The record-union., 1896-05-28
AN AWFUL CALAMITY.

CONTINUED from First Page.)
Ter, his wife and several children per-
ishing in the falling walls.
Among other structures demolished
were the National Hotel at the stock
yards, the Clipper Restaurant, the old
relay depot and the Bedling House, and
an old brick building used as the Van
dalia freight house, near the east end
of the Eads bridge, was completely de-
molished, a number of persons having
gone down in the ruins.
The East ST. Louis Journal building
was also destroyed.
SITUATION ONE OF HORROR.
ST. LOUIS, May 2S.-2:3O a. M
Shortly after midnight the fire depart
ment gained control of the conlagration
at East st. Louis, and the members of
the department began to assist the am
bulance corps in caring for the injured.
No attention was paid to the dead. The
streets were in Egyptian darkness, and
searchlights were placed on patrol wag-
ons in order to reach the location of
the injured. The ambulances were run
at breakneck speed and inside of one
hour at least twenty-five seriously in
jured were carried to the dispensary.
Their wounds were dressed as rapidly
as possible, and they We're carried to
houses miles away to await the result
of their injuries.
The scenes of death and suffering in
East St Louis are beyond the power of
description. Men, women and children
fell victims to the sudden swoop of the
elements, and the clang of the ambu-
lance only notified the survivors of the
fatal injuries of another citizen.
Men bringing information of the state
of affairs in the Inflated city of East
st. Louis are obliged to climb on hands
and knees across the broken girders Of
the Eads bridge. Superintendent Jones
of the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany, with a corps of repairers, made
the perilOus trip at midnight and re-
ports the situation one of horror. The
people are panic-stricken and nearly
200 are homeless. In addition to this,
is the horrible fear that some Of their
relatives have fallen a prey to the ele-
ments.
1t is simply impossible to get list
of the dead as carried to the morgue.
So far seventy-five bodies have been
found, and at this hour messengers are
constantly notifying the authorities of
the finding of lifeless remains of vic
TINS in bitches, under trees, trestle-
work, railroad transfer depot ruins and
in the demolished residences
AT the east telegraph switch tower of
the EadS bridge twenty unidentified
bodies are placed in CHASTITY rows on the
floor. OF these it is assumed that fully
three-Quarters are well-knoWn and
prosperous citizens of the city. The
identified dead so far includes Judge
Falk and his wife of Vandalia, who
were among the victims Of the relay
depot wreck.
The steamer Grand Republic is safe
and sound on the Illinois shore, with
school children.
The Fire Department officials in ST
Louis place the lowest estimate of dead
in this city at over 200.
In addition, nearly 200 squatters on
houseboats on lowlands on the Illinois
shore were caught unawares by the tor
nado, and nearly every life was sacri-
feed to the fury Of the storm
The storm in this vicinity abated at
IL o'clock last night, and inside of an
hour the temperature dropped nearly
80 degrees. At O'Clock this morning
the City Dispensary had cared for 105
injured victims of the storm, and forty
nine dead bodies had been reported to
police headquarters. No news from
outside localities can be secured until
daylight.
The east end of the Auditorium build
ing in which the Republican National
Convention will be held is total wreck,
but will be rebuilt Immediately.