San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-05-28

cut in the head an face.
HOW IT LOOKED AT DAYLIGHT.
When the sun rose on st. Louis
and vicinity this morning 1t
showed scene of terrible ruin and
disaster. Wind, rain and fire had
com bined in q mission OF destruc-
ton. Two hundred lives were lost
In this city and as many more were
killed in East st. Louis, while
thousands were injured, many Of
them so seriously that they will not
recover. The exact number will
not be known for several days and
perhaps never, for the debris of
ruined buildings all over the city
covers hundreds of human beings
and will long leave traces in that
part Of the city which lies east OF
10th and north OF Carr streets to
the Eads bridge.
The boats OF the wharf were torn
from their moorings and cspsized
or set adrift.
The cloud crossed the river and
demolished the upper work at the
east end of the bridge aud then
wrt aked its fury on East st. Louis.
Shortly after 6 o'clock, with the
sun more than an hour above the
western horizon, there settled upon
the city clouds so dense that day
light quickly gave place to the
darkness Of midnight. That was
the precise order Of the tornado
from the southwest. The hurri-
cane from the northwest gave the
western part of the city it's severe
shaking up. The tornado from
the southwest was responsible for
the loss oflife.
What must be charged up to
this double visitation. only day.
light can tell it all. Health Conn.,
missioner Starkloff, two hours
after the tornado had passed,
feared the dead would reach 200,
and not fewer than 1000 had sus.
tanned serious injuries. By mid.
night reporters of the Associated
Press had visited all of the stricken
portions of the city and suburbs.
The list of the dead fall far below
the first estimate, but IL was large
enough to be appalling.
Crushed beneath falling walls,
hurled against the sides Of build
ings, struck by flying timbers, cut
by the shattered glass, shocked by
the network Of down wires,
humanity suffered in ways in
Vulnerable. The names Of all the
injured will never be known.
Enough were recorded at the dis
pensaries last night to show how
widespread were the tornado's eff
fects.
or the destruction of property
there can be no satisfactory esti-
mate given. The loss in extent is
! characterized beyond conception.
In the flashes OF lightning last
night the city hospital looked like
ruin. The nursing department
was demolished. Portions of other
buildings were unroofed. Walls
were cracked. Even in the dark
ness the ply sicians began the re-
moval OF the patients to temper
airy quarters, fearful that the
strained structures would go down
in a general collapse. There were
$50 sick people in the hospital
when the storm came; some
gathered strength in their fright
and ran shrieking from the place
to find shelter on the outside.
Fifteen were injured in one ward.
Convention hall and the four
courts were in the path Of the cloud
as 1t rushed from the city hospital
toward the river. Convention hall
lost a part OF the roof at the eastern
end, was punctured in several
places by flying timbers and sus-
tanned some arrangement OF the
interior. Ten days work and the
expenditure of $4,000 will make the
hall good again. A section OF the
brick wall of the Jail went down
and the prisoners were panic
stricken.
In the district between Sixth
street and the river, aud north
ward from Choteau avenue the
tornado tore a diagonal path. The
district comprises business houses,
many OF them OF the older type.
Every building within the path
sustained damage. Smoke stacks
and chimneys were toppled over,
walls were leveled, roofs were lift
ed, thousands of windows were
smashed, miles Of telegraph and
telephone wires were left in a net
work on the ground. Through this
district the streets are impossible.
They are covered in places with
debris ten feet deep.
Along the levee front the haw-
sers snapped and boats were sent