The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-05-29
Revised Estimates Consid-
erably Reduce the Dam
age to Property.
HUNDREDS OF LIVES LOST
Thrilling Incidents of the Cyclone
Calamity-Thousands
Badly Hurt.

IN TINS city ana vicinity py the StoTin VI
Wednesday night. 1t will be many days
before the exact facts are known, if they
are ever known at ALL 1t is true that
in this city and East st. Louis the rec
ords of the Health Department viii show
the number of interments. so that the
number of dead within the municipal linn
its will eventually be ascertained, but no
such verlfication is possible in the country
= districts where the loss of life was un-
doubtedly greater than al hrst repo3aaSSih. rep.3laSii
The property loss. OF course, IS practicaiiS
an unknown quantity, and hgureS vary
greatly. The best that can be done IS 70
average the estimates Oh lAe coHlpetei'
authorities
In St. Louis, the number of dead re-
ported to ahe authorities up to tour
o'clock this morning was l4S. OF Wnch
number 1l6 were identified and n unldenti-
fed. OF these the larger proportion were
at the morgue. or reported at Lne uliaer-
takers establishments. But there are
undoubtedly many others awaiting purlal
at private residences and 1T is stlli more
certain, unfortunately, that the removal a.
other victims of the storm as yet un-
accounted for Still there can be no doubt
beneath falling. buildings, were largely
exaggerated and the number to be ae-
counted for in this way win not be SO
large as was at first feared.
fore, justifies the belief that the, unre-
ported-those in private houses and those
unrecovered from wrecked buildings-will
total dead in st. Louis up TO about zoa
and it is believed the eventual verifica ton
of the death roll will not show yaria-
ton of more thah ten from that ngure.
The count of the wounded is more diftl-
cult matter. The number of injured IN the
regular and improviSed hospitals affords
little index of the true situation. Only
the more seriously injured were taken to
hospitals, or if they were they seized the
first opportunity to go to their homes,
while hundreds who sustained more or
less serious injuries were at home at the
time. and consequently have not inquired
in the. published list of the wounded. TAX
ing the police and hospital reports for|the
calculation, it is estimated that those who
sustained injuries which may be called
serious, that is broken limbs, internal in
juries, fractures of the skull and similar
ounds about 400 The slightly wounded
eannot be estimated, and @ u N not til lseiy seE
eral hundreds of the actual figures. 1t is
only safe to say that those who sustained
bruises. scratches and contusions and
by the lighter class of flying wreckage,
number thousands. Many of them did not
need the attention of a physician. and for
this reason no account win be accessible
as to this class of casualties.
Across the river in East st. Louis the
number of dead reported to the authori-
ties up to five O'Clock this morning was
113. Contrary to bhe first impression,
: the loss of life in the Illinois city was
not so great as in st. Louis proper. This
is now known beyond doubt. There was
more damage rela lively on the east than
{ on the west bank of the river, but to
offset this, the territory was more thinly
settied-that is the houses were further
apart and contained fewer inmates.
Therefore, while East ST. Louis suffered
more in proportion to population, the
list of dead and injured is smaller than
that across the bridge. 1T is not be-
lieved that the dead unreported to the
police will number more than sixty or
seventy. making the total foot mp 175
at the outside Another mistaken idea
in relation to the situation in East St.
Louis is that the storm disorganized the
whole system of fire and police protec-
ton. AS a matter Of fact there has at
no time, except for few hours on We'd
nesday night Immediately following the
cyclone, been the slightest hitch in the
working of either department. The diff
ulty at that time was wholly because of
the prostration of the municipal tele-
graph system, which rendered the work
of Dhe fire department difficult, but at
no time has there been the least relax
alton of the discipline and effectiveness
OF the police, and it is a notable fact
that the East st. Louis police nave kept
the casualty statistics far more accu-
ratey than has been the case in st.
Louis itself. They estimate the seriously
injured at from 200 to go and their
accuracy in the matter of the death list
justifes the belief that the estimate Of
the injured will be little cut of the way.
In the ms, ter of slightly injured the
difficulty 5 the same as in st. Louis,
and nothing but guesswork can be ven
tured. Probably Six or seven hundred
persons have received minor wounds.
Leaving St. Louis and following the
track OF the storm as it swept through
Missouri and Illinois, the figures become
more indefinite. he telegraph wires are
still in demoraized condition and so
are the country correspondents. All sorts
OF rumorS have yet to be s.fted and de-
Iberate fakes run down. There have
been stories of loss of life and destruc-
~. sis ~-l-<-
the storm. while en- the other hand it, is
altogether probable that there are many
deaths and injuries in the country dis
fricts yet unreported. A careful scrutiny
OF the data at hand, however, justiies
the statement that the following figures
will be found to be approximately cor
rect when full reports have been receive
ed
vandelia, H. and vicinity, 1s killed and
centralia. ILL.,, and vicinity, 40 killed. IS
injured.
Mt. Vernon. H., and vicinity. S killed. 20
New Madrid. Ill, and vicinity. killed,
80 injured.
Richheld, ILL.,. killed.
Rushville. Ill., killed, 26 injured
New Baden, H., killed. 10 injured
Jefferson City. H., killed.
Harmony, In Killed
Brinker Station, H., killed, 50 injured.
Breckenridge, Ill.,. killed.
Fairfield. ILL.,. and Mascoutah, ILL.,. each
/ killed.
Gratiot, Mo-. A killed.
Mexico, Mo-. and vicinity, killed. 30
injured.
Warsaw, Ind, 2 killed, snjured
The foregoing figures are believed to
be authentic. But there are besides re-
ports which may or may not be true,
OF two killed and eight injured at Boyd,
Ill. one killed and five injured at irving
ton. III. and general statement of a
large number killed and inifred in M