides blown In
The nrst section OF the cyclone. for II
sppsA.ea 70 come In waves. first struck
East ST. Louis about Sis o'clock. Eve
witnesses who were near the river declare
tina, the cloud seemed to divide ara .h.r
10 come together again. The path was very
woe, embracing almost The entire ievas
olst7et. with the center and wha. appea--
Cd 10 be the most destructive part q. ~.
storm near the Eads bridge. The INNER
foraon OF the bridge from the cas-; side Of
the river for about dfty feet was torn
away, the iron g.rdsrs being twisted lika
strings, and the massive masonry torn
away and hurled 10 the tracks beneath
va the bridge. Just as the storm struck
y was a Chicago & Alton passenger train.
IaiS was turned completely over as v.-e
also three trolley cars on the upper por-
uons OF ths bridge. All OF the passengers
are b4asS shaken Up, but mono was seri-
ousiy injured.
A lite 70 the T.orI1. and Directly a., ;6..zz
river bank. stood the Belt Line ware-
house, Big new structure ms VS.
Fa1eo 10 the grDG1d. The three unuer
stories OF Elevator b we're blown, on sns
scattered for blocks. Directly arose ~.
tracks from the Belt Line ssr.n.,,sA
were me NaHca.la seneral Offices and
4feiSAt Rouse OF the general offices
soAfceiy enc brick is left On top Of anoth-
ef. Nhtie the freight house remains bur a
PIE OF klneilug wood Not more than
t"a or three II the employees eseay,ea III,
remainder being crushed 10 dearh
re pain o. he storm thence 70 the re-
lay station = marked by an urhroke, line
81 overturned freight cars. tslegtaph poles
a-s4 rooaess houses. The car tracks are
utterly iTapassaSle, and Il VIII be days be-
ioTe sFEy thing approaching order can he
sr'ecte- Whole trains OF freight ears
Tara hftal frosu the tracks ana twisted
n every direction. Sometimes The trucks
aaa4 r-laa-re-i en- che tracks the bodies Of
are cars be.ne lifted b.siiiy Of ana hurled
i1f.s0Ti-f.ina Ky Ter res.
The Nelson Morris Packing Corpsrv's
Plant S Minus IS two upper floors. ard the
new sac stables. which were only recent
y 1oTea over iron ST Louis. are leyelsa
20 the g-ound.
The river from, FOR over no va-ss "a
oac great mass az wreescaxe. StesrnhoatS
ferry noats. transfers a=d tugs an rslz.s IN
~ an inelseriruinsts pie, Soma partly sub-
merged. Others high and dry on the shoe
~ FerF sfrnf masonry on Tire east sid
a. We t-a3s bridge was cut or clean ws,s
the rSalroAa tracks, white the approaches
are twisted ard w-evfrAea s~~ss-~ -
passing over very sioNir aaa oau,souss~
aTery undertaking esszAslsh-.a-,. a. N
.n'7Tovisea -7e-gue, ard tie hosnsssls are
fsE OF injured. II St Narv's the-. az
PROBABLY sixty patients. WITH some % 49,
iousiy hurt that Trey cannot recover. ORE
little sufferer lies meaning and csns-T,s,s
sae vas pickec Up n fraat % house
~..no1, sutes OF clothing OF her ist.le
holy sac IS injured s-se--.ffv a.. -
dc. Her mother lies badly hurt At ire
pence station It'll. coal5 10 learned 81,