The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1896-07-29
WOnld Have Rivaled That at st.
Louis, Except That Hills
interviewed.
AS 1t Was, Three Distinct Rec
Ords of the Weather Bureau
Were Broken.
A Large Number Of Injured, But
Only a Few Reported
Killed.

PITTSBCRG, July E3.-lne Iull eXtenC
of the damage wrought by the hurri-
cane that passed over Pittsburg during
the night was not known until daylight.
when wreck and ruin were apparent on
all sides Steeples were blown from
churches and adjoining buildings
crushed. houses were unroofed, trees
broken off and in some cases torn up by
the roots, while the havoc caused by the
heavy ram fall of last week, was re-
peated. Summed up, at O'Clock a. m,
with many outlying districts to hear
from the result was, 2 lives lost, 35
injured, many it is feared fatally, and
property damaged to the extent OF
100000.
Three Records Were Broken.
Three meteorological records were
broken. 1t was in the first place the
hottest day of the year, the thermom-
eter at 4 O'Clock registering 93 degrees,
the maximum point. The rainfall OF
minutes beats all records in the bureau,
which extends back 2s years. From
4 80 to 4 :36 over a third Of an inch Of
rain fell into the gauge on the roof Of
tue AhV otASA
record broken was that a very cold
wave passed over the city during the
storm. The registering thermometer in
the weather bureau showed that in As
minutes the temperature fell from 80 to
II degrees, and then went back to "a.
Had it not been that the slightest
change is registered in ink, this
phenomenon would not have been no.
ticed The sudden change i'll a large
extent caused the terrible electrical dis
play that continued without intermis-
sion until midnight. Up to o'clock
the rainfall was l.42 inches, and as the
ground is thoroughly soaked, all of 1t
will reach the rivers, and the food of
Saturday will probably be repeated.
Had n Perfect Cyclone Formed.
Colonel Frank Ridgeway, the local
forecast official. was at his desk when
the first storm cloud darkened the sky.
He said that he had never seen q more
perfect cyclone formation in the clouds,
and that the city was not visited by a
cyclone worse than that which caused
the ST. Louis horror, is due to the inter-
yening hills. The circular movement
Of the wind was broken in the lower
strata, or else there would have been a
path plowed through the two cities
several blocks wide.
The damage to properly was general
and various The wind unroofed dozens
of houses, while others were damaged
by the water washing their foundations
away. Still others were struck by light.
ming. The traction lines, as usual were
compelled to suspend operations. Great
heaps of dirt and debris from the pre-.
vious floods, piled near the tracks, were
washed down again, and the only lines
which escaped serious delays were those
on the South Side. In the Pennsyl.
vania avenue mill district, 25 large
smoke and draught stacks were blown
down, buildings unroofed, trees were
uprooted and scarcely house in the
district passed through the storm intact
Butlerest got repetition of the storm
of July Is, and the persons who suffered
property loss on that occasion had the
same expression. The East End got it,
hardest touch of the year. Telegraph
poles went down under the wind, fence:
and outbuildings were destroyed anC
large buildings suffered the loss Of roof.
- and windows.
Brushton and Williamsburg suffered
to considerable extent, but not 81
badly as the districts nearer the river
The Second avenue, Fifth avenue ant
the hill districts got the full fury of th'
storm, and the damage is general ant
widespread. Windows, trees and small
structures were destroyed. Man!
houses were unroofed, and it was re
markable that there were not NOR,
persons seriously injured. The tele
graph and telephone systems of the tw'
cities were badly damaged. All tn
police and fire alarm wires were wrecked
to q greater or less extent, but b,
hard work during the night, they hav
been put in fair shape again.