The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-03-24
Gut BIG
JAGGED HOLE
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UHUULU HULL
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those they believe met death. The
hospitals are besiesed by frantic peo-
pie, all demanding information regard
ing the injured. Every available room
in all the hospitals in Omaha, South
Omaha and Council Bluffs are filled
to capacity, in many cases the ones
who are least injured being placed on
cots in the Railways and corridors.
Shortly after 8 o'clock the United
States troops, militia and police threw
q line entirely around the path of the
storm
Looting has been going on all dur
ing the night, according to police, al
though no arrest of the ghouls has
been made Sightseers and victims
all tell of robberies perpetrated while
the panic reigned after the storm sub
sided.
A soldier who stood guard all night
at the corner of Twenty-fourth and
Lake streets said seven bodies had
been taken from the place when he
arrived and that ten or fifteen more
were removed after he appeared at the
scene Of the disaster.
Babies Blown Away
Two babies were blown out of the
building and others piled in a heap on
the floor when the storm struck the
Child Saving Institute at Forty-second
and Jackson
The babies were in their nursery on
the second floor Of the west wing Of
the building, which was partly blown
away. One Of the babies blown away
was found nearly block distant.
dead. Her name was Thelma. The
other baby, Cynthia, had not been
found at an early hour this morning.
Aside from bruises and the fright,
the rest of the babies were not badly
injured.
Not single telephone girl as much
as left her switchboard when the
storm struck the city. The exchange
buildings escaped serious injury and
the girls remained on duty as il moth
Ing had happened. Every telephone
official in the city reported for duty,
and the lines were repaired and put
in operation as fast as possible. Most
of the city could be reached by tele-
phone three hours after the storm.
The Webster Telephone exchange
at END and Lake streets became
center for rescue work as soon as
Sundays cyclone had passed. Ply
s1cians and nurses were summoned to
the building and army officers head
quarters were established there.
One hundred and seventy-six young
Women were working at the switch
board when the cyclone struck. Every
window In the building was broken
out and considerable damage was done
tc the building, but the switchboards
remained intact. All night the force
OF operators continued to work at the
board.
Within five minutes after the storm
struck every girl was at her place at
the switchboards and many continued
to plug in while broken glass was
sHoWSIlHg ABOUT them.
One of the rest rooms the furni-
ture soaked with water an covered
with blood, was converted into a tenn
porary morgue and bodies from the
surrounding afflicted district were
held there awaiting ambulances
Nurses and physicians occupied an.
other room, where injured persons
were stretched upon the floor. F. E
Russell lay upon the floor, his body
covered with blood and his face dis
figured almost beyond recognition
Russell had been buried under 8
brick wall in one of the oath street
buildings that were demolished Fire
surrounded him on all sides, and he
had almost persisted when dragged
from under the burning ruins. Rus
sell was delirious while lying on the
floor OF the temporary hospital In the
telephone exchange and constantl,
talked about The fire, which he feared
was still about him e
The Rev. Father p. ]. Judge, pas
tor of the Sacred Heart church,
little north of cath and Lake streets
was in the telephone building, speak
ing comforting words to the sufferin,
and praying for the dying. Man.
members of the priests congregation
were injured, though service was no
going on at the time.
Telephone poles. trees and wrecke,
houses filled all the streets around tn
telephone building. making it impos
sible for any vehicles o get near tn
place.
Automobiles passing were all urge
to stop. either to get doctor or t
take the injured and dying to hospit
ais.
A street car on north side lin
was totally demolished by the cy