The Monmouth inquirer., 1896-06-04

FRleHTFUL LOSS OF LIFE IN THE
ST. LOUIS TORNADO.

Late Estimates Place the Number of Dead
at six Hundred and the Injured at over 8
Thousand-T The Financial Loss Many
Millions of Dollars.
ST. LOUIS June 9. 1T is known that
the mum Der of persons who were killed IN
the terrible tornado which passed oven
this city and vicinity will reach nearly
600. The following are the figures given;
st. Lodis-Killed, 900; injured, 300.
East St. Louis-Killed, $50; injured,
300.
Near Centralia, Ills. Killed, AZ; in
jured. 35.
Breckinridge, Ills.-Killed, ..
Near Mount Vernon. Ills.--Killed, D;
injured, 20.
Near Mexico Mo- Killed, 10; injur-
ed, "a.
Near Yandalia, Ills Killed, 1S; injur-
ed. 35.
The financial loss by the storm OF
Wednesday night is yariously estimated
at all the way from Sc, coo, 900 to $50, 600, :
600. That the former figure is too small
is certain, and the latter is not much too
high.
The telegraph Companies ALSO come in
for their s6afe of tie LODI. Not a wire was
left standing ip St Louis. The streets in
the distf1ct most affected are naasa OF
broken poles and tehglsd wfes The loss
to tha telegraph companies 10 estimated ct
slp0 900,
Tower Grove park represents an annual
expehdit6fe Of $50, 600 for nearly 20 years,
and contained many gifts of YRlnable
bt6hzes and marbles. Sha%'s garden con-
tained nearly 81, 900, 900 worth Of botanic
al specimens. The extent of the loss in
these parks is not definitely known, but 1t
IL said to be enormous.
Wind Took q Tornado Form.
The wind seemed to take tho form of
tornado rather than that Of A6yolone, the
wrecked buildings showing nope OF the
twisted irens and girdeSs ghich pEpeuy
mark the track OF rotary wipdstorm.
The general trend was from southwest to
northeast.
The first heavy damage was In the vicin-
ity Of Tower Grove and Lafayette parks,
where handsome residences We're wrecked
and many injured. The tornado swept
from the northeast as far as the river.
when sudden turn to the north cleared
the Mississippi and tore its way into the
heart Of East St Louis
The steamers Pittsburg of the Diamond
Joe line, City of Vicksburg and City of
Providence of the Columbian Excursion
company, the City of Monroe Of the An
chor line and all sorts of small craft were
pitched and tossed about until final
blast rent them from their moorings.
They were swept across the river and
struck the Illinois bank within few blocks
of each other. The loss Of life on these boats
was comparatively slight, as everybody
was cautioned not to jump and they would
be brought safely to land The City of
Vicksburg Is almost a total wreck. The
City of Providence was blown upon the
| Illinois side. Her rudder Is gone, and
cabin and smokestacks were blown away
before she parted from her wharf
The Belle of Calhoun, the Medill and
the Lube Conger, which were moored
near Choteau avenue, were almost total
ly broken up. Their cabins and smoke
stacks were blown away. The Ellen G.
Smith, the harbor boat, was blown down
the river and was wrecked near Arsenal
island. 1t is Thought no lives We're lost or
this boat The steamer Harvester of ths
Mississippi Valley Transportation com
| pany was also torn from Its dock and car
ried down the river. The loss to property
can only be estimated. A riverman said
that 81, 900, 600 would not repair and re
place the boats alone that figured in thu
disastrous storm.
The Louis Kogg broke from it's hawser
during the tornado. Four Of the crew
plunged overheard and were seen to drown
The others were rescued.
The Work of Rescue.
The work of rescue, which began imme
%1l~ rfk zkS< ,~,@ k<1 -,
tinued, will not be completed for
week or more. Voluntary rescue parties
squads Of police and companies of the fir
department are scattered about the dev
Rstated district searching the ruins TO
bodies. Every few minutes the suddel
shifting of the crowds and the signaling
for a conveyance told of grewsome find
and the occasional identification of tn
mangled remains by waiting friends adde,
horror to the scene. In the eastern por
tion of the wrecked locality are numbe
of factories, and in the ruins of these 1t 1
believed q large number of bodies will b
found. The great piles of brick an,
broken timbers yield slowly to the attacl
Of the searchers, and 1t is probable that al
the victims of the storm will never b
known.
The path of the storm through soutl
ST. Louis Ia scene of death and ruin
The greatest damage WAS done between
Russell avenue on the south and Choteal
avenue and Pappin street on the north
Within that territory from the western
city limits to the river the wreck is be
yond estimate and the loss of life oanno
be told. The most wholesale slaughte
was at Seventh and Rutgers streets, wher
1B persons were crushed to death in tn
Mockenheimer saloon and boardin
house. Many others were buried in ada
cent houses in Rutgers street.
The ruin was so complete that the polio
volunteers did not know where to begil
the work Of clearing away the debris.
At the storms height when the rotund
of the Laelede hotel was crowded wit
terror stricken people who had sough
refuge from the winds fury, panic wa
almost precipitated by the falling of
chimney down over the rotunda througl
the skylight just west of the clerks desk
By miracle no one was under the falling
bricks. The frenzied men made das
for the doors on the Chestnut street side
but their efforts to open them were fruit
less. The force Of the wind was stronge