Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-06-04
OVER 400 KILLED.
ST. LOUIS. MO-. THE SCENE OF
AN AWFUL CYCLONE.
Hundreds of Buildings Destroyed and
Many River Steamers sunk With All
on BoArd-scores Killed In Missouri
and Illinois Towns,

heavier in short time; the evening
breeze rustled through the trees with
soothing breath, but in few moments
the heavens grew darker, the breeze
Increased into a terrible wind mighty
thunders rolled and the heavens were
ablaze with lightning and The storm
was upon the city. The streets were
full of people going home from work
and a panic ensued as soon as the storm
broke; men were picked up and hurled
!. against the buildings; horses and car
! riages were sent flying here and there
and falling wires, full of the deadly
fluid, added to the horror of the scene.
For half an hour the reign of destruc-
ton continued and by the time it had
passed darkness had settled upon the
city. Electric light, telegraph and
telephone wires were down, the streets
were almost impossible on foot while
the shouts of the excited and hurrying
rescuers, mingled with the cries of the
wounded and means of the dying,
reached the ears in composite wall
of agony and horror,
Within "a hours after the storm S15
bodies has been removed from The ruins
on both sides of the river and it was
generally admitted that scores and
probably hundreds were yet imprisoned
in the wreck of dwellings, business
places, factories, etc, and the most
conservative estimate places the dead
at 400 and the injured at 600 with the
sad possibility of scores of deaths from
injuries. The storm did terrific dam
age at various points in Missouri and
Illinois before and after striking st.
Louis and East st. Louis, and by add
ing the killed and injured at these
points the total will reach fully SO
killed and roo injured.
The property loss will reach up into
millions, but insurance people, fremen
and police refuse to hazard even a
guess at accurate figures, although
$50, 900, 900 has been stated as rough
estimate. The uncertainty regarding
the loss of life and property is due
mainly to the wide extent of the havoc
wrought by the storm. The miles of
wrecked buildings as yet uneXplored
and the numerous collapsed factories,
towards the investigation of which
little progress has been made, may
hide almost any number of bodies, as
the police have been unable to secure
anything to make an accurate list of
the missing. In the factory district
many of the employees on duty at the
time the storm broke were without
relatives in the city, and their disap-
pearance would scarcely be noted,
even though they be buried in the
ruins.
The most furions work of the storm
was along Rutgers, Lafayette and Cho-
teau avenues and contiguous thorough
fares east of jefferson avenue. There
is not tree nor building standing
in Lafayette park. The wreck of the
city hospital was SO surrounded by
wreckage that it was barely possible
to reach it. BY far the most remark
able freak of the storm was at this
hospital About 200 patients were
scattered through the wards when the
tornado struck, but although the en-
tire upper story was cut off clean and
one wing RACED to the ground, but
one inmate was killed. The entire
building was rendered useless and the
tottering walls will be torn down and
and a new structure built. Many of
the handsome residences in Fourteenth
street and about Lafayette Park are
ruined, but the most damage was done
on Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth,
south along Choteau avenue in the
tenement house district.
The path of the storm is about a half
mile wide and over four miles long,
sweeping through the thickly popu-
lated southwest portion and across the
river into East St. Louis, embracing
almost the entire levee district of st.
Louis and appeared TO be the most de-
structive near the great Eads bridge.
The upper portion of the bridge, for a
pletely torn away, the great iron Cir
ders being twisted like strings and the
massive masonry torn away and hurled
to the tracks beneath. On the bridge,
just as the storm struck it, was Chi
cago & Alton passenger train. This
was turned completely over, as were
also trolley cars On the upper portion
of the bridge. All the passengers
were badly shaken up, but none were
seriously injured. A little TO the north
and directly on the river bank stood
the Belt Line warehouse, large
new brick structure. This was RACED
to the ground. The three upper sto-
ries of elevator Il were ripped off and
the roof of the Union elevator was
scattered for blocks. Directly across
the tracks from the Belt Line ware
house were the Vandalia general Off
ces and freight houses. OF the
general offices scarcely one brick
is left on top of another, while
of the freight sheds nothing remains
but pile of kindling wood. The de-
struction was complete, not more than
two or three of the employees escaped,
the remainder being caught like rats
and crushed to death. The path of the
storm thence TO the Relay station is
marked by an unbroken line of over
turned freight cars. splintered tcle-
graph poles and roohess houses TO the
right OF the bridge, where the bridge
trolley cars met the local street cars,
formerly stood a long row Of frame