Bridgeton pioneer., 1896-06-04
DEATH IN A TORNADO,
thousands Met Their Doom on Land and
Water. Millions of Dollars Lost by
the Greatest Storm st. Louis
Has Ever KNOWN.

Water. Millions of Dollars Lost by
the Greatest Storm st. Louis
Has Ever Known.
ST. LOUIS, May %, a. NIT is now
estimated that the death-list will reach
1000.
CHICAGO, May 27.-One of the greatest
disasters of recent years overwhelmed
the city of st. Louis tonight in the shape
OF cyclone, which began shortly after
o'clock, and for thirty minutes tore it's
awful way through the city with We
locity OF over eighty miles an hour.
Although reports from there are very
meagre, owing to the almost total de-
strpction of the telegraph wires, it seems
certain that the number of dead and
wounded will amount to fully one thous-
ana, and the damage done to millions of
dollars.
The city hospital, which fortunately
survived the storm, is filled to overflow
ing with mangled men, women and chill
| dren, and the morgue within two hours
after the end of the storm was so full of
corpses that it was necessary to provide
| other quarters for the reception of tile
| dead.
/ In addition to those who were killed in
their houses and in the streets, hundreds
of dead are beneath the waters of the
Mississippi river.
Of all the steamers on the levee, when
the storm broke out, but one is now
af1oat. All the others have gone down.
In many instances, every soul on board
being lost, and others, not over two or
three, being able to reach a place of
safety.
Among the boats destroyed is the ex-
cursion steamer "Great Republic" one
Of the largest steamers on the lower river.
Not man escaped from her, and it is
said she was crowded with excursionists
when the storm came.
| The centre of the city is wreck. Many
buildings have been demolished and
others partially wrecked.
The streets are utterly impossible to
street cars, and in many places progress
on foot is matter of great difficulty.
To add to the horrors of the night the
electric light plants were rendered inca
pable for service, and the gas lamps are
also shut off, leaving the city in total
darkness.
Fire also broke out in several portions
of the city, and the fire department was
unable to make an effective fight because
of the choked up condition of the streets,
and +Ae large number of firemen who
were9eneaged in the imperative work of
rescuing the dead and wounded.
The only authentic information from
the stricken city tonight was sent out by
the agent of the Associated Press, who
managed to reach an outlying telegraph
office, and sent brief dispatch, as follows:
Tornado blowing at the rate of over so
miles an hour, struck st. Louis tonight,
and ragged for half an hour with great
fury. Hundreds of lives are lost on both
blown down, and many river steamers
sunk with all on board. 1t is impossible
at the present time to estimate the num-
ber of lives lost, as the hospitals are filled
and the morgue is filled with the slain,
while great numbers of the dead and
manned are lying among the ruins in all
directions. A portion of the east end OF
the Eads bridge is destroyed, the grand
stand at the Fair grounds is down, the
woman's portion of the Jail is gone, and
the immense Cupples block is partially
destroyed. The Waters and Pierce Oil
Works are burning, and other buildings
in various sections ofthe city are on fire'
The operator on the Allan road was
unable to get any information from their
men in the neighborhood of st. Louis,
but reported that just before all their con-
nections with that city were broken off,
they had received word that there had
beenIa cyclone at Rush Hill, Mo-, which
is small town on the Alton road not
far from Mexico, Mo.
The dispatcher's office of the Illinois
Central were una BILE all night to get any
information from any point on their line
south of Centralia. 1t was reported to
them, however, that cyclone had swept
through all the country south of that
point.
At East st. Louis the destruction seems
greatest. II. G. Rice, the Western Union
Manager at the Relay Depot, on the East
side, climbed across the demolished
bridge and made his way into st. Louis.
He reports that the National Hotel, the
Treamont House, Martell House, De-
Wolf Cafe, the plant of the Hexel Mill
ing Company, Horn's Cooper Shop and
a great number of other buildings are
blown down.
Many dwellings are wrecked and
many of their occupants are known to be
dead.
Conflicting Reports.
The Western Union Company announc-
ed that because of it's inability to keep up
its wires, that it would be impossible to
send out any more messages tonight
from st. Louis or its vicinity.