San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-05-29

Chouteau and the thoroughfares
east OF Jefferson avenue. The
houses Of this quarter are toppled
over into streets, their furniture at
the bottom, over this the roofs and
all surmounted by a tangled mass
of wires, bricks and mortar and
poles.
CITY HOSPITAL WRECKED.
Lafayette park felt the full force
of the hurricane and not a single
tree is left standing. The city
hospital Is complete wreck and
will have to be rebuilt from the
foundation, but with all Its ruin, OF
its 200 inmates at the time the
storm struck 1t only one was killed,
and he by flying brick.
NOBLE RESCUE WORK.
The work Of systematic rescue
has only we'll begun. Five bodies
have been taken from the wreck Of
the saloon on the corner Of Rutger
and Seventh streets, but there are
at least a score under the ruins
that have not yet been reached.
The building was occupied as q
tenement house by eighteen fami-
lies, and how many are under the
ruins no one can guess. For whole
blocks the district between Six.
tenth and Eighteenth streets is so
blocked with debris that pedes-
TRANS cannot pass. In no part Of
the city Is the work of destruction
more evident than along the levee.
MoRGUEs FILLED.
The destruction In East st. Louis
Is even greater than in this city,
over the same area. The storm on
the east side of the river after de-
molishing tie end of the bridge
and overturning train and one or
two electric cars, literally swept
whole blocks OF buildings from
their foundation. The hospitals
and morgues here are literally
packed with the dead, and through
them steadily streams a mass of
disconsolate beings looking for the
face of some loved one who is miss
ing.
| RIVER BANK SWEPT CLEAN.
From the river bank to national
stock yards, little more than a
mile scarcely building is left. On
the ''islandr as it is called the de-
structton was awful. Here were
located the Vandalia freight house
and general offices, the river fer
ries and wharf boats and the hum
BILE dwellings Of the employees.
Nothing is left standing. The
place where freight houses and
dwellings formerly stood was liter
ally cleared by the fury of the
storm. In tho Vandalia freight
house twenty-five to thirty were
killed. Some of the bodies are
still in the ruins.
On Broadway from the river to
viaduct and on the east side for a
width of probably 600 yards there
is absolutely no semblance OF a
house, freight shed or cars left
standing.
The Big Four, Vandalls and
Chicago and Alton freight houses
are gone. The office force together
with the freight handlers at the
latter sheds sought refuge In box
cars to the north Of the platform
on the approach OF the storm and
owe their lives to that fact.
The National hotel at the Ma
tionsl stock yards Is wrecked, the
whole front being torn out, roof of
and every window on all sides
blown in.
STEAMERS ON LAND.
The Nielsen Morris Packing COM
pany plant is minus its two upper
floors. The river front for q thous-
and yards is one great mass OF
wreckage. Steamb boats, ferry boats,
some nearly submerged, others
high and dry on the shore. The
heavy stone masonry on the east
end OF the Eads bridge was cut off
at the railroad tracks while the APP
proaches are twisted and the
wreck trains are passing over very
slowly and carefully.
OUTSIDE REPORTS.
Reports from outside the city
and in Southern Illinois are not
more resssuring than the scene
within. At Clayton and at Van
dalia land at Irvington and at Rich
Hill the destruction was terrible.
1t is estimated that fifty lives have
been lost In the counties OF Jetfer-
son, Washington and Clinton. Out
side as inside the city, the real de-
struction will not be known for
days.
NOON REPORT.
ST.. LOUIS, May 29.--Desolation
still reigns supreme in the tornado