Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-08-23

wi. N. WI anu WIof
o. D. WILSON.
CHARLES SIMS.
JOHN EPLEY.
MRS. HURD.
MISS MOODY.
st. Louis, Aug. 20.-A tornad0 G.l
small proportion but of extreme fury
swept the residence portion Of North
St. Louis late yesterday afternoon, re-
sulting In the death of John Ellington
and the injury Of fifty persons, and
damage to property of 100000.
Most of the injured suffered from
cuts and bruises, and several sustain
ed fractured limbs.
Given No Warning.
So local in character was the tor.
nado that residents of the unaffected
portions of the city knew nothing
about 1t until the reports of the dam
| tge wrought began to reach them. No
rain accompanied the visitation. Ear.
lier in the day rainstorm had swept
over the city south of the path of the
| tornado, but not a drop had fallen in
North st. Louis. The sky had cleared
after the rain, and the atmosphere be-
came oppressively hot and murky.
otherwise there was no premonition of
disaster.
!. The sky had cleared and the atmos-
| phere became murky and hot when
/ the citizens Of North st. Louis noticed
dark clouds approaching from the
southwest. An arm was seen to shoot
to the ground like gigantic cable, at
Nineteenth and Angelrodt streets, and
with swiftness swept east along An
gelrodt street for ten blocks turned
north and swept three blocks along
Broadway, jumped eight blocks north
east to Brennan street and the river,
where considerable property along the
river was destroyed, and jumped to
the middle of the river and tossed the
ferryboat about.
Destructive In It's Fury.
| Leaving the ferry, the tornado
| jumped to the Illinois bank near Mad.
ison where it demolished several dwell
lings and the Liederkranz hall, and
blew down portion of the Madison
Cooper works, killing Ellington.
Severe damage was done also to the
buildings in Venice and Granite City
Illinois, and number of persons were
injured.
4 In the stiffness that followed the
wind cries were heard on all sides as
frightened persons ran about the
street. Not a telegraph or telephone
or trolley pole was left standing along
the streets swept by the wind, and
trees were piled in heaps, the width Of
the tornado, a block and a half. Houses
were unroofed, window panes demol.
ished, several large manufactures
partly demolished and the streets lit.
tered with debris.
Street Car Wrecked.
/ A Broadway car containing eleven
passengers, was buried under six poles,
wrecking the car. The motorrn an was
lslightly bruised, but the passengers es.
capped
Probably the heaviest loss suffered
by single concern. was the destruc.
ton of the Neidringhaus rolling mill.
The plant covers two squares. The
smoke stack was blown down. and half
the plant demolished, entailing a loss
Of 5000. Six employees were injured.
Part of the roof and two cupolas
were blown from the Catholic church.
and one side of the Buck stove plant
was blown in.
A calm settled over the city mined
| ldLCly IoiioWliS IllS SLUIu anu no rain
fell. Ambulances were rushed to the
scene and the fire department respond
ed from all directions.
Fair Grounds Not Damaqed.
The storm was seen from ST Louis
but there was not the slightest indi-
cation of windstorm. No damage was
done at the worlds fair grounds, which
are five miles from the path of the
tornado
The households "Nevermind" and
'Iota" from Muscatine occupied by
Charles Schmelger, and George A. Mil
Her, and families. who were visiting
the fair, were wrecked by the winds,
and the occupants had a narrow es-
cape.
Woman Averts Panic.
During rain storm last night while
a concert was in progress in Festival
hall at the exposition, lightning put
out all the lights. The audience be-
came frightened and panic was pre-
vented by a woman's voice taking up
the strain of America" others join.
ing in when the crash of thunder roll,
j ed away.
In the Chinese village on the Pike,
800 Chi y who had just arrived, be.
came ~ c-stricken and the offlcers
We're forced to draw their reyolvers to
subdue the excitement. Lightning
| struck near by and one of tho Chinese