Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-06-11

all the victims brought In were complete
ly naked, stripped by the violence of the
storm. Speed was necessary in treating
them and the gentle, kindly words OF the
surgeon who has plenty Of time were not
spoken. 1t was hurry, hurry, hurry. A
man with one fractured leg would give
way on an operating table to a man with
both legs fractured, or a woman with her
tender flesh hanging in shreds. Little
children, torn and crushed, were brought
in and laid before the surgeons, their
shrill cries and pitiful means contrasting
with the bowls Of the more powerful
adults. They came in a swift stream that
seemed to be without end, all night long,
and 1t appeared to those who handled
them that the sights and sounds grew
more terrible as the hours crept by.
Among the Mangled.
The scenes at the hospital were repe-
tition of those at the dispensary. 1t was
at the morgue that the full force of the
disaster was brought to the understand
ing. The little slate-colered building on
Twelfth and Spruce was the magnet that
drew funeral procession, radiating from
every part Of the South Side. First, the
slabs were filled in the usual way, one
body to slab, and then two slabs were
placed together and made the resting
place for four bodies. Still the corpses
came. They were dumped in like grist into
a mill. The slabs were soon crowded and
the ice boxes were put in use. 1t took
but a short time to fill the boxes and the
doors were closed for a few minutes,
while a general shifting Of the mutilated
forms was made. The next time the doors
al Ill III L
placed on a slab and the boxes were filled
to the top, as boy piles wood into the big
box behind the kitchen stove. When all
the receptacles provided for the use of
the dead were full to OVERLOOKING, the
tired morgue attaches laid the bodies on
the floor, and those who came to search
for loved ones were confronted by a
spectacle well fit to stagger grave digger.
All night long st. Louis and East st.
Louis were cities alone In their terrible
desolation, almost entirely cut off from
communication with the rest of the world,
and without exception the streets Of this
city were dark tunnels, and her homes
were the homes Of fearful people. Dead
and dying death and injury, were the sole
topic Of conversation. To those who slept
came dreams Of rushing storms carrying
the bloody victims Of it's fury in out
stretched arms. To those who spent the
night in work In the devastated district
came a surfeit Of sickening experiences
that will haunt them for months to come.
And in all the horror of the black night
and its terrible developments reigned
feeling Of dread for what might be dis
closed by the day. When the first gray
coloring in the eastern sky gave evidence
Of the coming of the light, the watchers
gazed with mingled feelings of thankful
ness and fear. Objects became discerni-
BILE dimly as the sun mounted higher on
the course Of his daily journey, empha-
sizing the ruin that was rather felt than
seen in the gloom Of the night.
After the Storm.
The first reports of the great storm
were considerably exaggerated, as is usu-
ally the case when such a calamity &C.
ours. 1t was impossible in the confusion
and darkness to obtain definite informa-
ton, and the stories Of havoc and fatality
were magnifed by the exciting influences
of the situation. The number Of killed,
which was hastily estimated at 1000, is
now known to be less than 500 for st.
Louis and East st. Louis, while the de-
struction of property may be put at not
to exceed $5,OOO,0O0. 1t is impossible to
tell how many were wounded, but the
list is likely to be several times as large
as that of the dead; and there are hun
dreds of houseless and destitute families,
thankful in their distress that they es-
capped with their lives. The work of sue
coring the needy is being carried on with
all possible diligence and effectiveness
There was q quick response of public SYM
pathy and charity to the demands of the
occasion. and well organized efforts Of re-
lief give assurance that no suffering will