The Yale expositor., 1896-06-05
just as the storm struck It, was a Chi

| just as the storm struck Il, was a Chi
cago & Alton passenger train. This
was turned completely over, as were
also trolley cars on the upper portion
of the bridge. All the passengers
were badly shaken up, but none were
seriously injured. "A little to the north
and directly on the river bank stood
the Belt Line warehouse, a large
new brick structure. This was razed
to the ground. The three upper sto-
ries of elevator B were ripped off and
the roof of the Union elevator was
scattered for blocks. Directly ccross
the tracks from the Belt Line ware
house were the Vandalia general Off
ces and freight houses. OF the
general offices scarcely one brick
Is LETT on top of another, while
OF the freight sheds nothing remains
but pile of lIindling wood The de-
| struction was complete, not more than
two or three OF the employees escaped,
the remainder being caught like rats
ard crushed to death. The path of the
storm thence to the Relay station is
marked by an unbrollen line of over
turned freight cars, splintercd tele-
graph poles and roofe3s houses. To the
right OF the bridge, where the bridge
trolley cars met the local street cars,
formerly stood q long row of frame
houses. OF these, scarcely the wreck
age remains.
Another disastrous feature of the
catastrophe was the damage to river
- Oh,
were wrecked entirely and great
many of the passengers and crews were
drowned. The loss to vessel property
will reach 81, $4,000 Many heroic acts
were performed by deckhands and
others to save lives.
When the cyclone swept down upon
East st. Louis it obliterated blocks of
business houses and dwellings and left
behind in its red trail of death scores
of human beings buried beneath the
walls of flattened buildings or crushed
to death in the streets by the flying de-
bris. The scene is simply appalling.
From the river bank to the National
stock yards, distance over n mile,
scarcely II building is left standing.
The greatest slaughter was done on
the leland, so-called. Here were located
the Vandalia freight hcIse and gen
eral Offices, the river boats warehouse
and humble abodes of workingmen.
Nothing is left standing, the places
where formerly houses and freight de-
pot stood being literally swept by the
fury OF the storm. In the 'andalia gen.
eral Office at one time ere were 25
killed, the bodies of some of whom arc
still buried beneath the brolSed rafters
and bricks. The estimated death list
at East st. Louis is 200 and 250 INJURED
1t will be days before the exact situa-
ton is known. The search for the
dead was pushed vigorously but it
was slow work. The river front fo1
/ 200 yards is one great mass of wreck
age. Steamboats,, ferry boats, trans
fers and tugs piled in an indiscriminate
mass, some partly submerged, others
high and dry on the shore. The very
stone masonry on the east end of tho
Eads bridge was cut off clean with the
railroad tracks while the approaches
are twisted and wrecked.
Scores Kdicd at Other Points.
A cyclone OF great violence, bringing
with it death and destruction, visited
the northern part of Audrain county,
about eight miles northeast of Mexico,
Mo. At least 13 were killed outright
and 35 injured.
Southern Illinois was the scene OF
two destructive cyclones. The first
did much damage at East st. Louis
and vicinity. The second, although ne
less terrific in force, fortunately spent
itselfin district less densely populated.
The latter storm came from the north.
west, striking the village of New
Boden, 20 miles west of Centralia.
Only five buildings were left standing
and the list of killed is reported all the
way from Is to 3s. At other points
about Centralia several were killed, and
it is known that AZ were killed and 81
injured in that section. Near Mt. Yer.
non five lives more were sacrificed:
near Vandalia 13 were killed; at Breck.
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