Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-12-19
Leaves Trail of Death In
Pittsburgh, Buffalo and
New York
PROPERTY DAMAGED
Ninety Mile Gale Swamps Boats, up.
roots Trees, and Creates General
Havoc.

~
killed. others injured and damage
totaling thousands of dollars was
the toll of the cyclonic wind and ram
storm that hit the Pittsburgh dis
trict shortly before last midnight ana
continued most of the night.
Two automobile accidents, resulting
in the death of three persons and the
injury OF another, and other accl-
dents attributed to the gale occurred
within the city limits and nearby
boroughs. Plate glass windows OF
down town stores were smashed, sign
boards were blown over, electric
wires torn loose, telegraph poles
snapped off and streets were strewn
with wreckage from minor accl-
dents.
The dead are: Warren A. Bowman,
aged So; James Roach, aged 2S, OF
Bridgeville, and Miss Pauline Scheel,
aged 25.
Two persons were injured.
Bowman, Roach and Michael Geary
were occupants of an automobile that
went over an embankment when the
driver became blinded by the storm
and dropped $50 feet. The three men
were hurled into small creek.
Roach and Bowman were dead
when they arrived at the hospital, but
Geary is expected to recover.
Miss Pauline Scheel was knocked
down last midnight by an automobile
driven by James Prasky. She was
taken to the Presbyterian hospital by
Prasky and a policeman and died an
hour later from her injuries!
Buffalo, Dec. 19.-One person was
killed, 100 others were injured, many
seriously, several hundred made home
less, street car and local wire service
demoralized and property loss OF
S250,0OO was caused by 80 mile gale
which swept Buffalo and Erie county
today.
The most serious damage occurred
along the Niagara river in the vicin-
ity of the international bridge. The
winds whipped the river into mighty
turmoil. causing a miniature tidal
wave which practically swept away
Bird Island, carrying with it 100
small houses. Coast guards summon
ed BY the police rescued the occupants
of the houses before parts of the is
land gave way.
Tonight the river is strewn with
the wreckage of towpath houses and
small motorboatS. Many of the boats
of the Buffalo Yacht Club were bad
" damaged. Three large ferry
steamers at the International ferry
were swamped Thousands of win
dows are broken and roofs blown OF
in all sections of the city.
The only death reported up to to-
night was due to freak of the storm.
Shortly after II o'clock this morning
Thomas Kiefer, % years old, and his
brother, Ernest, 81 years old, were
driving an automobile along Jefferson
avenue. The high wind carried away
trapdoor from the roof of a three
story building, landing it on the ma
chine. Kiefer was killed and his
brother knocked unconscious. The
machine, with the dead man at the
wheel, went for two blocks before it
crashed through store window.
While on their way to church this
morning, Margaret and Catherine
Cochrane sisters, were struck by a
tree which the gale uprooted. The
women each sustained broken legs,
and remained pinned under the tree
until the fire department could be
called to jack up the trunk.
New York, Dec. l9.-Winds of cy-
clonic character. accompanied by
heavy rains, visited New York early
today, caused slight damage in lower
Manhattan. then jumped to the Bronx
and wrought destruction over wide
area in the Unionport section. An
unidentified man, dead from exposure,
was found on a Bowery sidewalk.
There were no other casualties.
Telephone wires, a pierhead and the
roofs of several small buildings on
the Manhattan waterfront were car
ried away. Telephone poles in sew
eral sections of the city snapped in
two before the gale and many VIM
dows were shattered.