The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-06-04
1H[ St. LOUIS D|SAS|D|||
THE NUMBER OF DEAD Ami
ATALI.Y INJURED NOW |
PLACED AT 3o5.
FIVE HUNDRED FAMILIES DEST|IU|I
IN EAST ST. LOUIS ALONE-PROP
ERTY DAMAGE PROBABLY
S25,000,000.
MANY RUINED BUILDINGS STILL UNEXpLORE'
And the Dead List is Likely to l
Greatly Increased - The Storms
Course in ST. Louis Covered
Six Miles Long by One and
Half Wide.

st. Louis, May 29-Tonight, forty -eighh
hours after the tornado of "Wednesday
tore its way through the city, there exists
about as much uncertainty of actua
number of people killed, and the amount
| of property damage as on the first morn
ing after the disaster. Scores of deadE
have been identified, but no one is will |
ing to venture guess as to how many
bodies may be in the ruins of the hun
dreds of buildings as yet uneXplored.
The total number of dead in st. Louis (
identified up to tonight, is 1872, and in
East st. Louis 121. In ST. Louis there
are twenty-five bodies still unidentified
and in East St. Louis ,.
1t is believed that death of the injured
and future discoveries will bring the st.
Louis list we'll up to 200. In East St
Louis, they say this evening. they have
hope that the death list on that side of
the river will not exceed $50, but the
ruins which the rescuers have not yeti
begun to work on, may make the total
far beyond that figure. The estimates
upon property loss have grown wider
and further apart. Guesses were made
today all the way from S2,000000 to $780,
100000 for st. Louis, and from 81 ,500,-
900 to $4,000 for East st. Louis. The
| most popular estimate is in the neighbour.
hood of $2J,000000 for both cities, M
Guiding buildings damaged. The build-N
ing contractors of the city have been
overwhelmed with orders for rebuilding.
and the work of wiping out the havoc of
| the storm will be pushed with all energy.
The committee reported tonight that
| the auditorium to be used for the Re
publican national convention has been
repaired and now shows not the slight
est damage from the storm.
Although thousands of men have been
ut work night and day clearing away the
wreckagc in the path of the tornado,
they have scarcely made perceptible
impression toward restoring the chaotic
confusion to anything like order. Pass
ageways have been made through some
of the principal thoroughfares, it is true,
but for the most part the streets are still
choked with the battered remains of
homes and factories, hospitals and
churches. The patti of the storm is
fully Il mile and half wide 1t starts
away out in the suburbs, where the
homes of people Of wealth are located ;
taking zig-zag course it extends down
to where the densely populated tenement
houses are located, fully six miles, and
across the river In the course of the
storm was Tower Grove park. 1t is
where many fine homes are located. The
storm moved its way through this.
Magnificent residences in the Tower
Grove park were wiped off the face of
the earth in some cases, while in Others
roofs were carried away; trees torn from
their roots and all the picturesque
beauty destroyed. Along California
avenue, in Compton Heights are strewn
wrecked homes, roofs of houses. treef
and masses of rubbish whirled into ID!
city from the farms, and wild timber y
yond the city limits. The same is tn
of other thoroughfares. Not tree or
: house in the way of the storm was left
without damage.
The corner of st. Vincent and Cali
fornia avenues to the northeast as far
as the eye could reach, was stretch of
devastation and ruin. A little to the
south stands the Missouri Pacific hos
pital. greater portion of the roof was
torn off, and the whole building so badly
wrecked that it will take at least $175
600 to repair the damage. There were
nearly 1000 patients in the hospital and
they were thrown into state of panic.
The Hodges school, south of the hos
pital, was wrecked to the second floor,
while a row of residences across the
street was not harmed The Choteau
school hall, some miles north. was so
badly damaged that it will probably have
to be rebuilt
At California and Russell avenues the
houses at the northeast conrner are in
ruins. while those on the opposite corner
are scarcely damaged. For blocks in
every direction are ruined buildings.
Looking from this point towards the cen;
ter of the city as far as the eye could
reach are wrecked homes. Then the,
storm was down in the valley, where, be 1
fore the city was laid out, stream had
run. Choteau aveune lies parallel to this
valley and is the main thoroughfare
leading to the heart of the ely. For a
mile to the south and nearly half mile