The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1896-05-30
TERRIBLE FATE
A Disastrous Cyclone Sweeps
it's Awful way Through
St. Louis, Mo.
Number of Dead and Injured
Persons May Reach One
Thousand.
Many Buildings Demolished
and the Damage Will go
up in the Millions.

CHICAGO, May 27.-One OF the greatest
disasters In recent years overwhelmed
the city OF st. Louis tonight In the shape
OF a cyclone, which began shortly after
5 o'clock, and for thirty minutes tore its
awful way through the city with velo-
city Of over eighty miles an hour. The
telegraph wires are almost totally de-
stroyed, and reports are very meagre,
dead and wounded will number one
thousand, and .he damage done will
amount to millions of dollars.
The city hospital which fortunately
survived the storm, is filed to overflow
ing with mangled men and children, and
the morgue within two hours after the
end OF the storm was so full of corpses
1t WIS necessary to provide other quar-
ters for the reception Of the dead.
In addition to those who were killed
in their houses, or In the streets, hun
dreds are dead beneath the waters of the
Mississippi river. or all the steamers on
the lesee when the storm broke out, but
one is now afloat. All the others have
gone down, In many Instances every sout
on beard being lost, and In others not
over two or three being able to reach
place Of safety. Ameng the boats de-
stroyed Is the excursion steamer Great
Republic, one Of the largest steamers on
the lower river. Not man escaped
from her, and II is said she was crowded
with excurslonists when the storm came.
The center of the city Is wreck. Many
buildings are demolished and others
partially wrecked. The streets were
utterly impossible fer street cars, and In
many places progress on foot was mat
| ter OF great difficulty. TO add to the
| horrors of the night the electric light
plant was rendered incapable of service
and the gas lamps are also shut off, leav-
| ing 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 chocked-up condition Of the streets
| and Of the large number OF fremen who
were engaged in the imperative work Of
rescuing the dead and wounded. The
only authentic information from the
| stric''en city the evening OF the cyclone
| was seat out by an agent of the Assc-
ciated Pr, So, who managed to reach an
, outlying telegraph office and send a
! brief dispatch as follows:
A tornado blowing at the rate Of eighty
miles an hour struck st. Louis at 5:l5 to-
| night and ragged for half an hour with
great fury. AS result hundreds OF lives
were lost on both sides OF the river. Many
buildings we're blown down and several
river steamers sunk with all on board.
At present IL is impossible to estimate
I the mum Der OF lives lost. The hospitals
are full OF injured and the mergles con-
| tain many dead bodies, while numbers Of
slain lay everywhere among the ruins OF
| demolished buildings. A portion OF the
east end OF the Eads bridge was de-
| stroyed.
| At Drake, H., a school house was de-
moisLed, and eighty children we're
killed, and many others fatally injured.
Later reports state that the terrific storm
visited many states, and on every hand
I dealt death and destruction.