Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1898-1906, 1902-07-23
TORNADO At BALTIMORE
ELEVEN LIVES WERE LOST.
Hundreds of Houses UnrOOfed-Large
Trees in Streets and Parks Were
Torn Up by the ROOts-Nine PeO-
pie Drowned and Many Injured
Storm Lasted Is Minutes.


Baltimore, July 21-A fierce lorna
do, characterized by a windstorm of
velocity, thunder, vivid
lightning and heavy rain, burst upon
Baltimore at 1870 p. m. Sunday, COM
ing from the southwest, with the net
result that II persons lost their lives,
hundreds of houses were unroofed,
trees in the public parks and streets
were torn up by the roots, many build
ings damaged and several people in
jured.
The storm exhausted it's fury in less
than Is minutes. The damage done in
the business part of the city was COM
paratively slight, being confined to the
blowing down of signs and injuries to
roofs. 1t was in the residence portion
along the river front and in the har-
Dor where the wind spent it's violence.
OF those who persisted, nine were
drowned in the harbor from open
boats, one was killed by falling tree
and one by live wire.
The drowning of Mrs. Schiller and
her children was the most pathetic in
cident of the storm. Michael Schiller,
with his wife and three children, &C
companied by his brother-in-law, Jo-
seph Cooper. and his wife, had gone
out into the harbor for sail in 80
foot boat. When the storm came
Schiller and Cooper took in sails.
Schiller sent his wife and children in
to the little cabin and he stood at the
tiller to keep the vessels head toward
the wind. A sudden gust of wind
threw the boom of the vessel around,
knocked Schiller down and pinned him
to the deck. Another gust capsized
the boat, releasing Schiller, who, with
Cooper and his wife. were thrown into
the water, leaving Mrs. Schiller and
her children pinned in the cabin.
Cooper saved himself and wife by
hanging to the bottom of the over
turned boat and Schiller saved him
self in the same way, after making
four unsuccessful attempts to get at
his wife and imprisoned children.
The crew from the schooner Ed
ward H. Hunt rescued Schiller and
Cooper and wife and towed the cap.
sized vessel to the wharf, where it
was righted and the dead bodies Of
Mrs. Schiller and her three children
taken from the cabin.
Thomas Carroll. with four other
young men, was out in the harbor with
a rowboat, which was capsized. Car.
roll was drowned, while his four COM
panions chung to the rudder of the
Merchants & Miners Transportation
company's steamship Chatham, from
which perilous position they were res,
cued by the tug Mary.
In Paradise grove, near Powhattan,
huge tree fell upon tent in which
a colored camp meeting was being
held, and several of the worshipers
were caught beneath it. The tree had
to be sawed into pieces before the i'm
prisoned men and women could be
released. The others we're not seri-
ously hurt.
A hole several feet in diameter was
blown into the wall of st. Mary's Star
of the Sea Catholic church, in South
Baltimore, and a portion of the stone
cornice weighing more than ton fell
to the street. No one was injured. A
boats crew from the German steamer
Breslau, at anchor in the harbor,
picked up two men from a boat that
had been capsized off Wolf street.
At the foot of Concord street the
Merchants & Miners Transportation
company's warehouse was unroofed
and rain poured in on the valuable
cargo stored there, doing damage esti-
mated at from 100000 to 100000.
The gas reservoir in South Balti-
more, containing about 10000 cubic
feet of gas, was blown over, the gas
exploding. Loss, $4,000. No one was
injured.
The damage to shipping in the har.
Dor was general, but not Of serious
nature.
The weather bureau reports that the
storm was more in the nature of a
whirlwind than a tornado. The wind
blew at the rate of about As miles an
hour and one-half inch of water fell.
The storm lasted but Is minutes. So
far as known it was confined to Balti-
more and suburbs.