The Washington times., 1913-03-24
EIGHTY ARE KNOWN
DEAD IN TORh,.-
Troops Guard Ruins as Res
cuers Work Hard to
Recover Victims.

horror of last nights storm broke upon
grief-stricken Omaha today when Gov
ernor Morehead. Mayor Dahlman. and
Police Commissioner ]. J. Ryder stated
that the death list would reach 800 in
Omaha alone. exclusive of Ralston and
Council Bluffs.
Late reports from Council Bluffs
stated that four more bodies have been
taken from the ruins of homes in the
path of the storm. 1t now is believed
that the twister continued further east
and more fatalities are expected to be
reported.
The property loss now is estimated at
s10,0O0,0O0. and a canvass Of every tor
nado insurance firm in Omaha leads to
the belief that the loss is covered by
only 100000 insurance. This is due
partly to the old Indian prophecy,
handed down for centuries, that Omaha
was immune from high winds. This has
been the confident belief of every resi-
dent. as the city has frequently been
visited by high winds. but never has
received any damage until last night.
Plead To Learn Dead.
Weeping. hysterical women stand In
front of the undertaking parlors in
small knots, begging officials for in
formation regarding those they believe
met death. The hospitals are besicged
by frantic persons. all demanding in
formation regarding the injured Every
available room in all hospitals in
Omaha, South Omaha, and Council
Bluffs are filled to capacity. in many
q ha WI q in O.
ing placed on cots in the Railways and
corridors. Shortly after o'clock United
States troops, militia. and police threw
line entirely around the path of the
storm.
Looting has been going on all during
the night, according to the police, al
though no arrests of the ghouls has
been made. Sightseers and victims all
tell of robberies perpetrated while the
panic reigned after the storm subsided.
At O'Clock this morning Governor
Morehead rushed TO Omaha on special
train with Adjutant General Hall on
tour of inspection along the path of the
cyclone.
Tears stood In the executives eyes as
he viewed the ruins of what had once
been Omaha's most beautiful residence
district
Militia Called Out.
The sight that presented itself is un-
equaled in the history of the State.
Plans and maps of the path of the
storm were plated on the ground by
army engineers called from Fort Crook.
Calls were issued for three companies
of militia from outside Omaha, while
the company here in the city was mo-
bilized to carry on the rescue work
Three hundred soldiers from Fort Crook
are now working on the wreckage, aid
ed by the entire police force and most
of the city firemen. More bodies are
being momentarily taken from the
ruins and II is believed by the police
the list of dead will reach the two hum
dred mark. Omaha homes have been
thrown wide to the homeless victims
Relief parties are offering every aid TO
those who are without clothing. Nearly
every home within a radius of ten miles
| of the stricken district Is filled with VIC
tins.
4 fund is being rapidly raised for re-
lief work Several prominent men have
already donated large amounts. The
Commercial Club has thrown its luxuri-
| Gus club rooms open as place OF re-
fuGe for members who suffered In the
cyclone.
Many Bodies Are Found.
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 re-
| moved after he appeared at the scene
of the disaster.
Two babies were blown out of the
building and the others piled in a heap
| on the floor when the storm struck the
Cnild's Saving Institution at Forty-sec-
| ond and Jackson streets. The babies
were in the nursery on the second floor
| OF the west wing of the building. which
! was partly blown away. One 0 the
babies blown away, was found nearly d
block distant. dead. Her name was
| Thclma. The other baby. Cynthia, had
not been found early today. Aside
! from bruises and the fright, the rest OF
/ the babies Were not badLs .njurcd.
Not one telephone girl left her switch
/ board when the storm struck the city.
The cXChang" buildings escaped serious
| injury and the girls remained on duty
| as II nothing had happened. Every tele-
graph 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
| el-phone three nOurs after tn" storm.
| The Webster telephone cXhcanGe. Al
I Twenty-second and Lake streets, be-
| came 4 cant"r for rescue work, soon
! as the cyclone had passed. Physicians
| and nurses were summoned TO the
! building and army officers headquar:-
| crs were established there. one humid
| red and scVenty-siX Young women were
| working at the switchboard when the
cyclone struck. Every window in the
! ui'dinS was broken out and cOnsid-
cradle damage was d0Ic to the build
! ing, but the swItchD0ards remained in
! tact. All night the force Of operators
! continued TO work at the board.
Girls At Their Places.
| 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 wls
| shoWering about them. or" of the rest
rooms. the furniture soaked with water
and stained with blood. was converted
| into temporary morGuc and bodies
| from the surrounding afflicted district
| were held there awaiting ambulances.
! Nurses and physicians were in another
| room. where injured iCrsons were
! stretched on the floor.
+. =. Russell lay Oh the floor. his
| BODY covered with Iluod and his fac"
! 1ishPured almost beyond Pcoenition
| He had been buried by II brick wal
under one of the Twcntyfourth street
| I,tti- hot