The news boy., 1896-06-06
Days OF Toll Necessary to Disen-
tomb Many Of the Victims.
The List of Injured Will Foot Up Hun.
dreds, But the Aggregate May
Y Never be Known.
The Property Loss VIII Foot Up Many
Millions of Dollars.

J
ST. LOUIS, May 2s.-The terrible epi-
'demic of storms and tornadoes that
has devasted various portions of the
country during the past few weeks
seems to have reached it's eliminating
point in st. Louis and vicinity Wednes-
day evening, resulting in a scene OF
widespread destruction difficult to
realize and an aggregate loss of human
life that when the full tale is told will
reach into the hundreds, while many
hundreds more received injuries that
will long remain as q reminder of one
of the wost disasters that ever befel
the western portion of the continent
Nearly all Of Wednesday afternoon
there were indications that there
was storm brewing, and people on
the streets wore an anxious look as
they viewed the threatening clouds,
but none imagined that there was GO
ing to be anything more than thun-
der storm, as intimated in she weather
forecast for the day. Shortly before
five o'clock, however, a blinding flash
of lightning followed by terrific crash
Of thunder told that the beginning of
The storm was at hand The rain clouds
began moving over the city from the
west, but were met by a strong
wind from the northeast, which, after
few minutes struggle with the west
erly current, seemed to double back
towards the southeast. Then there
ssw ept down tom the northwest ter
rife gale. accompanied with perfect
IL voiv Syh oh
thing in its pathway tremble. Until
$50 this hurricane continued its furi-
ous onslaught. Then the storm took
a trend to the north and swept the
BUSINESS district between Broadway
and the river. Boats were blown from
their moorings and capsized before the
eyes of the people on shore. 1t is i'm
possible to say as yet how many
were drowned. Several boats are
missing. At East st. Louis,
where the storm shifted after de-
vastatins portions of this city, the
damage Is awful. There is scarcely
building standing in the town. When
the storm passed the dead and injured
were lying in the streets. From East
st. Louis it spread away to the north.
In the records of the local weather
bureau she wind has never blown with
the velocity it displayed yesterday.
For nsnrly thirteen minutes the
speed registered on the observatory
tower was so miles an hour and this
point wcs well removed from the center
of the ltorp. During the tornado, and
for long time after it passed. the rain
fell in sheets. Lightning struck numer-
ous buildings, and the property loss by
fire alone will be enormous. The entire
CITY lighting and the electric street
railway system in the southe rn part OF
the city were destroyed, and the
streets were lined for miles with aban-
duned cars, idle aud motionless.
"A terrible feature of the storm was
the blowing down of the city hospital.
The entire west wing and part of the
roof on the north wing of the RAM
shackle old structure was blown away.
Two patients were killed and num-
iber seriously injured. How many of
the unfortunates of the city resting in
the hospital walls at the time the
storm struck it will die as the result
of the exposure to the elements can
not be conjectured.
There was great loss of life in the
path of the tornado. Down various
thoroughfares in the path of the storm
there is scarcely house standing.
Choteau avenue was almost blown of
the earth from one end to the other,
and Gratiot street is heap of ruins.
All along in the most thickly-settlea
portions of the city just south of the
railroad tracks in the Mill Creek val
ley parties searched all night for
bodies. Dozens of men, women and
children are undoubtedly under the
ruins.
Skies as black as ink and steady
rain interfered greatly with the work
of rescue during the night. The city
was in total darkness, and the streets
were q litter of broken, twisted wires.
All electric currents were ordered
turned off. and still there was danger
from the mass of wires. In the ruined
districts calcium lights We're made to
do Illuminating duty on the streets,
but the labors of those carrying on the
effort to get out the victims were neces'
sarily retarded.
The storm came at time OF the
day when it was easiest to paralyze
the machinery of the health and police
departments on account of the shut
ting of Of the lights. Men walked the
streets at the risk of their lives
Thieves and thugs were abroad work
ing in the cover OF the darkness. The
streets were almost impassable In
places, because of the piles Of rubbish
littering them. The entire southern
part Of the city as well as the lower
downtown portion was mass OF de
bris-trees, roofs, signs and almost
: every Imaginable sort ofwreckage.
The darkness Of the night hid from
view the full force of the damage
which daylight revealed In CHASTITY dis
tinctness. At this. time lists of thu
killed and wounded arc incompiete, TO
the reason that the surgeons in tn
various .plsces throughout the cit.
where the wounded are being carst
~ Asse psss teo buay y ssk -