The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-06-09
Twister Struck, Missouri States Prison But Fail
ed to Wreck the Building and Release the
225O Men Who Are Locked Up There
BUILDINGS WRECKED BUT only Two HURT.
Fire Started and Convicts Under Heavy Guard
Were Set to Work and Fought the Flames
in Gallant and Effective Manner.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo-, June g.,
A cyclone struck Jefferson City last
night and wrecked five of the large
buildings at the state penitentiary
Fire started in the Sullivan Saddle
Tree factory, but was extinguished
with small loss by large force of
convicts under heavy guard. Only
two of the $3.50 convicts who were
thrown in panic by the storm were
injured.
In freakish way the cyclone swept
towards the penitentiary from the
northwest, and unroofed "a" and "E"
hail. two of the cell buildings in which
there were nearly 1900 convicts.
Further on within the walled in
closure 1t twisted the roofs and fire
walls from three other buildings. One
is used for the kitchen, dining hall,
chapel and library, one is occupied by
the Star Clothing company and one
by the Sullivan Saddle Tree factory.
The electric light wires and the
penitentiary lighting plant were put
out OF commission for two or three
hours. A large force OF guards are
busy cleaning up the wreckage and
stood guard all night to see That none
of the prisoners escape.
Warden Henry Andrae announced
that the convicts were quiet In the
wrecked cell building and are shell
tered from the heavy rain still falling
by the steel and concrete roofs OF
their cells. Only one concrete roof
was torn away.
The cyclone struck about 1880
o'clock The convicts had just been
brought in from supper and locked in
their cells when the roar of the storm
was heard. 1t swept down the river
with the sound of rushing water
Accompanying the wind was heavy
downpour of rain, veritable deluge,
that converted the streets of the city
into miniature creeks and rivers.
The convicts beat the walls of the
cells and some of them prayed aloud
and shrieked. The guards who walk
the long halls did what they could to
quiet them
1t was several minutes before quiet
was restored.
There was nobody in the three 9TH
er buildings unroofed and wrecked.
The library, one of the best prison col
lection Of books in the United States,
is believed to be badly damaged. 1t
was located in the building used for
the kitchen, dining room and chapel.
Tie fire in the Sullivan Saddle Tree
/ factory was burning flercely before 1t
was discovered This was extinguish-
4 ed without serious damage to the
buildings or to Sullivan's stock. 1t
was necessary to bring out large
4 force of convicts under heavy guard
to fight the flames.
The building occupied by the Star
Clothing company was damaged worse.
One of the walls of the building is
! leaning out about two feet. James
| Houchin, principal stockholder in the
| Star Clothing company, says his stock
I is badly damaged. The damage to his
stock is estimated at $25,000
Two convicts, who were going to
the library when the storm struck
were badly bruised UP by falling tim
Der. Neither will die. The yards are
filled with debris and are still mass
of broken telephone and light wires
Timbers were twisted and broken
into hundreds of fragments A stee
stairway leading up on the outside Of
the chapel building was twisted by
the force OF the wind.
Water was dripping into the upper
tiers of cells in the wrecked buildings
but the inmates were able to keel
dry. Before morning it was believed
the cells would be flooded if the rail-
/ keeps up.
The damage to the buildings will
exceed s25,00o, it is believed. Las
night 1t was impossible, declared War
den Andrae, to estimate the damag
accurately and it may exceed $4,000
There are about 2,250 persons i
the state penitentiary, SO the gravit
of the situation can be appreciated
The men are housed in three larg
, cell buildings, one constructed c
heavy stone and the other two {
brick The women occupy anothe
building at the entrance to the pri