The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1896-05-29
Awful Devastation in the
Tornado's Path.
STORM WITHOUT A PARALLEL
The Breaking-out of Fire Caused Ad-
ditional Terror-Great Damage
by the Flames.

ST. LOUIS, May 28.-Two hundred lives
snuffed out in this city; as many more
in East St. Louis; property destroyed in
value running into the millions; this is
the record made by the 9th day of May,
1896. This is conservative estimate.
No possible idea of the number of peo-
pie killed in the tornado that swept this
vicinity yesterday afternoon can be
made at this time. South st. Louis is
Uttered with the bodies of the dead.
SCENE OF RUIN.
When the sun rose on st. Louis and
vicinity this morning it showed scene
of horrible ruin and disaster. Wind,
rain and fire had combined in the mis-
sion of destruction. Two hundred lives
were lost in this city, and as many more
in East st. Louis, while thousands were
injured, many so severely that they can
not recover. The exact number will not
be known for many days. herhaps never,
for the debris of ruined buildings all
over the city covers hundreds of human
bodies. The damage to property will
aggregate many millions, but the exact
amount cannot be estimated with any
degree of certainty.
The terrible tornado that caused this
destruction struck the city yesterday
afternoon at 5:15 o'clock, and all parts
of the city and Eaet St. LOUIS felt the ef-
fects. The greatest damage on this side
of the river was inflicted with three
mile strip aloug the mighty stream.
Many buildings totally collapsed, others
were unroofed, while very few escaped
injury.
East st. Louis is gigantic cemetery.
Under the debris of the buildings of that
city are scores buried, whose bodies will
not be brought to the light for many
days, perhaps never.
BEFORE THE STORM.
Hours of sultriness, puffs of wind
coming by turns from all points of the
compass, the flying hither and thither
of light, mist-llke formations across the
dull, dark colored mass; these were the
characteristics of the afternoon which
brought to st. Louis the most disastrous
storm in the city's history. For hours
the torrents shifted, the wind blew hot
and cold, and the storm center devel-
oped. The fury of the elements was
borne within the city's limits. In the
west thunder storm developed. Early
mutterings indicated nothing more than
a downpour. with the ordinary electrical
accompaniment. This cloud came up
slowly at first from the west, beyond
Forest Park. As the black rim mounted
higher above the horizon, its arc en-
braced more territory to the north and
south. A strong wind from the east
began to blow right in the face of the
storm. It was the lower current.
Suddenly the wind stopped blowing
from the east and there swept from the
northwest a gale which made the best
built structures tremble. With the hur-
ricane, for that was the first form the
storm took, when it broke over the
western part of the city, came deluge.
From few minutes before until 5 80
this hurricane blew from the northwest.
Then there came a lull. The currents
shifted. In the southwest there came
into existence a storm cloud, with the
essential features of tornado, funnel
shape. This second storm burst upon
the city from the southwest. 1t came
IN on South Lafayette Park, struck the
city hospital, and from there tore its
way through the city to the river by q
northerly course. It wrought havoc
that will leave traces in that part of the