The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-07-14
DISASTERS OF THE YEAR
fn Five Months 1890 Acquires Z
Terrible Record
Hendrsds % Livss and HiHieas Of Del
Ian Destroyed BY Fire. F1oOd and
Railway Accidents An
Over the Land.

y
nonths 70 ITS credit. 1885 has written q
record Of destruction that win stand.
1t cannot be surpassed.
St Louis was the scene Of the hrst
horror Of the year. Compared with tho
present black misfortune that rests on
the city it was as nothing. January
q great stock of fireworks stored at
30 North Second street exploded. Tho
building and adjacent structures were
ruined and some six persons were killed
outright or suffered such injury they
died later. Thirty-two were seriously,
although not fatally, hurt
Early in February q great storm
whipped the eastern United States
coast. The greatest loss wss to prop
erty on shore. as the warning had been
fiuttering from signal stations so long
10 advance that the sailor men had
Rugged the docks. Four or Eve vessels
were destroyed. Hundreds Of houses
and other buildings were wrecked. In
the state of New Jersey the damage wa.
the heaviest. Bridges ond buildings OF
all kinds were destroyed. Bound Brook,
a small town near the ocean. was nat
tened as if some monster rood crusher
had trundled over it. The loss of prop
erty was great. the fatalities compare
lively few.
February 10 in Madrid several resi-
dents of the town were killed and much
property destroyed by the explosion Of
an aerolite. The sky traveller won't into
fragments Just over the city with the
deadly destructive effects of many
bombshells. In one factory which waa
Immediately below the center OF the ex-
plosion 10 workmen were killed.
OF accidents in mines there have been
three in this country marked by great
sacrifice of human life. In South Car
olina $50 men were killed. This was
followed By the caving in of . Tennes-
see shaft which resulted in the loss Of
81 lives. Sixty men were killed as the
result of gas explosion In the Vulcan
mine at Newcastle, Col. This accident
occurred February 10. Three days later
20 worknen in a Grecian stone quarry
were killed by the blowing up of the
giant powder. Il was at the noon hour
and the men were gathered 1t the sheds
getting their pay. They were crowded
and took the full force Of the dyna-
mite.
The came day an explosion Of gas IN
a mine in Wales killed 10 men. and II
more were buried by the falling earth
which was loosened By the explosion
A great food that came down the
Oequa buck valley in Connecticut March
1 swept away hundreds of thousands OF
dollars worth of mill property and
houses and drowned many persons.
Similar floods in eastern New York and
other Connecticut streams entailed
property losses aggregaing several
milliona-
March % Q cyclone left trail of
death and ruin across southern Illinois.
Alton was q heavy sufferer. April 10
northern Ohio was Visited by cyclone.
The loss in Sandusly county was great.
Few persons were killed.
Cripple Creek. the wonder mining
camp. was destroyed by fire the latter
part of April. On the 25th of the month
the fire broke and destroyed nearly all
the business part of the city before IL
was quelied. The damage was about
s1.500.0Oo. Four days later the re-
mainder of tho town was wiped out.
The total loss was nearly s., SOC. 900. May
an explosion of gasoline in a business
10 oil
wrecked two buildings and killed IL
persons. More than 20 were seriously
injured. Five days later fires at Ash
land. Wis, destroyed five lives and many
buildings and lumber. May IL forests
in the southern part of New Jersey
burned. The flames swept over great
areas of Cape May and Atlantic coun-
ties. Houses and barns and live stock
also burned. but no loss of human lie
was reported.
The cyclone season opened May -
with windstorrns in Wisconsin and Hi
nois- The principal damage was 10
crops. buildings and animals. In the
two states six deaths only were caused
by the storms. so far as known The
wind in this section was but a zephyr
compared with that which blew at
Sherman, Tex, Hay IL This was
true cyclone. and In its path was the
local baseball grounds. wherein were
gathered 1000 or 1000 people Of Sher-
man and neighboring towns. More than
100 were killed and several times the
number were injured. The day follow
ing. Scioto. H., a email town near Bush
nell. was wrecked by hurricane. and
May IT Kansas towns suffered similar
ly- Sabetha, Kan. was the most heavj-
ly injured. IL was q mass of ruinG-
Afterward came tie viDdstorns in
Michigan, tho Elgin and Rockford and
illinois cyclone. which had
not exhausted it's fury In Iowa An
other aud less extensive cyclone passed
orer southern illinois. Thirteen per-
Sons were drowned at Cairo by the
swapping of steamer which lay IN the
path of the wind. The next day but
one 81. Louis wac in ruins From May
q TO May p il Is probable that / zoo per-
sops lost their lives in the storms which
have ragged IN a radius % 40 miles o.
Chicago The property losses viii eg-
gregate upward of s3s.oOo. 900.
In the cycione excitement three Other
jissstersp>ssed almost un noticed Blue
Island. H. nearly Lost IN place on sh.
nap a. town Fire destroyed g houses
and business blocks May II. On tbs
same day the schooner Aver aud x.<asn-
tr Onoko coIIided II Racipe. Five
rsilors were drowned The other day a
weak railroad bridge az Victoria. p.
G. PERMITTED q loaded passenger car