'. >! (Hass Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT The Great Cyclone AT ST. LOUIS AND EAST ST. LOUIS, MAY 27, 1896. Being a full history of the most terrifying and Destructive TORNADO IN the HISTORY OF THE WORLD, NUMEROUS THRILLING AND PATHETIC INCIDENTS AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF THOSE WHO WERE IN THE TRACK OF THE STORM. — ALSO— An Account of the Wonderful Manifestations of Sympathy for the Afflicted in ALL Parts of the World. compiled and^edited by JULIAN 'CURZON, .-^,~^.-^^ the distinguished AUTHOR AND LITERATSUR^aP'' H/^^ SPLENDIDL Y ILL USTRA TED -^<^*5"/ ^\ I WITH 150 ACCURATE PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEWS AND ENGRAVINGS, PORTRAYING IN VIVID REALISM THE WRECK AND RUIN WROUGHT BY THE DEMON OF DESTRUCTION. PUBLISHED BY THE Cyclone Publishing Company, ST. LOUIS, MO. Copyright, 1896, BY Cyclone Publishing Co, CONTENTS. PAGE. Publishers' Notice 15 - 16 Introductory 17 - 20 The Great Cyclone 21 A Discriminating Storm 22 The Cyclone's Fatal Path 25 All the Elements of a Tornado 27 Warnings of Deadly Peril 31 Gathering Force in its Course 32 On the Outskirts of the Storm Region 34 The Full Force Felt 38 Where Deaths were Most Frequent 40 The Attack on the River.. 43 The River a Raging Torrent 45 Eleven Ladies in Deadly Peril 49 The Damage in East St. Louis 51 A Jury's Narrow Escape 52 Predicted a Year in Advance 56 Barometrical Readings 57 The Text of the Forecast 61 How Loss Could Have Been Lessened 63 Death in the Wind 67 Cyclones of History 68 A Landmark in Irish Records 70 Storms in -Our Own Land 73 Victims of the Cyclone 75 Surveying the Wreck 76 A Suburb Desolated 80 In an Older Section 85 Mourning the Ruin of the Park 87 Homes and Churches Destroyed 91 In Old St. Louis Proper 93 "^ity Hospital Wrecked 94 6 CONTENTS. PAGE. Reinoviug the Sufferers 97 Physicians' Heroism 99 Horrors at the Poor House 105 Providential Escapes 109 Union Depot Power House Ill A Marvel of Re-Construction 115 Street Railway vService Paralized 117 Hours of Horrible Suspense 118 Telegraph Wires Down 122 A Fated Corner ! 123 A Combination of Horrors 128 Handsome Residences Destroyed 130 Saw Her Children Burn 134 Homeless and Destitute 135 Horses Killed in Harness 139 Desolation and Destruction 140 I^osses to Business Concerns 141 Swamped By Their Neighbor 142 Tremendous Damage 145 Damage to Homes on One Street 146 Around the City Hospital 148 Many Dead in a Wrecked Territory 151 Nothing was Spared 152 Searching for Their Husbands 154 Gas Works Wrecked 157 Fallen Buildings Everywhere 158 Union Club Wrecked 159 Lives Lost in a Fire 160 A Huge Factory Destroyed 163 Churches Wrecked 166 A Quarter of a Million .^ 169 Struck by the Tornado 170 An Appalling Loss 171 Damage East of Broadway 172 Panic Among Factory Girls 176 Devastation's Awful Triumph '. 177 CONTENTS. 7 PAGE. Station Torn up 181 In North St. Louis 182 Panic at the Races 183 Rescued from a Wrecked Saloon Building 188 Down-Town Wrecks 189 Chamber of Commerce Unroofed 193 Skyscrapers Escaped 195 At the Court House 196 At the Custom House , 199 Scenes at the Hotels 199 Danger at the Jail 201 Heartbreaking Spectacle 205 Bringing in the Dead 207 In East St. Louis 211 Prayed for Mercy 212 Searching for the Dead „. 214 A Hotel's Sad Role '. 214 Scenes in the Hospitals 218 The Babies Taken and the Mothers Left 223 When Morning Came ;.. 224 The Death Roll 226 The Missing 232 Identified Dead in East St. Louis 237 Aftermath of the Cyclone 238 Insurance Companies Losses 242 Indirect Losses 244 Suffering Mechanics 248 Telegraph Companies Overworked 249 Two Days After the Calamity 255 Visiting the Cyclone District 259 Another Disaster Narrowly Averted 262 One Hundred and Forty Thousand, Actual Count 266 Half a Million Spectators 267 Feeding the Hungry 271 After the Crowds Had Gone 271 Along Broadway 273 8 CONTENTS. PAGK. Burying the Dead 277 Sad Funeral Scenes 280 An East St. I.ouis Funeral 284 A Thieves' Opportunity ^ 286 Incidents of the Cyclone. Narrow Escapes, Deeds of Heroism, Records of Disaster and Deso- lation 289 Fate of a Harding, HI., Merchant 291 Swam for His Life 292 Was Dug Out Unhurt 295 Dug His Own Way Out 296 Tried to Save Her Diamonds 296 A Perilous Voyage 297 Drifted to the Barracks 298 Wheels in the Air 302 Saved by a "Dumb Waiter" 303 Mysterious Munn Family ? 304 The Crime of Thieves 304 Heroic Work Done by Ambulance Drivers 307 Horse and a Live Wire Tangled 308 True Brotherly Love 309 How did it get the Dial 310 Chief Gross was Rolled 310 He Saved a City 313 A Janitor's Fate 315 Penned up for several hours in a Basement..... 316 Alone in the World 3U) She Loved Her Dog 320 Shanty Boats Escaped 321 A Family nearly Exterminated 321 Crazed by Grief 322 A Pig's Souvenir 322 Killed on His Way Home 325 Capt. M. McMahon's Experience 326 A Humorous Incident 328 Tale of Two Families 331 CONTENTS. 9 PAGE. Rescued by an Officer 332 Mrs. Bene's Experience 333 A Jockey on Ice 337 Contributed a $50 Suit 337 He'll Never Say Die 338 Plucky Girl 339 A Coincidence '. 339 Pin ioned in Debris 340 A Barber's Story 344 Her Daughter's Ashes 349 A Man Lost His Reason - 350 Battle of the Winds 351 Families Broken up 3B5 A Terrible Scatter 356 A Man and Woman Blown Away 356 Horse Rescued Alive 357 It's an 111 Wind 359 Typical Sadness 360 A Wild and Awful Ride 360 The Wind's Idiosyncracy 362 How the Bird's Fared 363 Some Curious Effects 364 A Poor Refuge 367 Crawled Under the Bridge Approach 367 Alone with her Baby 368 Mrs. Worheide's Experience 368 An Adventurous and Costly Ride 369 Broke Up a Wedding 371 Eighty-Five Miles 372 A Ride on the Wind 373 A Kindly Deed : 374 Another Lucky Escape 375 The Chinese and the Storm 376 Henry Wedermeyer's Experience 376 Uneasiness of Shanty Boat Owners 377 Strange Freaks of the Wind 379 10 CONTENTS. PAGE. A Trunk Mystery 380 Havlin's Theatre Damaged ...: 381 Engine House Completely Demolished 381 Killed Almost Opposite the Morgue 383 Panic Among lyaundry Girls 383 A Priest's Escape 385 Died in their Arms 3S6 Hero of Balaklava Dead 388 Found Safety in a Basement 388 How the Horses Behaved 389 Mrs. Eyerman's Miraculous Escape 391 Gave His Life to Save a Horse 392 "Saved through God's Mercy" 393 Strange But True 395 Horse Unharnessed 396 Pet Cat Found 397 Exchange Members Timid 399 A Flying Stool and a Doll House 400 Three Little Ones Died 400 Blown into the River 401 Paper Hanger's Experience 402 Saved his Drink 403 Wedged in a Car Roof 403 Died from Fright "... 404 In a Fire-Proof Vault 404 Two Women's Escape 405 Sir Charles Gibson's Trees 405 Colored Victims 407 Willie Winckler's Death 407 Acts of Heroism 408 Saved his Captain's Son 409 Cabby was an Autocrat 411 Dying in a Drug Store 412 A Panic Averted 413 Train's Narrow Escape 415 Found a Dead Baby 416 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. Entrance to Lafayette Park 23 Lafayette Park Presbyterian Church 24 General View in Lafayette Park after the Storm 29 Washington Statue, Lafayette Park 30 View from Relay Depot, East St. Louis 35 Wreck of Dr. Eyerman's Residence and Rear Portions of Union Club 36 Residence of August Ahrens, Whittemore Place 41 View on Mississippi Avenue 42 Residence of August Nasse, near Lafayette Park 47 Residence on Compton Heights 48 Leonori's Storage House, South Jefferson Avenue 53 Portion of City Hospital ; 54 Front View of People's R. R. Power House on Park Avenue 59 Power house of Union Depot R. R. Co., on Geyer Avenue 60 Residence of Henry Roeder, Ann, near California Avenue 65 Lafayette Park Methodist Church 66 Side View of Lafayette Park Methodist Church 71 Purina Mills, Twelfth and Gratiot Streets 72 The Benton Statue, Lafayette Park 77 Lafayette Avenue, Looking West from Missouri Avenue 78 Lafayette Avenue, Looking East from Jefferson Avenue 83 Wreck of the Duestrow House 84 Scene on Lafayette Avenue 89 East St. Louis Transfer Co 90 St. Louis German Evangelical Church 95 Kcerner's Garden 96 Anchor Hall 101 Residence of Dr. Starkloff 102 Residence of Dr. Hauck 107 Scene on Mississippi Avenue 108 (11) 12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. General View of Lafayette Park 113 Residence on Park Avenue 114 Excelsior Laundry • H^l St. Louis Jail 120 Wreck of Steamer "Henry Sackman" l"^i> Otteuad Furniture Co 126 Seventh and Rutger vStreets 1^^' Russell Avenue, East of Oregon Avenue 1'^- Mt. Calvary Episcopal Churcli l*'' Waverly Place .-. 1-^^ St. Louis Cotton Compress Warehouse l-l-^ Gundlach Three-story Teuement House 144 East St. Louis Gas Works ■ 149 Ploehn's Furniture Factory 150 Elevator at Chouteau Avenue and Levee 155 East St. Louis Electric Power House 156 Douglas School, East St. Louis 1*'^ Residence of Dr. E. Preetorius 162 National Hotel, East St. Louis 167 Court House, East St. Louis 168 Agricultural Warehouse on Carroll Street 173 Mt. Calvary Church - =• 174 Front View of Anchor Hall 17!' Side View of Hodgen School l^Oi D. M. Osborne & Co. 's Building 1«-^ Residence on Park Avenue ^^6 Wrecked Home on Oregon Avenue 191 Sample of the vStorm's Rage on Park Avenue 192) Interior View of OHenad Furniture Co. 's Building 197 Wrecked Trees in Lafayette Park 198 M. M. Buck & Co.'s Warehouse 203 View on Lafayette Aveuue ■'•04 Church on Mississippi Avenue 209 Collins' Livery Stable ^10 Mauchenheimer Place, Seventh and Rutger Streets 215 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 13 PAGE. Residence of John E)ndres 216 Scene on Lafayette Avenue 221 Overturned Cars on Eighth and Park Avenue 222 A Ruined Home 227 Eads Bridge, East Side 228 [Residence on Compton Heights 233 MWrecked Steamer 234 t Desolated Homes 239 (/Union Club 240 JAlbany Dancing Academy 245 ',0u Third Street 246 St. John of Nepomuk Church 251 Wreck of an Elevator 252 Freak of the Storm on Clifton Heights 257 Scene on Jefferson Avenue 258 Steamer " Exporter" 263 A Dreary Waste 264 iMusic Stand, Lafayette Park, Before the Storm 269 Music Stand, Lafayette Park, After the Storm 270 Hopeless Ruins 275 A Fallen Giant in the Park 276 Front View of City Hospital 281 Alone in the Ruins 282 Memorial Home 287 View of Schnaider's Garden 288 Ann and California Avenues 293 Century Building 294 View Across From City Hospital 299 Bridge and Wreck of Martell House, East St. Louis 300 Geyer and Ohio Avenues 306 Laclede Gas Company's Works 306 Hodgen School 311 Headquarters Relief Committee 312 Baptist Church, Lafayette and Mississippi Avenues 317 Dolman and Hickory Streets 318 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. j PAGE Texas aud Allen Avenues 32! Where Children Dwelt 32- The vSummer House in Lafayette Park 32'i Unity Church 327 View at Twelfth and Gratiot Streets 33^ A Sad Home-Coming 33( A Picturesque Ruin 33| Republican Convention Hall 341 A Promiscuous Wreck 341 Outside View Liggett & Myers Tobacco Factory 34i Second View Liggett & Myers Tobacco Factory 34H Liggett & Myers New Tobacco Factory 353 Trinity Church 35< Electric Car Blown from the Bridge 35J Scene on Chouteau Avenue 362 Union Dairy Company 366 East of Lafayette Park - 37(J Advance Elevator " B" 37-^ Wreck of Elevator on the Levee 37Ji All that was Left of a Beautiful Home 382 Imperial Laundry 38(i Fourteenth and Papin Streets 39(1 Brown Tobacco Company's Building 39'i Tri- Angle Warehouse 39. Wrecked and Blistered 402 St. Louis Wire Mills 40( Coming Home After the Storm 41( Singular Freak of the Wind.... 414 PUBLISHERS' NOTICE. lEVERAL business men, prominently connected with the ^ relief movement in behalf of the cyclone sufferers, sug- jsted that a book ought to be prepared giving a full history of ti storm and its devastations, with a compilation of the many jio-ic and remarkable incidents connected therewith. Such a .ok, it was believed, would have a large circulation in all parts the country, and supply a want that was manifest in the ger demand for news about the great tornado. It was also oposed that a certain liberal percentage of the receipts from e sales of the book should be donated to the relief fund, thus tending material aid in that direction while satisfying the jsire for an authentic and permanent record of the most estructive and frightful calamity of the century. This volume is the result of the suggestion referred to. Ten pr cent, of the gross receipts will be assigned to the relief Imd, to be used either for immediate necessities, or employed ii assisting those who have lost their all in the destruction of laeir little homes, to reestablish themselves and make a new itart in life, as the committees having these matters iji charge nay deem advisable. The 710771 de pht7ne of "Julian Curzon," as editor and com- j)iler, will be recognized as that of one of the most brilliant and popular magazine writers of the day, and his connection with the work is a sufficient guarantee of its accuracy and literary pxcellence. Mr. Curzon, however, claims no credit for the splendid descriptive matter that occurs in these pages; this in a very large degree is due to the brilliant staff writers of the (15) 16 publishers' notice. local press, whose articles have been colhitcd and used as thv basis of this work. But Mr. Curzon's active work in aid of th^: sufferers, his own personal experience and losses during tho cyclone, and his connection with the various relief committees^ made him accpiainted with many singular and tragic incidents, that have not been pul)lished elsewhere, and these are treatec in his own lu'illiant and fascinating style. ''.' The main description of the cyclone, its fury and its terror inspiring horrors, is largely composed of that splendid anc wonderfully brilliant report that appeared in "The Republic' ' the second day after the storm, which has attracted world-wid< , notice and comment as one of the linest examples of super! . descriptive composition that has ever appeared in print. The publishers of this work also desire to give due credit tt the "Globe-Democrat," the "Post-Dispatch," the "Star," anc^ ' the" Chronicle" for the use of material selected from theiij columns. In no other city could the press have displayed morj^ energy, good taste, or literary ability in the handling of sucl an overwhelming calamity than was manifested by the greaL newspapers of St. Louis. Our copyright is intended to protect the title and generaf form of the book, as well as a number of special photographic? views that were taken for this work exclusively. The excel-[ lence of the views in general is due to the superiority of the workmanship and artistic conception of the local photographers^ from whom they were purchased. They were all taken vvithirj} one or two days after the storm, and represent the ruins as theyj then appeared. * The Publishers St. Louis, June 10, 1896. i. . INTRODUCTORY. WE shall never know the full extent of the suffering caused by the tornado which devastated a section of St. Louis, Missouri, and a still larger portion of East St. Louis, Illinois, on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 27, 1896. It is known that more than three hundred people were killed and more than a thousand injured. It is known that a great portion of the city of East St. Louis was razed to the ground, and that South •of and along the Mill Creek Valley in St. Louis, the cyclone cut for itself a wide path through block after block of residence property. But it is difficult to even approximate the property loss and an accurate statement will never be made. The first estimates placed the total at $50,000,000. These figures have since been scaled down, but the total remains appalling. No estimate of loss can include the individual suffering, or the deprivation endured in silence by those, who too proud to ask relief, sought Buch shelter as was available and formed secret and praise- worthy resolutions to begin life over again. In but a few minutes the savings of a lifetime were, in many instances, scattered to the four winds of heaven. Many were thankful to escape with their lives, absolutely penniless. There .was not even time for them to secure possession of their pocket- jbooks and little keepsakes and mementoes. Death, destruction {and desolation went hand in hand, and together brought about a reign of sadness and mourning, such as modern or ancient history but rarely records. 1 2 (17) 18 INTRODUCTORY. One St. Louis citizen who was away from home at the tim of the accident, stated on his return tliat hut for the inf ormatioi imparled in the press, he never would have believed that th ruin could have been wrou<^ht except by the cannonade of a immense army, equipped with modern artillery. In describiii his sensations on witnessing the scene of devastation he said th; he was in Charleston just after the earthquake, and had enters more cities than one just after they had been stormed during th Civil War. But, he added, he had never seen destruction complete or ruin so absolute as that wrought by the tornad whose merciless devastation beggars description and calls 1 the use of words which would have to be coined for the occasic St. Louis is situated in the Mississippi Valley, on the westc bank of the Father of Waters. A quarter of a century ag cyclone blew through the neighborhood, causing great destru tion in East St. Louis, but comparatively little on the Missou shore. Since then there had been two or three trifling eart quake shocks. None of these had been sufficient to do ai damage, nor had the thunder and wind storms which visit the city from time to time, wrought serious damage or caus« general inconvenience. The periodical floods in the Mississippi River, the last son four years ago, did great damage in East St. Louis, l)ut praci cally none in St. Louis itself. In fact the people of the gre metropolis of the Mississippi Valley States had for a quarter a century })een free from calamities of wind or water. T. feeling of security had become general, and among the young inhabitants particularly, it was thought that no cyclone i tornado was ever likely to penetrate the hills around the ci^ and enter within its boundaries. The calamity at Sherma; INTRODUCTORY. 19 Texas, had shocked every thinking man in St. Louis and a large fund had been raised for the relief of the sufferers in the Texas town. Many who subscribed liberally to the fund were them- selves in need of assistance by the time the cyclone had reached and passed through their own city. The awakening from this feeling of security was a rude one. The fatal day dawned with no exceptional occurrence. There was no friendly warning — there was no cry of "Flee from the wrath to come." True a cyclone had been unofficially pre- dicted for the closing days of May, but the warning was not regarded, nor did those who were aware of it, dream that St. Louis itself would be smitten. Business was conducted as usual, nor was there anything in the condition of the \\eather early in the day to warrant any exceptional fear, or even thought. The weather bureau predicted local thunder storms, but said nothing of a cyclone, a tornado or even an exceptional wind. The sun shone as usual, but was frequently obstructed by clouds which towards noon became more numerous and threatening in appearance. The barometer began to fall with a steady persistency which alarmed those who have made a study of weather conditions, and who have learned what to expect from peculiar atmospheric conditions. No (me could tell the main direction of the wind, which seemed to come during the early afternoon in fits and starts from all points of the compass, veering around with sudden jerks. Towards three o'clock it became more settled from the Northwest with a number of sub-currents from different direc- tions, which ))rought in masses of clouds. Gradually darkness seemed to approach and although the officials in the Weather Bureau Observatory do not seem even at this late period of the 20 INTRODUCTORY. day lo have anticipated a calamity, many people began to fear the worst. In one office building in particular the word was passed around that a cyclone was heading towards the city with liglitniiig rapidity and that unless it was deflected from its course, a terril)le calamity might be looked for. Some received the warning as a jest, but others hurried to their homes and in some cases to their death. The office buildinjjs of the city withstood the shock in a manner which redounds to the credit of their designers and constructors, although of course the full brunt of the storm did not strike them. It was the residence houses which for the most part were destroyed, and these were the most insecure places in which imaginary refuge could be sought. At 4:30 it became obvious that the atmospheric conditions were unprecedented in the recollection of the people. Tlie temperature fell rapidly and huge banks of black and greenish clouds were seen approaching the city. It gradually became darker and at 5 o'clock it was as dark in many parts of the city as is usually the case at the end of May, three hours later in the evening. All the time the wind kept rising and in the far distance vivid forks of lightning could be seen. Gradually the thunder storm came nearer the city and the western portion was soon in the midst of a terrible storm. The wind's velocity was about thirty- seven miles an hour. This speedily increased to sixty, seventy and even eighty miles, by the time the storm was at its height. For thirteen minutes this frightful speed was maintained and the rain fell in ceaseless torrents, far into the sad and never-to be-forffotten niirht. J. C. THE GREAT CYCLONE. The Storm King and the Fire King combined in the attack on St. Louis. And right bravely did they fight. The air was filled with light and heavy debris, tributes to the mio;ht of the wind. In all directions the clano; of the gongs of the fire engines and suddenly in the south there shot in the air a stream of flame that lit up the whole city. The Fire King had scored his first point in the assault. A big skylight came sailing past the observ- atory tower, circled around in the air, made a dive for Olive street and was stopped by the gutter along the building. Then down in the street could be seen the results of the attack of the invading hosts on the subtle agent of man, electricity. In every direction the long lines of telegraph poles were flashing pillars of blue flame. The wires were strings of fire and the insulators were blazins; bunches of sizzlino; wires. Buildings swayed and creaked in the powerful blast. The wind came down in the streets, picked up buggies and turned them over. It bounded to roofs, rolled up tin coverings like scrolls and deposited them in telegraph wires. It filled the air with flying bricks and timbers and made the ears horrified with the crash of fallino; sio-iis and breaking windows and the shrieks of men and women. And all over the city fire engines hurried to and fro and flames broke out in such a multitude of places that the (31) 22 THE r.REAT CYCLONE. hearts of the brave firemen sank within them when they contemplated the possibilities of a general confiagratiou. But in tliis the allied forces of wind and fire worked at cross purposes. For the rain served to largely undo the work of the other elements. It was 5:35 when the army of the air withdrew from the assault. Then tlie rain came down in torrents and drenched the tlirongs hurrying through the streets. It was a wonderful rain, a steady, poundiug, penetrating rain that seemed to gather strength as it fell. Amid the horror and the wild rumors of countless fatalities the rain came down harder and stronger, gloomily sounding a knell. A DISCRIMINATING STORM. Had the arch-fiend himself directed the course of the tornado he could have scarcely guided it so as to have done more damage. Those who gazed upon the scene of desolation that was wrought were almost inclined to hint that it was guitled by a strategist, so marvelous was its perspicacity. The forces at its command were handled with the skill and judgment a general of power might con- ceive. Carefully avoiding obstacles that might seriously scatter its concentrated power, it passed lightly over cer- tain places in its path and smote others hip and thigh. Now and then it divided, but the divisions were strong in destructiveness, and where the main storm did not wreak its full force there was damage done in spots by wandering skirmishing blasts that appal and horrify. It switched and twisted and dodged with the skill of », 23 24 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 25 Avrestler. And after inilictini; (lamafje sufficient to wear out any but tlie mightiest tempest, it still had strength enough to cross a great sheet of water like the Mississippi and spread ruin and desolation with a lavish hand. Though the tornado ravished the people of lives and property, they respect it for its power and ingenuity. The rain and darkness of the night had the effect of bringing to the minds of those who worked in the afflicted districts the thought that experience shows what looks bad and terrible in the dark, generally turns out to be an exaggerated fancy in the morning. But the sun that rose smiling on St. Louis and her stricken sister city across the river the followino^mornina:, brouo-htto light new hor- ror with every ray that penetrated the atmosphere. It was not until the earth was bright and warm and the sky was clear and glad that the true situation dawned upon the people. The awful work of the devastating army of the elements stood out in all its naked hideousness. From the west to the east in tlie southern central portion of the town a wide streak was blazed, lined on each side with wreckage that represented to those who owned it when it was useful, a loss total and stunning. THE cyclone's FATAL PATH. The path of the storm through the city was about seven miles long. It was not a direct path, leading straight from the point at which it effected entrance to where it left. It made a path like a snake striving to gain a place of known refuge from a pursuingenemy. Now and then it diverged from the Mill Creek Valley on one side or the 26 THE GREAT CYCLONE, other, but only to return at some vulnerable point with renewed energy. It seemed to move at a height above the ground that sheltered the low places in its path until after it passed the City Hospital. Then it came closer to the earth, and the damage wrought from Twelfth street to the river shows that it rushed directly down the incline to the Levee. Where it first entered the city, out near the Poorhouse, on Arsenal street, the force of the storm was exerted against trees and scattered buildings. The first indica- tion of the real force of the wind was made apparent at Jeft'erson and Geyer avenues, where the big power house of the Union Depot street railway system, one of the largest electric plants in the world, was razed, damage to be measured only by the hundred thousand dollars, be- ing wrought. A block further north the destruction was, if possible, even more emphatically manifested in the wrecking of the Union Club building, and the almost total demolition of dozens of buildings in the immediate vicinity. The force generated at this corner was not lost while the storm continued on its way east until after it left La- fayette Park, and there was no extraordinary manifesta- tion until it reached the ill-fated corner of Seventh and Rutger streets. Here it spent the full vent of some of its reserve fury, and then moved on to Soulard Market, which formed another center of destruction, wider and longer than either of the others. While the chief force of the storm was exerted at the three places mentioned, there were others scarcely more THE GREAT CYCLONE. 27 fortunate in the matter of locality in its path. Tower Grove Station, where the mammoth })lant of the Liggett tfe Myers Tobacco Company was destroyed, was the first point where the surrounding circumstances warranted the wind in extending itself. When it reached the river it met a wide stretch of waste that allowed it to gather force and gave the scattered clouds a chance to rejoin the main body in the assault upon East St. Louis. But at no time was there any diminution in the vigor of such portions of the tornado as reached the earth. The scattering edges of it completed the waste the main body emphasized in spots. ALL THE ELEMENTS OF A TORNADO. There can be no doubt that the storm was a tornado rather than a cyclone. The local weather bureau ob- server, in explaining this point, says : "It was at first believed that the storm was entirely a straight wind rush, without any evidences of the tornadic whirl. Further investigation late in the afternoon by one of our observers tends to confirm the opinion of many that the storm in a few circumscribed localities was a genuine 'twister.' This appears to have been the fact around Lafayette Park and on Chouteau avenue between Ninth and Twelfth streets. In these places the debris lay in every direction, and in the park trees had been torn up by the roots and thrown around in confusion, in- dicating the presence of the inward spiral and upward motion which is characteristic of the true tornado. This also accounts for the presence of the southwest wind 28 THE GREAT CYCLONE. while the general direction during tlie stoitn was from the northwest. In the tornadic wliirl the wind would have an inward rotary motion, and as the center of dis- turbance progressed the wind would shift accordingly to the different points of the compass. It is probable that this southwest wind was of greater velocity than that from the northwest, according to one of the accepted general theories of cyclonic circulation, namely, that the heaviest wind may be expected in the soutliwest quad- rant of a low area, and the heaviest rain in the southeast quadrant. No other evidences of the true tornado have thus far been obtained." Apart from scientific observation there can be no doubt as to the tornado motion of the storm. Any man who looked at Lafayette Park on Thursday morning and then said there was not a rotary motion in the wind tliat tore down the kings of the forest, must have been afflicted with a disease that called for the use of a strabismometer. They fell to the north and to the south and to the east and to the west. It' one had the time and the inclina- tion — and perhaps the mind to figure it out — he could, while in Lafayette Park, have determined just about the number of times the storm cloud twisted in going across the inclosure. But one did not have to go to Lafayette Park for proof that St. Louis was assailed ])y a storm with a rotary movement. Almost any cross street in its path fur- nished the evidence. On one street trees on the west side were blown down to the west and trees on the east side were blown to the oast, (hi the next street east the X f 7 ■^Mm^"^'>- f f 29 30 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 31 order was reversed. There are corners in South St. Louis on which buildings stood that give unmistakable evidence of having been struck by wind coming from more than one point of the compass at the same time. WARNINGS OF DEADLY PERIL. We have seen that although not oiFicially predicted, the tornado was expected by many. The position of several of the dead bodies found in the wreckage indi- cated attempts to secure places of safety which must have been commenced long before the storm reached the city, or its suburbs. The cloud movements all the afternoon created alarm in the minds of those who had spent any length of time on the prairies in the West. The peculiar shades of green the vault of heaven assumed, denoted to the eye of the man who has gone through tornadoes where there are no compact communities to break them uji, a state of affairs in the atmosphere calculated to provoke alarm. The scurrying clouds, sweeping about with ap- parently no object in view, were plainly bent upon a mission of destruction. On account of the popular fal- lacy that a tornado or a cyclone will not strike a large city there was created a feeling of false security. But men who know about those things were worried. Women who knew about them prudently made preparations to seek places of safety should the conditions warrant the passage of the storm over the great area of the town. The gathering of the clouds in the west preparatory to the assault of the city was one of the grandest spectacles ever given the view of the eye of man, but it did not com- 32 THE (JRKAT CYCLONE. pare with the terrific grandeur of the onslaught. When the allied forces from the southwest and the northeast, laden with liglitning and cumulative force, retired beyond the western horizon for a few minutes, shortly after 5 o'clock, Wednesday afternoon, and the rain came blowing in soft sheets from the south, it was thought that there would be no further disturbance. But the army of lightning and winds had gone for re-enforcements. Away out be- yond the limits of the county thei'e was another storm raging, a malignant storm that spent its force in doing damage of small moment in comparison with what it might do if joined to a greater combination. The whirling bank of clouds went out in St. Louis County and gathered up the angry elements warring there. It took about two minutes to make the consolidation and then came the com- bined attack. GATHERIN(} FOKCH IN ITS COUltSE. Tiie feai'ful combination of aerial forces wliich wrecked thousands of buildings and broke up as many homes, grew in strength as it dashed through the city in its death deal- inir course. The storm it had "•athered in its ranks out in the high ground west of the city was not fully settled in position and confusion reigned in place of the discipline that predominated in a few minutes. In the center there was a thick mass of fighting strength, ]>ut the outside ranks were weak and wavering, prone to wander off with each fancy of the wind. Coming down toward the Poor- house the rotary motion, the secret of the tornado's power, began to make itself apparent to a visible extent. The THE (iREAT CYCLONE. army of clouds, from the shape of a drawn out ac- cordion, partook more of the shape of a screw, with the small end, the effective end, dangling towards the earth. Once the cloud was formed the onslaught was inevitable. The wind took up the course that drew the storm toward the city and the city was doomed. No human power could stay the rush. In a tempest of discordant sound the tornado swooped down on the Poorhouse, worked its wdll and continued on its way. The Female Hospital, just across the street, was right in its path, but the vagaries of a tornado are hard to understand. -It took a slight trend to the east and south, clipped oft' the roof of the west wing of the Female Hospital, and then with the big Insane Asylum looming up before it, full of possibilities for horrible execution, it shifted once more to the south and took up a path that brought it over the asylum farms. Upon reaching King's Highway the tornado was in a fair way to last on a voyage through the city. The scat- tering clouds on the edges were rapidly closing in on the central mass, and the screw shape was becoming more pronounced. From the direction it was traveling it seemed, when it passed the Insane Asylum, to be bound for Carondelet, but the strategy and ingenuity that actu- ated its movements came into play and steered it to a path more productive of loss of property and life. Koerner's Garden — the mecca of the c}clist, and of the convival generally — stands, or we should rather say, stood on the. corner of King's highway and Arsenal street. When the tornado was two blocks away from it to the 3 34 TIIK r;iIEAT CYCLONE. south one would liavc sworn it was on its way directly east. But it wlieeled suddeidy in its course and made a dash for Koerner's. The momentum it liad attained toward the east was too strong to allow it to strike the garden direct, ])ut it made a good, honest effort at demo- lition, and then went on its way to Tower (iiove Park, directly to the northeast. It tore across Tower Grove Park in a diao-onal direction, 2;atherin2: streno;th as it traveled, leveling trees and u[)rooting plants and shrubs, and then struck out over the hill for the lovely dwellings on Compton Heights. Away to tlie c^ast, down in the valley, the big buihlings of the Liggett tt Myers tobacco plant reared their heads to the sky, and the great steel girders seemed to attract the tornado as a magnet attracts steel. It paused a moment in the rush to Compton Heights, took on a stronger rotary motion and sped away for the tobacco buildings. ON THE OUTSKIIiTS OF THE STORM REGION. But the effort of changing the course so suddenly had a rather demoralizing effect on the army of clouds. A detachment of the solid })latoon went away qu an expedi- tion of its own down toward the breweries and the peace- ful German homes surroundino- them in far iSouth St. Louis. The main body, scarcely affected by the loss of the desei'ter, continued on its way, and deatli and ruin a second later reigned in the big steel structures at the Tower Grove Crossing. At this time the mass of clouds seemed to spread. The top of tlie mass flattened and swung from side to rv w ^ '^. '1 35 «.;;lai 36 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 3*7 side with a motion that threw the small end about like a pendulum over the country in a most promiscuous man- ner. It bobbed up and down, now striking the earth and tearing a streak of waste in its path, now high above, the force it expended doing damage slighter than direct application of the rotary motion accomplished. The rain was falling in torrents and the sky was veiled in a muddy mist that cast a gloom on the earth more terrifying than the darkness of night. From the point where the tornado started in the attack on Compton Heights the wonderful and peculiar move- ments it took became apparent. While the body of the cloud was hanging over the residence district the tail, the destructive end, was creating havoc half a mile to the north in the factory district along the Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain tracks. Just before reaching Grand avenue the storm got together again, dropped down toward the earth and made a charge on the hill it had been approaching. Trees went down before it, houses were unroofed, walls were blown this way and that, and it appeared that the entire population of Compton Hill would be blown clear over the reservoir. But the tornado took another track. Instead of breaking itself against the side of the incline leading west from Grand avenue it took a sadden bound in the air, passed clear over Gi'and avenue and the Reser- voir Park and continued on its way over the valley be- tween Jefferson and Grand avenues toward the more densely populated part of the city. Though the storm did nut directly strike here, it had 38 THE GREAT CYCLONE. a few guerrilla clouds out that accoDiplished iiiucli iu the way of destruction. These vagrant fighters against prop- erty and life skimmed along close to the earth, dodged around obstacles that were beyond their power to remove and tore and tugged at towers and roofs and trees. As they flew ])y, the main storm, mounting higher and higher, seemed to lose them, but they kept on, straight to the east. Meanwhile the tail was alowly swinging out to the north and the cloud flattened to a more pronounced degree. THE FULL FORCE FELT. Clear down to Michigan avenue the little skirmishing clouds did all the execution for the storm. Crossing this street the small end suddenly swooped downward, and at the same time the upper end began to swing around in such a way as to bring the cloud into an almost perpen- dicular position. At Ohio avenue the full force of the armament of the army of clouds was thrown at the earth for a second and buildings fell in every direction. The center of the storm was at this time directly over Lafayette avenue, and the tail again began to diverge to the north, with a gi'aceful swing. The front of the advancing ])halanx of deadjy vapor was right on a line with the surface of Jefl'erson avenue. Lafayette Park is on the summit of a liill that forms the western boundary of the valley extending up to the high ground along Grand avenue. Jefferson avenue is slightly down the incline to the west of the ])ark. If the tornado Imd pursued the same antics that governed it THE GKEAT CYCLONE. 39 when it reached Grand avenue, it would have again bounded in the air about Jefferson avenue and continued on its w^ay toward the river at a different altitude to save from serious damage the beautiful residences about the park. But the actuating power sliowed strategy this time. There was not much to destroy at Grand avenue, but Jefferson avenue offered a rich harv'est. And when the storm readied that thoroughfare it dashed straight into the side of the hill, the destructive tail swung east as far as Chouteau avenue, dashed toward the earth and bit a chunk of property out of Jefferson avenue all the way from Chouteau to Russell. The tail of the storm moved from north to south like the lash of a whip, and while it was completing the work of destruction the dense main body remained poised in the air, slowly revolving and floating in the direction of Geyer avenue. About the time it was directly over the Scullin power house the tail came along, swept under, and with a roar that was heard for blocks, mixed motors, engines, cars, buildings, machinery and men in a mass of matter. Then the tail swung over to the South Side race track, com- pletely licked it of! the face of the earth, and the great body, flashing lightning and breathing thunder, moved swiftly to the northeast, blowing down houses and strip- ping Lafayette Park on the way, leaving it a forest of splintered stumps. The movements of the tail of the storm — the twisting tail that curled and splintered iron and steel and melted away the strongest work of man, tlien moved so rapidly from one side to the other that it could not be distin- 40 TIIK (JPKAT CVi I.oNK. giiished. It slipped over to Twenty -first street, des- troyed elevators, wire mills, warehouses and factories, and then considerately jumped over a big brewery at the south aj)proach to the Eighteenth sti'eet l)ridge. It sent an arm over to Market street and blew holes in the walls of factories, but spared the Union Station. TIkmi it gathered all its force, swept back to tlie south again, wiped the City Hospital out of existence and started on the voyage down Soulard street, the most destructive in its campaign. All the time the big black cloud hovered above, sliding up and down, spitting, lightning and raining. WIIEKK DEATHS WERE :\rOST FREQUENT. From the City Hospital to the corner of Seventh and Rutger streets the storm gatlu^red itself together for a final onslauo;ht before rciachinij the river. All the little tormentors were drawn into the vortex and they did not forget their work of destruction as they came from every side for blocks around. Tlie tt^rrible tail was drawn uj) into the main cloud as thouj^fh for additional streno;th, and at Eighth street the entire mass (h'opped to the earth and spread dozens of whirling dealers of death to the north and south. Men and women and children died here like flies in the cold. The streets were blocked with debris, while the awful tail whipped up and down, and from side to side like something infuriated. The tornado tarried here, but not for long. It worked fast. From the scene of carna2:e on Rutfrer and Soulard streets, from Rroadwav to Eighth, and as far north as 42 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 43 Chouteau avenue and south as Shenandoah, the tornado gathered together again and went bounding toward the river. Part of it cut loose from the main body and started on a voyage to the north over the downtown business dis- trict, but the strong army was in the cloud bound for the last stand in the battle on this side of the river. All along the bank it twisted and tore elevators and ware- houses, and those the wind did not reach li^htnini*" set fire to, so that nothing or next to nothing escaped. The storm next reached the Mississippi river, made the levee and harl)or a desolate waste, blew steamers and wharves to the other shore, and lashed the water to waves of proportions never seen in this vicinity before. Above the Eads bridge the squadron that broke away in South St. Louis rejoined the main body somewhere in the stream, and the united army went into East St. Louis, scarcely tired from the long flying battle that extended over eight miles of disputed territory in the Mound City and on the river. THE ATTACK ON THE RIVER. The first reports of the loss of life and injury to limb sustained by that portion of the tornado -swept district along the river front were, as was natural in tlie excite- ment of the moment, exaggerated. After a careful can- vass of the situation, it was found that the loss of life was comparatively smaller on the river than in any other section visited by the storm. The of^cers of the various steamboat companies made careful incjuM-y into the mat- ter, so far as the means at their command allowed, and 44 'I'liK , 66 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 67 set much store in the old, cherished idea that St. Louis had always escaped when other points were down. "But, as Schiller says: ' An eternal compact cannot be made with fate!' " DEATH IN THE WIND. St. Louis might also have been alarmed at the fearful record of death and disaster from cyclones during May. Prior to the culminating horror at the great Western me- tropolis — equal in magnitude to all that preceded it — the following was the ghastly record of the cruel and heart- less wind for the month : DATE. PLACE. KILLED. INJURED. May 4— Fail-mount, W. V 2 3 May 12— Elkliorn, Neb 1 May 12 — Lincoln, Neb 5 May 12— Sterlins:, Kan. 3 May 13— Marshall, Olda 1 May 15 — Sherman, Tex 85 140 May 15— Justin, Tex 1 19 May 15 — Gribbe Springs, Tex 4 15 May 15— Howe, Tex. . ! S 9 May 15— Farmington, Tex 4 3 May 15 — Carpenter Bluff, Tex 6 May 15— Newton, Kan 1 2 May 16— Reading, Pa 1 2 May IT— Elva, Ivy 5 2 May IT — Sympsonia, Ky 2 May ] T— Seneca, Kan 8 8 May IT— Sabetha, Kan 5 9 May IT— Morrill, Kan 4 May IT— Frankfort, Kan 8 May IT— Onedia, Kan .• 6 May IT — Reserve, Kan 5 21 May 18 — Lamoni, lo 4 May 19— Falls City, Neb 4 12 May 20— Eldon, Mo 5 68 THE GREAT CYCLONE. DATK. PLACE. KILLED. INJURED. May 20— Versailles, Mo 1 May 2l^Lyoii County, Kan 2 May 25— Polk County, lo 11 6 May 25— Jasper County, lo 12 12 May 25— Manchester, It) 2 May 25— Monroe, 111 2 1 May 25— North McGregor, lo 13 17 May 25 -Eli^in and Mount Morris, 111 2 7 May 25 — La Cyijjne, Kan 4 May 25 — Groveland, Oakwood and other points in Michi<^an 39 110 May 26— Cairo, 111 11 Totals 230 J37 CYCLONES IN HISTORY. The great St. Louis cyclone, while not absolutely the worst on record in the matter of death and destruction which is scattered around, stands among the very worst. Before describing the scenes of desolation and counting the dead and wounded, it is of mournful interest to look into his- tory and briefly tal)ulate some of the storms which have smitten different countries and communities. London, because of its great age and extent, has been hit often. A hurricane's assault npon it as far back as 944 is recorded, which destroyed 1,500 houses, but the loss of life as given by the different chroniclers varies widely, ranging from 1,000 to 6,000. This is the earli- est authenticated account of a calamity of this sort in London. The town was struck again in 1091, and 500 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 69 houses were knocked down this time, and from 200 to 400 persons were killed. November 26, 1703, several thou- sand persons were drowned in floods along the Thames, in London, which was preceded and accompanied by a hur- ricane that destroyed property in that town valued at $10,000,000. This particular tempest was called the "great stf)rm," and figured as a time mark for half a cen- tury 01 over in "locating'^ dates of births, marriages and other events in the lives of people of England, for it ex- tended throughout most of the country. It did, in this re- spect, the same sort of duty that the ' 'big wind" in Ireland did a century and a quarter later. October 28, 1838; July 11, 1874; April 11, 1878, and December 12, 1883, brought storms to London which destroyed from twenty to thirty lives in each case, and from $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 property. Hav'ana had a storm on October 25, 1768, which killed 1000 persons and destroyed 4048 houses. December 12, 1822, Dublin and its vicinity lost from forty to fifty lives and $1,000,000 of property. Dublin was struck again on the night of Janury 6 and the morning of January 7, 1839, by a hurricane which was felt throughout the greater part of Ireland and on the west coast of England. Sev- eral other large towns in Jreland besides Dublin were attacked, including Limerick, Galway and Athlone, and in Liverpool the destruction was also great. Thirty per- sons were killed by falling buildings or flying missiles in that city, and 100 were drowned in the storms. In the four Irish cities named the devastation was greater, the loss of life in Dublin alone being put at 100, and in prop- erty at $3,000,000. 70 THE GREAT CYCLONE. A LANDMARK IN IRISH RECORDS. This is the "big wind" referred to in a preceding par- agrapli. It forms as important a "landmark" in the social history of Ireland as Magna Cliarta or the Revolu- tion of 1088 does in the political history of England, or as the Declaration of Inde})endence or the fall of Fort Sumter does in that of the United States. It is a great date line in the lives of many of the Irish people, who are 50 years of age or upward. When they say they were born in the year of the "big wind," or one, two or any other number of years before or after that time, they have, they think, given their age with sufficient exactness for practical purposes, and in many cases this is as near as they can get at their exact age. Lisbon had a gale December 13, 1864, which was memorable in the records of that city of manifold and miscellaneous physical afflictions, destroying 100 lives and $2,000,000 property. In ]\[aceo. Hong Kong and other cities in India on Septembr 22, 1874, a typhoon killed 10,000 people and wrecked between 40,000 and 60,000 houses. Buda-Pesth had a storm June 26, 1875, which destroyed 200 lives. In Ilaifong and other Chi- nese cities 300,000 persons perished in a typhoon October 8, 1881. At Colon, Panama, and in its harbor 100 lives were lost December 2, 1885, in a gale. Madrid lost ninety lives in a storm May 12, 1886. In Dacca, India, April 7, 18S8, 100 persons were killed in a gale. Mau- ritius, in the Indian Ocean, on April 29, 1892, had a hurricane which killed 150 persons. 71 ,_:J':fe^ 72 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 73 STORMS IN OUR OWN LAND. In the United States, Louisville was the first important town visited by a destructive storm. August 27, 1854, it had twenty-five persons killed and $1,000,000 property destroyed in a cyclone. Indianola, Tex. , was nearly wiped off the face of the earth September 15, 1875, losing 126 lives and 11,000,000 of property. McAlester, I. T., neai'ly equaled that record May 10, 1882, the destruction being 125 lives and $500,000 of property. The year 1882 had a series of cyclones which were not matched in number and destructiveness until 1806. In one of these the town of Grinnell, lo, , was destroyed, with a loss of $1,000,000 in property and 100 lives. Just seven days later Emmettsburg, lo. , was blotted off the map, with a loss approximately e(|ual to that at Grinnell. Mount Vernon, 111., on February 18, 1888, was almost destroyed, thirty-nine persons being killed and 125 injured, many of them fatally. Pittsburg lost fifty-three lives in a tor- nado January 9, 1889. Now comes the most destructive storm which ever vis- ited a city on the Atlantic seaboard in the United States. This was the great blizzard of March 11 and 12, 1888, which New York City felt in its fiercest form. For more than a day business in that city was entirely suspended, and communication between it and the rest of the country was cut off as eflPectually as it was between St. Louis and tlie outside world during the tempest of Wednesday nioht of this week. New YoF'k for about twenty-four hours got its news from Philadelphia by way of London. About 400 lives were lost in New York and the other 74 THE fJREAT CYCLONE. towns afflicted and in wrecks on the ocean in tlie vicinity, which the gale caused, while the property loss was esti- mated at $3,000,000, but New York City's share of this destruction was only about thirty lives and $1,000,000 property. Roscoe Conkling, who refused to be quaran- tined down town by this storm, and who walked from his office to his hotel througli the mountainous snow drifts, travel by car, coach, vehicle of any sort or on horseback being suspended and impossible, died a few days later from the effects of his fatigue and exposure. Louisville now figures a second time in a tornado, and sustained more damage than any other town in the United States from a wind storm, except St. Louis, in the hurri- cane of May 27, 1896. This was on March 27, 1890. Louisville's loss of life was placed at 125 at the time, and its property loss at $2,500,000. Like the St. Louis storm, tlie Louisville gale cut a broad path through the city, its width, in the course of greatest destructiveness, being fully 1,000 feet. The greatest storms in the United States since that at Louisville were those on the South Atlantic coast on August 28, 1893, which commit- ted havoc in Charleston and Sav\annah, and with the ship- ping on the ocean in their vicinity, the aggregate loss of life being about 1,000, and in the Gulf of Mexico, on the coast of Louisiana, on October 2, in that year, in which 2,000 lives were lost. Several series of storms occurring in the past twenty years are omitted here because the records give the losses by counties and not by towns. The most notable and destructive were those which visited Missouri, Illinois, THE GREAT CYCLONE. 75 Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, the two Caro- linas and Virginia, on February 9, 1884, in which the aggregate loss was 800 lives and 10,000 houses. In the region covered there were sixty different tornadoes on that day. The loss of life in the aggregate was greater on that day than was ever known before or since in that length of time in wind storms in the United States. The destruction during the last two weeks of May, however, ])eginninf^ with the cyclones in Sherman and other points in the Southwest and ending with those in St. Louis and vicinity, and including the waterspouts and other me- teorological disturbances, broke all records in this country for any equal period. VICTIMS OF THE CYCLONE. An account of the evil wrought by the storm must read like the annals of a great battle or series of battles. We have seen how the storm was predicted, how the clouds gathered in formidable and threatening array, and how they advanced upon a city which considered itself practically safe. We must now note what the cyclone or tornado did in the way of killing and maiming and what astounding damage it wrought to property. Thousands followed the cyclone's path the following day, picking their way among the wreckage, and pausing to gaze hor- ror-stricken at some of the scenes that met their gaze. There was little said by the spectators. Their silence 76 THE GREAT CYCLONE. was more eloquent than any words could have been. Strong men shivered with horror, and if there were any unmoved, their callousness was well hidden. It was a stricken city, or rather section of a city, that they saw. The dead wei'e being removed from beneath piles of debris; willing workers were clearing away wreck- age, hoping against hope that those who were known to be lying below had miraculously escaped certain death. Shade trees snapped, windows broken, chimneys pros- trated, sections of tin roof ripped, cornices shattered, weak walls cracked— such things could be seen almost anywhere from the water works to Carondclet. But apart from these general evidences, there was the path of a storm cloud covering the city at its widest part, with a course from southwest to northeast. 'J1ie path was as distinct as the boundaries of blocks. Beside the damage wrought within tliis path, the injuries sustained by the city at large were insiguificant. SURVEYINCJ TIIK WRECK. It was no easy task to follow the course of the storm. Where the wind had rushed the preceding day at a speed seldom attained by the tieetest locomotive, the foot pas- senger followed atasnaiFs pace. He had to walk, for no vehicle could be driven through the mass of ruins. Progress was from side to side by a zigzag route. ^ This trachigof the course of the storm cloud began in the southwestern part of the city at Shaw's Garden. It ended attheEads bridge. The distance across the city from west to east, at the widest part, is six miles. As the 77 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 79 storm traveled from southwest to northeast, the length of its path within the city was eight miles. West of Shaw's Garden the storm cloud gathered. It did little damage immediately west, but on the north it unroofed buildings at Forest Park Heights, and on the south it caused the collapse of two large buildings at the Poorhouse, and did miscellaneous damage, altogether amounting to perhaps $50,000. Singularly enough, the Insane Asylum and the Female Hospital, standing on the same elevation as the Poorhouse, escaped anything seri- ous. Shaw's Garden, in the wide Valley between Forest Park Heights on the north and the group of city institu- tions on the ridge to the south, showed dismantlement. One of the largest conservatories was crushed in. Other buildings were injured. The trees and shrubbery were torn and scourged. In its beginning the storm cloud, as we have already seen, started from several points. It showed its power at the localities high and low, mentioned, but in the ter- ritory between it left weaker buildings unharmed. And thus it moved along in strips uj) the easy grade • toward Grand avenue, half a mile eastward. It was not difficult to trace the southwest section of the cloud from the Poor- house hill across Tower Grove Park and to the Old People's Memorial Home, on Grand avenue, by prostrated trees, overturned fences and some injuries to houses. There was a like strip from Shaw's Garden eastward to- ward the Compton Hill reservoir on Grand avenue. A third division of the storm cloud, perhaps the one which unroofed buildings at Forest Park Heights, moved east- 80 Tin-: GREAT CYCLONE. ward oil the iioi'tli side of Slinw's (lanlcii ant] tore down the steel frame work of two of tlu; gi'(»iij) of })uil»liiii^s })e- ing constructed for the Liggett tfc Myers tobacco factory. This steel frame work was four stories high. It towered above the unfiuished brick walls three stories. Three })ig buildings on an east and west line stood at that stage of construction. The section of tlie storm cloud passing north of Shaw's Garden tore down tlie three uncovered stories of steel beams and suppoi'ts as if they had been so much of cob houses. This it did with tlie first and third of the build- inss, leaving: the middle buildino; unharmed. It was under the mass of structural steel at the tliird building that eight lives w^ere crushed out. A little beyond the Liggett tt Myers ])lant tlie cloud lifted ten heavy freight cars from the St. Lut suffering agony from the frightful gash in her head and the- heavy timbers and beams which confined her body and crushed her chest. She was extricated with much difficulty and immediately given all the attention and care possible. At a late hour last night her condition was very serious and it is expected she will die. Mrs. Ottersen, who w^as in the chapel at the time, was completely buried beneath the mountain of bricks, mason- ry and timbers, which crashed from above. She pre- sented a piteous sight when the army of workmen finally located her and started to remove the debris from her body. It was a task of some time and difficulty, as sev- eral immense beams had become lodged directly upon her and had become fixed against the opposite wall. Her legs were pinioned to the ground while her chest was crushed flat by a great rafter which almost prevented her breathing. Strange to say she also was conscious when found. Iler condition is more dangerous than that of Mrs. Childress, and the physicians do not hold out much hope for her recovery. Although no bones were broken, so far as could be ascertained, she has been injured inter- nally and her body and face were horribly bruised. There were eight of the inmates of the Poorhouse who received numerous wounds from flying glass and brick, but it is not thought that their injuries are in any way 107 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 109 dangerous. Sev^eral of the attendants were cut slightly by flying splinters of glass. The deadhouse, which had two dead bodies in it, one of which had been sent there only a half hour previous, was completely demolished by the furious wind. The building, which was a weak one, was entirely obliterated, and the two dead bodies swept away in the wind. The keeper of the deadhouse and potters field, who sleeps in the deadhouse, had left the building just before the storm and had gone up to the main building. He owes his life to the fact, as he undoubtedly would have been killed had he remained in the shanty. PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPES. Incredible as it sounds, with 1,300 patients in the build- ing, 750 of whom are insane, not a life was lost at the Poorhouse during the storm. The insane patients in their ward gave the attendents a great deal of trouble during the first spell of the fierce wind. They could not be controlled and filled the building with their shrieks and cries. After the storm had abated a little, they were induced to quiet down. The new building for the male insane patients, which is the most westerly of all the buildings out there, was not damaged in the least by the storm. The eno-ine-room suffered from the loss of the stacks, which were blown away. Hundreds of windows were torn from their casements and flung to the ground, and shutters were fluns; in everv direction. A view of the damaged central building presented a desolate spectacle, the diffent floors being open to the 110 THE r;REAT CYCLONE. sky iiiul dripping with floods of water. The top floor was used for the attendants, the next floor under the tower was used by Superintendent Overbeck, and the second floor by Dr. Mereditli. In the basement was the chapel. Everything in tlie rooms mentioned is a com- plete loss. The damage to the buildings is estimated at at least $15,000. In conversation with eyewitnesses of the storm at the Poorliouse it was stated that the first touch of the dis- astrous wind was felt at 4:50 o'clock. The patients have their supper at 4:30 o'clock and get to their floors at 4:50. It was just as tlie patients reached their floors that the storm struck the building. The wind came first from the southeast, then veering rapidly to the southwest it came hustling back again. The tower was torn off with a loud report and as it crashed through the roof the whole build- ing shook to the foundations. A panic ensued in which the shrieks of the women could be heard above the wind. The maniacs added to the terror of the patients, and for a time the utmost confusion reigned. However, when it was seen that the storm was abating, order was quickly restored and the work of searching for the injured begun. The Female Hospital escaped with little damage, the roof of the west wing being torn off, with numerous smaller damages to the interior of the l)uilding. A num- ber of the inmates were cut by flying missiles, but there was not a single sei'ious accident reported. The cottage at the Insane Asylum was damaged con- siderably by the wind but no one was hurt. THE GREAT CYCLONE. - 111 UNION DEPOT POWER HOUSE. The Union Depot system of electric roads is one of the largest in the world. Its tracks exceed 100 miles in length, and to secure power for its Southern divisions a mammoth structure was built some four or five years ago. It covered an entire block on Geyer, Missouri, and Jefferson Avenues. It was not a temporary structure, but was massive in the extreme, its masonry and brick work giving it a fortress appearance. Its machinery was the finest money could buy and its smoke stack reared its head so high that it was a local land mark. It was one of the highest and strongest smoke stacks ever built, and yet it fell before the winds fury just as hopelessly and helplessly as a tree with a rotten stem. A cyclist who was riding home from his work sought refuge in the power house from the rain. In common with everyone else he thought it was safe against any storm. But he was wrong. The section of the building into which he and three others rushed fell almost as soon as they entered it. The cyclist crawled out of the wreck, bruised and battered, leaving behind the bodies of his three companions, all of whom were crushed to death. Mr. C. P. Gregory, an official of the company saw the building fall, and gave the following vivid description of the scene the evening of the storm. ''I was standing near the northwest corner of the block, in a vacant lot, and was but a few feet from the entrance to the machine shop. I saw two threatening cloud strata approaching, one from the southeast and the other from the southwest — dark and forbidding banks, resting, as it 112 THK GREAT CYCLONE. were, upon the green l)ackgrouii(l. These clouds seemed to come together with an awful clap of thunder. I at once rushed toward the machine shop, yelling to the men there, about sixty in number, to get out. Just then the miglity force struck the car sheds, which are south of and adjoining the power house. The sheds were crushed in like an eggshell. There were several teams and coal wagons in the shed at the time, and two of the teams, with four horses each, were in the ruins. All the horses were killed or maimed. I don't know whether the team- sters made their escape or not, but fear that all did not. "As the car shed walls and roof went in I yelled to the engineer, Zimmerman, who was at his post in the power house, to run, but before the poor fellow could make his escape, the big brick chimney whicli stands about the middle of the plant, between the two boiler rooms, came down with a crash, burying the whole power house plant beneath the debris. Zimmerman was instantly killed; we only a little while ago succeeded in getting out his body. Yon can get some idea of the terrible force of the elements when I say that the car shed was 400x300 feet, the brick chimney was 162 feet high by thirty-eight feet in diameter at the base, and yet the whole was a huge pile of bricks and debris in less than a minute's time. The men in the machine shop barely escaped before the car shed walls went in. "The disaster ties up the whole Scullin system except the Bellefontaine and Mound City line, which is supplied by another small power house, which escaped injury. The first work we shall do is to search the ruins for the 1 la 114 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 115 rest of the dead, if any there be. I am down-town to- night laying in a supply of tools, and we shall have a force of men at work before daylight." A MARVEL OF RE -CONSTRUCTION. It required ten days of unremitting labor to effect temporary repairs to this mammoth structure — not regu- lation working days of eight hours each — not even days of twelve hours each — but days which extended from midnight to midnight. That the damage of the storm could be repaired in even a temporary manner in so short of time may well be regarded as one of the marvelous feats of science and activity. It is doubtful, indeed, if any corporation of the kind ever accomplished such almost marvelous results in so short a space of time. Those who saw the power-house on the morning after the storm, with its great brick smoke stack in ruins, its massive brick walls crumbled in ov^er its machinery, its roof torn asunder and many of its cars smashed to pieces, will never forget the spectacle. Experts, even giving the company the benefit of the doubt and counting on prodigious efforts, in no case admitted the possibility of a resumption of the traffic of the roads in less than two weeks. Vice-President Harry Scullin said little, but if ever man was equal to the occa- sion he so proved himself. Four days after the storm a portion of the vast machinery had been cleared off and set in motion. The Tower Grove and California avenue divisions commenced running at once. A temporary roof was built over the working plant. 116 THE GREAT CYCLONE. The huge dismantled brick smoke stack was then tackled. A force of bricklayers worked from dawn till dusk, eating and sleeping on the premises. By night another force of men labored, erecting scaffoldings so as to be ready for the bricklayers in the morning. And lo! the smokestack within a week raised its head higher than anything in the neighboi'hood. It was completed before the National Republicans convened three weeks after the cyclone. This stack, 150 feet high, originally took 10 weeks in building. Sixty additional cars went into service June 7, and a horse-power of 3,200 propelled the machinery. The full power under normal conditions before the wreck was 8,000 to 10,000. The bulk of the macliinery was still exposed to the elements when restarted, though cleared from all debris, and the 3,200 horse-power to be used was only secured by running the boilers to their high- est capacity. They being of the very best tubular make, there was no risk in this. By the middle of June a permanent roof had been placed over the entire power house. On the clearing up and restarting of the machinery a force averaging 500 men a day was at work for days. Mr. Harry Scullin said on the evening of June G : "Give all the credit to the men. Nothing can be too good for them. They have worked with a loyalty and will I never saw equaled. Day and night they have stuck to the task that at one time seemed almost hopeless. I have never had to tell them to stay late or come early. They have been here all the time. I am certainly proud THE GREAT CYCLONE. 117 of what has been accomplished and equally proud of the spirit of loyalty the work has called forth in our men." STREET RAILWAY SERVICE PARALYZED. The power house of the People's Cable railway was also badly wrecked. Hundreds of cars were injured and sever- al destroyed. The machinery escaped, but the entire second floor was wrecked, and when operations were re- sumed, the immense wheels revolved in mid air. The storm had moreover the effect of stopping every electric street car in St. Louis. The terrific force of the wind tore the wires of the lines from tlieir fastenings to the side posts and in many instances blew the posts down. Every car run on the electric lines in the city was stopped almost instantaneously when the storm struck the city. The cable cars did not suffer so much. They however, were, of course, impeded by the stoppage of the cars crossing their lines. The Olive street line was stopped by a perfect network of wires at Nineteenth street, which stretched across the entire open space at tlie corners. Owing to the prompt action of an employe in running to the City Hall for assist- ance the wires were cut away and the Olive street line resumed operation in about 20 minutes. The Fourth street cable was stopped by an immense number of tele- graph poles which were blown down on Choteau avenue from Fourth street west. The poles were piled across the car tracks in all directions. The cable was shut off until they coald be cleared away. The Broadway cable ran successfully through the storm 118 THE GREAT CYCLONE. for about five or ten minutes when the destruction of buildings on South Broadway effectually V^arred the street. The cable continued to run along all right, but the cars were stopped by the vast amount of debris and timbers thrown along the tracks. The entire Lindell system was stopped by the storm. The wires were twisted and torn from the poles and every car was brought to a standstill. This was the case witli every electric line in the city, save the Bellefoutaine line, which was stop})ed for an hour and a half by the cross lines of street railways being blockaded. At the end of that time the Bellefoutaine managed to resume operations. The Chouteau avenue sheds of the Lindell Railway, were totally demolished by the storm and an entirely new structure will have to be erected. HOURS OF HORRIBLE SUSPENSE. The wholesale stoppage of the car lines crowded the streets with thousands of peo})le on their way home. Every doorway and entrance was jammed with frightened men and women in momentary danger of being killed by the hundreds of live wires, which hung about in all directions. The Olive street line, when it resumed operations after its 20-minute stop, was so crowded with humanity that movement within the cars was an impossibilit3^ People got on the cars as far west as Twelfth street in order to obtain standing room even when the car returned on its west-bound trip. Ladies, running risk of being thrown to the ground and killed, frantically caught on to the cars while they were in motion in their endeavors to escape 1^ Ih \^- 1 19 120 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 121 from the horrors of electrocution, wliich threatened every- one on the streets. In many instances ladies and young women were thrown down and narrowly escaped injury. That no serious damage is reported from this direction is a mystery. Inquiries among tlie employes of the various roads down town elicited the fact that very few, if any, accidents occured to passengers. The day following the storm saw fewer street cars run- ning than on any day for years, the service being poorer on the whole than in the old horse car regime. Only two lines on the ScuUin or Union depot system were in operation. The Benton-Bellefontaine ran right along and it was the only street car line in the city that was not disabled by the storm. The Mound City resumed opera- tions early in the morning. All the lines running to the Fair Grounds were running except the one on Jefferson avenue and Mr. Scullin's Fair Grounds line. The cars of the latter were used on the Mound City road. The Union, Northern Central and Cass avenue lines all started up about the same time next morning, and the Franklin avenue line at 8:80 the fatal evening. The only other line operated by the Chicago syndicate is the Southwest- ern, which parallels the Broadway line of the same com- pany. Tlie Southwestern started up a day or two later and proved of immense service to a large number of peo- ple living south of Arsenel street in the territory covered by some of the Scullin lines. The Southern electric also expected to resume operations on a part of its route. It runs to Carondelet and is ordinarily patronized by thou- sands of people living north of the Wild Hunter's. 122 THE GlIEAT CYCLONE. The Grand avenue line was operated from the water tower as far south as the Grand avenue bridge only. The service will be ext(Mid<^d south of Mill Creek. Another line for the Southsiders which was able in a day or two to run cars was the Lindell company's new Park avenue electric road. It leaves the Conipton Heights line at Nebraska avenue and continues west on Park avenue to Yandeventer, and then runs south to Tower Grove Park. The company's power house on Park and Vandeventer avenues was stai-ted up at noon Thursday, but the company's lines south of Mill Creek Valley were nearly all down and the power was used by the Page, Spalding and Delmar avenue divisions of the Lindell system, all running to the West End. The Olive street cable did a tremendous business. The electric lines operated by the same company, on the other hand, fared badly. The power house from which they were operated was partially demolished and it was several days before traffic on them was resumed. The Jetferson avenue line was in the same fix. TELEGRAPH WIRES DOWN. For several hours after the hurricane St. Louis was cut off from all communication with the outside world. Every wire, north, east, south and west, was reported down. The telegraph and telej^hone services and the electric railway lines were crippled, and all street railway traffic w^as temporarily suspended. The damage to the wires was estimated Wednesday night at over 1100,000. The hurricane snap})ed hundreds of telegraph poles THE GREAT CYCLONE. 123 throughout the city like twigs, and a perfect labyrinth of the deadly overhead wires were precipitated, to the ground. The casualties from this source were miraculously small, in view of the danger to which thousands of 2:)eople were exposed. As it was, the twisted wires were a constant menace to pedestrians, and scores of people are known to have cH)me in contact with live wires. No fatalities were reported from this cause, however. This w^as due to the fact that all the electric car lines shut off their power as soon as they received word that the wires were down. At 8 o'clock Kansas City^w^is reached by w^ay ot Mex- ico, Mo. , and later Chicago was communicated with by way of Kansas City. The wires on the Illinois side were down for miles. Manager Bohle had gangs of men out in all parts of the city all night, but the damage was so great that the men were unable to do much before daylight. The telegraph service was crippled for some time on account of the storm. The telephone wires, with the exception of a portion of the West End circuit, w^ere all down, and the downtow^n districts were without telephone service the next day. A FATED CORNER. The corner of Seventh and Rutger streets may be de- scribed as the charnel-house in the path of the storm. Thirteen bodies were taken from the luins of two build- ings on this corner within twenty-four hours of the storm, and there were still forms under the heaps of brick and 124 THE ORE AT CYCLONE. stone that marked the place where the biiiklin<^s stood. A boarding-house stood at the southeast corner. Wlien the storm reached it the walls collapsed as though made of stitf dough, and the unfortunates inside were entomlied in the twinkling of an eye. The high wind that s\ve})t around the corners after the main storm passed created an eddy over the ruins into which was tossed a mass of debris from the entire neighborhood. The work of rescue was difficult and necessarily incomplete. People in the neighborhood say there were 40 souls in the house when it went down, and but nine corpses have been taken out. On the opposite corner from the boarding-house search- ers for bodies found four mangled ti-uiiks and sent them to the morgue. A man half daft with terror assured Sergeant Meehan that the ])ody of his wife is buried there. He was to excited to give his name, but neighbors said he lived in the house, and that the woman has not been seen since the storm. One might travel miles and find few more desolate, heart-sickening pictures than that around Seventh and Rutger streets. A pile of brick and broken timbers stretched from curb to curb on the Ilutger street side, east of Seventh. Alono; the sidewalk on the noi'th side of the street a pathway was being made through the debris, and through this the few who had business within the ropes that guarded the graves of families were allowed to pass by the police. Upon a mass of tangled wreckage, in plain view of the curious mob, an old woman sat all day surrounded by a few of her battered household goods, dug from the wreck. About her were gathered a few 125 ... V ' ■ ^ , 126 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 127 friends trying to persuade her to go away. But she would not go away. For years and years she lived on that cor- ner. Her children were born there, and from the door of her house she followed the body of her husband a long time ago — so long ago she cannot remember all about it. She expected to die there in peace and quiet with her relatives gathered about her bed, but from the expression in her sad, dim eyes, as she gazed on the sickening ruins, she would have been satisfied had she gone down with the rest, and never known what caused the candle of life to go out. And so she would not go away but remained for hours, a pale, solitary figure, pathetic and pleading in a vista of woe and sorrow. The buildings in this vicinity were totally wrecked. They cannot be repaired. They represented to the honest people who occupied them before the storm, the savings of years, and that was being swept away in the space of a minute was beyond their comprehension. They were dumb with vague surprise and went about unable to re- alize the full extent of their affliction. It was like a holi- day. All the stores were closed and thousands lounged in the streets. Men and women stood moodily in sheltered places watching the crowds. Some of them had babies beside them and the prattle of the little ones sounded strangely out of place in the surroundings. On every hand were evidences of wreck and ruin. But a saloon within 50 feet of the place, where the nine bodies were recovered, was doing rushing business and shouts of drunken roisterers, mingled with the clink of glasses and 128 THE GREAT CYCLONE. the jingle of money, resounded mockingly in the ears of the stricken and homeless. A COMBINATION OF HORRORS. AVind, liglitning, fire and rain formed the hellish com- bination that slaughtered and maimed and rendered house- less and destitute scores of defenseless residents of the district bounded by Park avenue on the south, Laclede avenue on the north, California avenue on the west and Dolman street on the east. The entire section presents a sickening picture of desolation, ruin and misery. Amid the wreck of palatial residences, handsome flats and cot- tages less pretentious, the dead and dying have been taken out here and there throughout the entire district, and every block has horrors upon horrors to relate. In many instances the awful work that was begun by the tornado's crushing force was made doubly terrible by fire, and when the elements had spent their fury the flames blackened the wreckage in token of the ruin that had been wrought. In more than one case people who were pinioned beneath fallen walls and debris were burned to death before the eyes of family or friends who were powerless to aid them, and many others would have died equally horrible deaths but for the bravery of the rescuers. Nothing that lay directly in the path of the storm seemed capable of withstanding the terrific force of the wind. Great stones weighing thousands of pounds were carried for blocks and dropped wherever the wind seemed disposed to leave them. Some of the most substantial THE GIfEAT CYCLONE. 129 buildings in town were leveled to the ground, while per- haps an old dilapidated structure next door escaped with- out injury. Probably the most remarkable case in point is the de- struction of the power house of the People's llaili'oad, (Fourth street cable) , at 1801 Park avenue, already re- ferred to. It was a massive structure, only three stories in its tallest part, and built of pressed brick and stone. The walls ranged from 20 to 30 inches in thickness, yet they were crushed as though they were built of paper. The entire top story of tlie main office building was thrown into the street, and the engine room was unroofed and wrecked. The damage was $100,00(^, to say nothing of the loss that accrued from the suspension of traffic on the road. When the roof was lifted off great stones and a perfect storm of massive timbers were rained down int-o the en- gine room. The big steam pipe leading to the engine on the west side was broken and every car on the road stopped almost instantly. The roar of escaping steam added to the confusion and for a time it was thought everybody in the place would be killed. The engineer, D. G. McCarron, was in the engine room and had a nar- row escape from death. The car sheds on the block to the south were unroofed and partially demolished, and a number of cars smashed into kindlins; wood. Manas^er Mahoney put a force of 100 men, mostly employes of the road, to work cleaning away the debi'is and getting in shape to rel)uild the power house. 130 THE GKKAT CYCLONE. HANDSOME RESIDENCES DESTROYED. From there all the way out Park avenue to beyond Nebraska, almost every other house is more or less dam- aged, and a large majority of them are total wrecks. This is particularly true of the magnificent residences to the north of Lafayette Park. The Soderer house, on the corner of Missouri and Park avenues, was badly damaged. The stable was a mass of ruins, and a fine horse and its driver, a colored man named Taylor, were buried under the debris. Both were killed. Julius Houck, brother of the Doctor, who lives at 2320 Park avenue, has a house that is not fit to live in. Two flats adjoining, owned by his mother-in-law, are a total wreck. The house on Park avenue, near Twenty-second street, where Alexander Selkirk boarded with his wife, is a mass of ruins. Mrs. Selkirk lost everything — handsome orna- ments, jewelry and her clothes. The house of Jerome Hill, the cotton factor, was dismantled, with great ga})S everywhere, the top gone, and lightless wnndows. All the family were at home the next morning removing furniture, and trying to save from the debris what was savable. John Endres, who lives next door to Mr. Hill, directed the moving of his belongings out of his devasted place. In spite of his loss, Mr. Endres good-naturedly said, he was only glad nobody in his house was hurt. He had spread a luncheon on the parlor mantle, a couple of bot- tles of wine from the cellar had been saved, and he in- sisted upon everybody in his household taking a bite to 131 132 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 133 sustain their courage. His four daughters and the two Misses Wamsganz, sisters of Mrs. Endres, went to stop with their grandmother until Mr. Endres could make other provisions for his family. He slept part of the night on the floor of the Carr residence, next to his own, and, like a faithful watchman, got up every half hour to see if his chatties were all right. Mr. Endres' courage and philosophy over his loss, did much to inspire his neighbors with the same sort of feelings. Mrs. James Carr, relict of the late Judge Carr, with her sons and daughters, lives next door to Mr. Endres. Her house was the least damaged of any of those on that side of the street, though there was not a whole pane of glass left in it. Mr. James Carr, Jr., w^as busy putting in the broken windows, after having spent part of the nitrht in helping Mr. Endres to bring a little order out of the chaos. Mrs. Carr housed a number of bleeding and fainting neighbors, and beds were made all over the floor to take care of the homeless. She attributes the saving of her house to the solidity with which it is built, but equally strong houses proved the fallacy of such reliance. The Misses Carr had just returned from the wedding of Miss Fisher to Mr. Leon Fasset in the little Church of the Unity in Benton place. The wedding guests had barely left the church when the roof blew off, and they all ran for their lives. Miss Carr has in her possession two mackintoshes and four umbrellas which she found in the church, and has taken care of, awaiting their owners. The Carr family sought refuge in the celhir between two large brick piers, which swayed and rocked, 1;U . THE CHEAT CYCLONE. but (lid not give way. The wind tried itself in the Carr residence without doing great damage, but it tore frames from doors, broke locks in half, twisted one hinge off a door and left the other on, shattered some window panes, while it scratched others in zig-zag fashion, drove enor- mous boards through one side of the house in the third story, and never moved a wooden bucket from an unsheltered position in tlie yard, SAW II Ell CHILDREN BURN. Horror's crown of horrors was reached at the home of John Bene, 1400 Ohio avenue, just off Park avenue, where the house was first wrecked and then burned. Mrs. Bene and her two children, Sylvester, aged 5, and Oliver, her two-year-old bal)e, were buried under the debris, and the latter was burned to death before his mother's eyes. Sylvester, the next older child, was also badly burned, but a corps of rescuers succeeded in digging down to where he lay before life was extinct. The poor little fellow was unconscious and his skull is fractured in addition to the severe burns he received, Mrs. Bene could see her little ones from where she lay pinioned under some heavy timbers. The wreckage was on fire all around her, and she was being slowly roasted to death, but seemingly oblivious to her own danger and the excruciating pain she must have been euffei'ing, she implored the rescuers to cease their efforts to reach her and save her babies instead. The maternal instinct in her was so strong as to overcome all ])hysical pain. When she was taken out she was found to be badly burned about the legs, hips and feet. THE CiREAT CYCLONE. 13") and bruised from head to foot by falling bricks and tim- bers. When she learned that one of her babies was dead and the other probably fatally injured she fainted. Five people were instantly killed by the demolition of the home of the Sehwerdtman's, at Ohio and St. Vincent avenues. The house was wrecked till not one brick remained upon another, and the entire family was buried beneath the ruins. C. Bchwerdtman and his old mother were found side by side, dead. The bodies of Mrs. H. Schwerdtman and her two children were taken from under the debris an hour later. Mr. Schwerdtman, husband of the latter, was on his way home when the storm broke. When he reached there and found the house in ruins, and his wife, children, mother and brother, dead, he was almost frantic with grief, and his friends feared for a time that he would lose his reason. Two blocks further north, at 2700 Caroline street, the grocery store owned by Anton Rubald, -was buried under the wreck of the three-story building in which it was located. Rubald sought safety in the celler, but his head and back were severely cut and bruised. The grocery stock was almost a total loss. Mrs. E. Filsinger's home, at 2635 Caroline, was blown down and she was badly hurt. She was taken to the Rebekah Hospital. HOMELESS AND DESTITUTE. When the first grey streaks of dawn began to break on the eastern horizon, the terrified residents of the district at the south approach of the Jefferson avenue bridge resumed their search for the dead in the wrecked tenement l.'^ti Tin-: (iiniA'i' fvfi.oxK. atS14 Soiitli Jctferson aveimc The corpses of Mrs. Clay pool and Ikt daughter Cora, were taken ont during the night. Two and possibly three more bodies they knew were buried under the mass of brick and timber in which they had delved till after midnight. By 9 o'clock the remains of old Mrs. Cahill were reached and a little later Ethel Claypool's crushed and bloody body was taken out. They were sent to the moi-gue. In the same house Baby Barnett, aged 3, had her back broken, and her aunt, Mrs. Holland, was seriously hurt. A man named Irwin, living at 2712 Chouteau avenue, had his head crushed in a carpet factory at Twenty-second and Chouteau. LaSalle street, a short thoroughfare running from Eighteenth to Jefferson avenue, is probably the most Godforsaken looking place in town. The storm injured a nund)er of peojde living there and left neai'ly every family along the street homeless and destitute. Their misery was increased by the inability of moving vans to cart the remnants of their household effects elsewhere on account of hanging wires. Annie and Lydia, the two little children of John Hubli, living at 2318 LaSalle, were both injured by the roof falling in on them. Hubli's belongings were blown into the street, as were those of Mrs. Prack, a w'idow living up stairs. A bureau was blown out of one of Mrs. Prack's w^indows. George Weinter's furniture was scattered all over the street and broken to pieces. Nearly every family living in the neighborhood suft'ei'ed a similar loss and many of them will be entirely dependent upon charity for some time. 137 13B THE ORKAT CYCLONE. 189 The most serious injury reported was that to Mrs. Ackert, 2313 LaSalle, whose back was broken by flying timbers. Wallace Buckner and Guy Harvey, both colored, living at Jefferson and Chouteau avenues, were killed by the col- lapse of a brick tenement. Mrs. Abbie Woods, colored, was seriously injured by falling walls at her home, 2321 Papin street. Gratiot street from Eighteenth street east to Sixteenth, is lined on both sides with warehouses, all of which were razed to the ground. The block between Chouteau avenue and Hickory street on Armstrong ave- nue is probably the most complete wreck in the city. Every house, some of them handsome two-story affairs, was blown down and the street rendered impassable by bricks, timbers and broken roofs. Not a house esca[)ed. Selkirk's storas^e house at Eio-hteenth street and Chou- teau avenue was badly wrecked. The roof was taken off and tlie rear wall torn out. R. U. Leonori's warehouse, at Jefferson and Chouteau avenues, which was filled to the roof with furniture, is in ruins and the contents are badly damaged. The roof was blown off the St. Louis Coffin Company's plant at Fourteenth and Poplar streets, and the top story of Butler's warehouse at Eighteenth street and Chouteau avenue is gone. HORSES KILLED IX HARNESS. TheLindell Railway car sheds and repair house at 2330 Chouteau and extending across LaSalle street, were badly damaged and half a dozen cars were bi'oken to pieces. An employe named Bryant, living at 2f)15 Rutger, had his arm broken. The car sheds of the Jefferson Avenue 140 TIIH (iltKAT ('V(M.()NR. Line, adjoining tlic Lindell r('[)air sliop, were jKii'tially wrecked and two cars were destroyed. The wires are down and the line will not l)e running before Sunday. Tiie engine house at Eighteenth and Hickory streets was razed to the foundation. Two fine grey horses were killed as they stood side by side in harness ready to re- spond to aa alarm that had just come in. The engine was ■out and there were only two or three firemen in the house at the time. The St. Louis Wire Mill is in ruins and so is the Oriel Glass Company's plant, just west of it. Over a thousand panes of glass were broken there. The vacant block to the south is strewn with wreckage of every de- scription. The National Brewery, at Eighteenth and the railroad tracks, was partially unroofed. Singularly enough the tall shot tower, across the tracks at Twenty- second street, was unscathed, while Osborn's harvester factory, near by, had its roof blown off. L'Ouverture school was so badly damaged that it had to be closed up. DESOLATION AND DESTRUCTION. Looking south from the Jefferson avenue bridge was an unbroken panorama of wrecked homes, business houses, broken street cars, prostrate telegraph wires and over- turned sheds. The street was filled with rubbish of every description and the scene of desolation and destruction spread as far to the south as the eye could see. It would furnish columns upon columns of most frightful recital in itself, were it not for the fact that such an area wr.s cov- ered by the storm that what happened to a single street was dwarfed i)y the appalling nature of the whole. THE GREAT CYCLONE. 141 Beautiful Benton place, with its homes and garden-like surroundings, wns wrecked fi'oni center to circumference. On this place was the handsome residence of Anthony Ittuer, which stood on the corner. It was totally demolish- ed. Miss Isabel Ittner's bed blew out of the front window in the third story and was found, after a weary search, on the sidewalk, under a lot of rubbish. The next house to the Ittner mansion was that of Mrs. Valle, which was de- stroyed, as was the delightful home of Mrs. L. B. Baker. Mrs. Baker, with her little daughter, had just returned tVom down town, and had not been in the house long when the furious elements began to revolt. The whole family huddled under a kitchen table, clinging together and comforting each other as best they could. It will cost $8,000 at least to reljuild the house, to say nothing of the furnishing. The })iano is a total wreck, but Mrs. Baker's handsome saddle horse was saved. The resi- dences of Mrs. Rainwater and Mrs. Haydock fared a simi- lar fate. LOSSES TO BUSINESS CONCERNS. The following business losses w^ere noted in the small districts bounded by Eleventh, Dolman, Lafayette avenue and Market street. The building occupied by the Enno Sander Mineral Water Company, 125 to 129 South Eleventh street, was damaged to the extent of about $1,000 and the stock about $800. The Purina Mills, on the southwest side of Twelfth street bridge, were completely destroyed. The building, 142 THE (J RE AT C'YCLuNE. owned by tlie St. Louis Bagging Company, was an old .structure, wortli proliably ^5,000. Tlie stock of pui'ina, owned by the Kobinson-Danfortli Commission Coni])any, was utterly disintegrated. The damage to it will be al- most $5,000. The company will at once engage new (piarters and thei'e will be no delay in their business. Two girls employed in the mills remained in the build- ing throuo-hout the tornado and, wdiile the walls around them were rent asunder, they escaped uninjui-ed. An aged liorse, kept around the premises for the sake of old acquaintance, was injured in the back and died. M. M. Buck's warehouse, 810 to 826 South Twelfth street, was damaged about $1, 500. SWAMPED BY THEIK NPHOHBOR. The Shickle, Harrison t^ Howard Iron Company's big plant on Twelfth street, rear of Chouteau avenue, suf- fered injuries that will cost about $10,000 to rej)air. Much of this was done by the unwelcome advent of a portion of M. M. Buck's w^arehouse from the other side of the street. The machine shop was wrecked, the hay barn and pattern shop badly twisted around, the stable was blown down and the roof of the foundry taken off. The 500 men employed escaj)ed uninjured despite the fly- ing brick bats and other debris. The Ilaydock building, on Fourteenth street, near Chouteau avenue, was damaged al)out $10,000. Part of the ornamental center of the Fourteenth street end fell to the street, while the roof and })art of the rear walls crumbled in. The loss on stock will be to the Ilaydock 143 144 THE CKEAT CYCLONE. 145 Brothers' Carriage Company about $500. The Bauer- Walter Carriage Company and Stromberg, Kraus tfcCo., trunk manufacturers, who occu})y portions of the struc- ture, escaped with sliglit damages. The Griesedieck Artificial Ice Company, at Thirteenth and Papin, lost their three smokestacks, which, besides partially crippling the works, caused a loss in the vicinity of 11,000. TREMENDOUS DAMACiE. The superintendent of Station C, Laclede Gas Com- pany, on South Fourteenth street, held up his hands when asked as to damages sustained by the plant. "One hundred and fifty thousand dollars will not cover it," he replied. "We are torn up in all directions. Our Pintsch plant is only slightly hurt, say about $500, but one of our storage holders is wrecked. All the gas has escaped, our buildings are, some of them, demolished and we are in a bad way." The huge circular storage holder Avas 40 feet high when struck. It quickly settled down almost to the level of the ground. One man, Frank Benson, was injured by flying missiles. The St. Louis Coffin Company, who conduct their bus- iness in two immense buildings at Thirteenth and Poplar street, lost part of the upper story of one and the roof of the other. With the damage to stock etc., the loss will, it is estimated, be over $10,000. The Lafayette Park Stable, operated by Ileier & Wiebush, was, like everything else around the City Hospital, ruinously liandled by the tornado. The loss 10 ;[^4G THE GREAT CYCLONE. on the buildings, Avhich were practically demolished, will be about ^I0,im. That on the i>lant is still greater. It includes one hearse, six carriages and light buggies, nine surreys, 13 vehicles of all kinds belonging to board- ers and a stock of coffins and hardware. Everything was split into matches. It cannot be replaced under 130,000, making a total damage of $40,000. H Keemt's grocery, and another building owned by him, at 1800 South Fourth street, were damaged fully $3 000. Mrs Walker, who owns four houses and stores on the east and north sides of the City Hospital, loses about $4,000 on them. DAMACiE TO HOMES ON ONE STREET. Dolman street, going south from Chouteau avenue, presented an awful appearance. Up till the fatal night it was a pretty shaded thoroughfare, with comfortable residences on either side. Next day its shade trees lay prone in all positions across the street or the front yards of the houses. Telegraph poles and wires, roofing, bricks plastering and lumber help to make the scene one ot desolation. From Chouteau avenue to Lafayette scarcely a house escaped injury and almost all were badly wrecked. Among the latter were: -n • , a Nos 1201 and 1203, owned by George Peisch, and demolished to the extent of 13, 000. Both were occupied by^ families who deserted them for safer quarters before the tornado came. No. 1221, completely destroyed; value $3,000; THE GREAT CYCLOlSrE. 147 owned by Conrad Soehlmann. This was a two-story brick, rented by Mary Reardon, who was partially buried in the ruins, but was rescued by neighbors. Her daughter is employed as cashier at Philip Roeder's stationery store, on North Fourth street. After the storm, Miss Reardon walked towards home, little dreamin«c of the awful si2:ht that was to greet her eyes. Mrs. Reardon was painfully cut. Their furniture, valued at about 1600, was ruined. Nos. 1223 and 1225, also owned by Conrad Soehl- mann, was damnged $1,0D0. Nos. 1227 and 1229, owned by Mrs. Koch, were simply obliterated. Loss $9,000. Nos. 1304 and 1306, owned by Mr. Howe, were damaged |2,000. Mrs. Lange, a widow, owned three houses opposite, which cannot be repaired under $5,000. No. 1315, a stone-front two-story house, owned by Mr. Kiesewetter, was damaged $4, 000. Mrs. Kraft owned and occupied No. 1317, which was badly torn apart. Damage $3,000. C. E. Miller owned No. 1431, which lost the roof and windows, worth $1,000. Klauber & Son's property at 1435, was wrecked to the extent of fully $2,000. Mr. Nelson, the contractor, suffered a loss of about $3,000 on his place at 1436 Dolman. Nos. 1420 and 1422, owner unknown, are demolished in part. Loss estimated at $2,000. No. 1613, owner unknown, will cost at least $1,500 to straighten out. 148- THE OIIKAT CVCI-OXi:. Almost every badly dainag(*(l house on Dulmaii street was deserted at once. As fast as they could i'liid other quarters, families iiujved out. Scores of furniture wagons were being loaded up there the day after the saddest of all sad days. AROrXD TIIH CITY HOSPITAL. On Lafayette avenue at 1556 to 1564, a two-story block, owner not known, lost almost all its upper floors. The loss exceeded $3,000. Nos. 1622 and 1620 South Thirteenth street were just half gone. Damage, $1,500. At 1411 Carroll street the entire upper portion was swept away, and the occupants, who had fled down stairs, were in a mournful flx. Loss about $1, ()()(). The entire front of 1410 Dillon street was })lown off. Damage, $1,000. That historical landmark known as "Cracker Castle," at St. Ange and Chouteau avenues, owned by Major Charles PI Pearce, and occupied by ]\Ir. Frederick Spies, was struck by liglitning during the tornado. It was once almost the handsomest and l)est appointed residence in that section, but the storm has sealed its fate. Its large tower was hurled onto the western j)ortion of the build- ing, which it demolished. Tlie loss would be in the neigh- borhood of $3,000, but the castle will doubtless be torn down. The upper part of 1025 St. Ange avenue was borne away by the storm. Loss over $1,000. 149 150 THE (JKKAT CVCLOXK. 15 L MANY DEAD HERE IN A WRECKED TERRITORY. Search for the bodies of the victims of the. tornado, sup- posed to be still on the vacant lot opposite the old mar- ket was tedious, owing to the small force of men at work. The ruin of the market was most colossal and complete, and it was owing partly to the extent of the area to be dug over that the work of recovering the bodies progressed slowly. Sixteen men, under the direction of George Dace, worked all day and far into the night in the ruins. The next morning the body of George Howard was dug out of the debris at the extreme west end of the market. How- ard was connected with the circus which had been exhib- iting on the vacant lot opposite the market, which was blov/n out of existence. An immense crowd of curious people watched the searchers at work and interfered greatly with the work- men during the evening. The workmen were divided into three squads, located at three different points in the ruins near the center of the market. At 9 o'clock at night sev- eral of the workmen, who had reached the basement, thought they could hear a faint cry for help from under the debris on the northern side. The news was quickly communicated to the crowd, and a hush of expectancy fell upon the spectators as the men worked like beavers in their haste to reach the point from which the cry w^as sup- posed to have come. Diligent search failed to reveal any signs of a human body, and although the searching party shouted lustily into the ruins, no answering cry re- sponded. l.VJ 'iiii: oi;i;at cvci.om;. .\()'1IIIN(; WAS SI'AUED. On Soutli TwfMity-lirst street, near the Mill Creek Val- ley, desolation was universal. A photograph of the scene from 300 South Twenty-first street to the south end of the bridge would tell the story better than words. Not a single building, telegraph pole, tree or sign seemed to have escaped. The street and sidewalk was an almost solid mass of debris — bricks, broken telephone and tele- graj)h poles, tin roofing, water spouts, broken sigus and broken alass, while tlie wires covered the whole in an in- terminable netting, just high enough off tlie ground to catch pedestrians across the face and under the chin, a few being low enough to trip one's toes by way of varia- tion. At 310 South Twenty-first street, the J. F. Swift tt Co. fresh meat establishment is located, and just here the hurricane Vjegan business for the first time on Twenty - first street. Not a single window in the building re- mained intact, the whole place being flooded. The stock of $3,000 worth of meat was covered with water, bits of broken glass and flying mud and sand. The managers, however, made necessary deliveries two days later. The damage to the building was $500. Ofiic«r Bart Keaney, on the Twenty-first and Clark avenue beat, deserves mucli credit foi- the hei'oic work he did in assisting to I'escue the injured from the wi'ecked store at 2102 Clark avenue. AVhen the storm struck the store it went down without wai-ning. Bridget Gunn, 2722 Sheri(hin; (Jertie IMcKenna, 2108 Eugenia street, and John O'Connor, of 2109 Adams street, were in the TllK (JREAT CVCLONK, l5.'> store at the time, aud were buried under falling- timbers and brick walls. Miss Gunn's legs were both broken, left arm 1)roken between wrist and elbow and skull frac- tured. She was sent to the City Hospital. Gertie McKenna was injured internally. O'Connor has a broken arm, a seal}) wo'ind and inter- nal injuries. Grone's brewery, at Twenty -second and Clark avenue, was almost totally wrecked. The Scandinavian Church, southeast corner Twenty- third and Clark, was picked up and tui-ned completely over. At the Gates Wire Mill, Twenty-first and Gratiot, a scene indescribable was met with. An immense portion of the roof of the building lies piled up high on the south end of the bridge, while all around a mass of wdres, poles, roofing and tons of other debris made the vicinity utterly impenetrable. Mr. Lippies, who was employed in the Gates mill said that fonr were badly hurt, two fatally. Mr. Lippies could not explain how it happened that of the 300 or more boys and men who were in the building only four were hurt, but he explained that he thouo;ht the vivid flashes of the burnino; electric lio-ht wires under the Twenty-first street bridge proved to be a miraculous warning, causing many who might otherwise have been crushed to death, to flee to a place of safety. Mr. Lippies himself ran out of the building to see what the trouble really was, and, no sooner had he entered the open yard east of tlie building, than he was picked up bodily and carried over the companys wood- shed, lauding in his own back yard. 154 THE GREAT CYCLONK. He was dazed, ])iit not hurt, and, jumping to his feet, entered his back door and ran into the arms of his wife before he knew wliat liad really happened. The Sawyer Manufacturing Company, 1819 Chouteau avenue, suffered greatly, the building being almost totally wrecked. Four people were injured. The Eden Pul)lishing house, at 1716 Chouteau, was also a heavy loser. The building was unroofed and the stock damaged. Gieren's drug: store, on the corner of Twelfth and Chestnut, was badly smashed. 8t. John's Church, on Hickory street, lost its steeple. The Liederkran/ Hall, Cliouteau avenue and Thirteenth street, was unroofed and the entire building flooded with water. Alexander's saloon, Eighteenth and Chouteau, was considerably damaged. The Brown Tobacco Company, across the street from Alexander's saloon, lost the top story of its building. Spilker's di'ug store, 1801 Chouteau, suffered severely. Tlie south wall of the nail department of the St. Louis Wire Company was wrecked, fire breaking out a little after 10 o'clock. Fire also helped to complete the destruction of the Gates Wire Mill, breaking out immediately after the storm. SEARCHINO FOR THEIR HUSBANDS. The district bounded by Market, Chouteau, Broadway and the wharf was a complete wreck. The streets were filled with wreckage, the upper stories of the old build- 155 150 THE GKEAT CYCLONE. 157 ings were blown in and the roofs of many buildings car- ried away. Many people were injured by flying bricks, wood, signs and the like, and- were treated at the neigh- boring dru^ stores. A few of them were taken to the hospital and thence to the Good Shepherd Convent. It was claimed that quite a nunil)er lay buried under the demolished buildings, but it recpiired days to tell the tale, as nothing could be done in the storm and darkness of the night toward searching the ruins. It was impossible to get the ambulances east of Third street, although it was reported that a numl)er of dead and injured were lying in the district east. The drivers were unable to get to them, try how they would. The broken telegraph and telephone wires and poles impeded progress everywhere, so that no investigation of the casualties could be made. Everywhere desolation and ruin greeted the eye. Tenement houses were caved in and the unhappy tenants were shivering in the cold, chilly rain on the sidewalks. Frightened women clus- tered about the windows of the great manufacturing build- ings, crying and praying for deliverance from the catas- trophe occurring on all sides. The men dashed here and there in great excitement, as the thunder crashed and the lightning flashed, and tried to quiet the fears of the women. It was an exciting scene in this great wholesale and man- ufacturing district while the storm was at its height. GAS WORKS WRECKED. As the storm was at its height the gasholder at station C of the Laclede Gas Company, located at Fifteenth and 158 THE GREAT CYCLONE. Gratiot streets, collapsed. There was no noise or explo- sion, })iit the neighb(H'ho(Ml was terrified by the sight of columns of burning gas le;ij)ing higli in the air. The tank was nearly full at the time, and the full force of the wind caught it and turned it over. As the immense iron columns, which supported the tank proper fell, the gas was ignited and burned for a few moments at a fearful rate. Nearly all of the columns fell in the grounds of the com])any. They are 115 feet long. One of the columns fell across Fifteenth street, and pinioned a young colored girl by the legs. It was two hours before she could be extricated. FALLKX HriLI)IN(;S EVERYWHERE. Proceedincc south from Chestnut street on Third a scene of woeful devastation met the eye on either side. The street was strewn with fragments of roofing, chimney tops, broken glass, bricks and telegraph poles, while the wires were coiled in every direction. In some places the huge demolished poles blocked the street; wagons broken to pieces or upset were numerous. The frightened peo- ple had in many cases taken refuge in the lower stories, sometimes in the cellars of their homes, fearing a fresh outbreak, as the liglilning continued to flash, the wind roared and the water still poured down in drenching tor- rents. Scarcely a house escaped injury. Scarcely a pane of glass remained intact. Water flooded almost every domicile, and men, women and children, who retained their practical senses, busied themselves endeavoring to secure dry quarters for the night. THE GREAT CYCLONE. 159 The factory of the Dodson-Hils Pickle and Sauce Manu- facturing Company, at 732 South Second street, was very badly wrecked. Corner saloons and stores seemed to have come in for the worst effects of the destructive ele- ment. A glance at the big elevator of the St. Louis United Elevator Company, near the river, at Chouteau avenue, revealed the fact that the entire upper portion had been blown away. The mammoth establishment of the N. K. Fairbank Company, soap manufacturers, at Third and Convent streets, suffered severely. Its tanks and outbuildings were scattered in all directions. Its soap was demol- ished, its windows blown out and its stacks of barrels dis- persed over the adjoining country. UNION CLUB WRECKED, The Union Club's home is, or was, one of the hand- some pressed brick buildings which go to make the La- fayette park vicinage architecturally beautiful. This magnificent building was completed about two years ago. Its apartments were spacious. It had handsome parlors and smoking rooms; billiard and card rooms; in fact, all the accommodations for a modern clubhouse. The build- ing was three stories high and about 80x120 feet, and its lower walls are now standing and the losj is almost total. Within 100 feet of the clubhouse is the Lafayette Park church and across the street from it towards the west, is the Protestant Episcopal church, also a wreck. In none of these public buildings did a death result from the storm, 160 THE (;mkat cyclone. altliough Mr. Michel, the steward at the club, received se- vere bruises. Of all the homes on Lafayette aveuue, the Duestrow homestead has in recent months attracted most attention. Like other homes in this neighborhood, it is a wreck. The building is four stories high, l)uilt of stone, and one of the handsomest residences in that part of the city. Next to the Duestrow homestead is the residence of Mr. G. E. Wetzel, at 2327 Lafayette avenue. The AVet- zel home was also an attractive residence and is now al- most a total wreck. It is occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Wetzel and Mr. and Mrs. Ringer. Before telling more about the marvelous escapes in this section of the city, an observation which will almost uni- versally apply should be made. That the loss of life in the dozen blocks which surround Lafayette ])ark did not run into the thousands is due to the fact that the people rushed to the basements. Hundreds of families saved their lives by this means. They seemed to know intui- tively where the safest room was located and sought it at once where there was no basement, without being able themselves to tell just why they did so. LIVKS LOST IX A irilE. Fear was added to the fury of the storm by an alarm of fire from the great pLmt of the St. Louis Refrigerator and Wooden Gutter Co., 1200 South Main street. It was a four-story building, magnificently equipped. The hungry flames ate up the interior and gnawed at the walls with impunity, for there was only one fire engine in 161 162 THE (iKEAT CYCLONE. 168 sight, and it looked like a pigmy battling with a giant. The network of wires blown down was so complete that the streets were impassable, and the Fire Department became powerless. The flames fanned by the fury of the atmospheric eruptions, cav^^rted like demons and wrapped their liquid tono-ues around the waverins; walls. At last they fell with a crash that was heard and felt for miles and the fire fiend was satisfied. The material damage was estimated at $200,000. Tlie Aluminum bicycle factory at Main street and Park avenue, belonging to the same company, was unroofed but escaj)ed the flames. Many lives were lost in tlie building. The factory employed over 300 hands, and as they were still at work when the crash came, followed by the fire, it is marvelous that any of them escaped. A HUGE FACTORY DESTROYED. One of the greatest freaks of the wind was the havoc wrouglit at Liggett & Myers tobacco factory in the west end of tlie city. This plant is to be the largest in the world of its class, and consists of some thirteen buildings grouped close together. All lie east and west and ai)par- ently directly in tlie storm's progress. The natural infer- ence would be that all were damaged to an approximately equal extent, but the effect was far different. The build- ings in the south group were practically completed, but escaped entirely, while the group to the north, less than 100 feet away, sustained all the damage. This group consisted of six buildings which were only in the early Hn rilK (iRKAT TYfLOXE. stages of erection, and for tlu; most part, liad merely the steel structural work in ])lace. This had the effect of a monster network, which, it would be supposed, the wind would pass through freely and without damage. Certainly it would be expected tliat the damage would be e(|ual all along the line, but the result was far different. The order of the buildin<^s from west to east was: Warehouse No. 1, warehouse No. 2, the stemmery, the powerhouse, the licorice factory and offices. The tornado passed the first half of warehouse No. 1, demolished the second half, over- looked No. 2, destroyed the stemmery, killing a number of men, neglected the powerhouse, and destroyed the licorice factory. The damage was about about $150,000, antl the Secre- tary of the company issued this statement the following day: "The new plant of thirteen buildings in process of con- struction for the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company has suffered seriously from the cyclone. The stemmery build- ing, one-half completed, is a total wreck. Tlie rehand- ling building, or warehouse, finished, is not badly dam- a<'ed. Part of the roof and the cornice of the licorice o factory have been torn away, but the loss is not serious. The east end of the box factory and the oflice building are badly wrecked. "In relation to Thomas Clark Sl Sons, as contractors, they are required to furnish the building material and construct the plant entire. The company's contract with them calls for the delivery of the completed plant Sep- tember 15 next. Of course, the contractors are the losers THE (4REAT CYCLONE. 165 from the result of the cyclone on the buildings, but it is fair to presume that they ai'e secured by bondsmen from sub -contractors in the same way that the company is secured by responsible bondsmen from them. If that is the case the loss will not fall heavily on any one of the contractors. "Thomas Clark & Sons contracted to build the plant for $1,000,000. The company put in its own founda- tions at a cost of $250,000. Its officers feel confident that the contractors will be able to fulfill their agreement with it to the letter." The site of this immense plant has Lawrence street as its eastern boundary and Tower Grove avenue as its west- ern boundary. It has a frontage of 2, 400 feet on Park avenue and a like frontao-e on Folsom avenue. The build- ings are of iron and brick, and they cover nearly the whole of the site, while they are planned to range from four to six stories in height. It was in one of these immense unfinished structures — the warehouse — that death came in a most sickening man- ner to woi'kmen. The iron-work was four stories high, and beneath it was a basement eight feet deep. The workmen wereseekino; shelter in this basement when the ponderous iron -work, with its massive steel posts and girders, toppled before the violent cyclone and crashed down upon them. Nine-tenths of the victims were St. Louisans. It was at one time believed the number of deaths here alone was in the hundreds, as 500 men were employed. Most of them had just left the building when it fell, and were thus providentially saved. !('.() TllK (iUKAT OYOLONE. CiniK IlKS WRECKED. The total loss of cliiircli ]»r()i)erty in St. Louis from the tornado amounted to over $400,000, distributed a< follows: Roman Catliolie, ^225,000; German Evangeli- cal, $55,000; Ej)iscoi)al, $35,000; Methodist Ei)iseoi)al Soutli, $25,000; Baptist, $20,000; Presbyterian, $19,000; Unitarian, $10,000; German Evangelical, $10,000; Christian, $8,000. It is impossible to arrive at the exact loss, because none of the churches partially desti-oyed have been examined by the architects to ascertain what portion of them can be used in reconstruction. Conserv- ative officers of the churches have estimated the amount of destroyed and damaged churches, twenty-four in number, in various amounts, which round out the sum total here- tofore given. Of the number of churches given above, seven are complete wrecks. Of the Catholic Churches, the Annunciation and St. John of Nepomuk were totally destroyed. The Lafayette ]*ai-k Baptist, Mt. Calvary Episcopal, Memorial Metliodist South, McCausland Ave- nue Presbyterian and Compton Heights Christian Churches shared the same fate. It will })e some time until arrangements are perfected to rebuild some of the cimrches, owing to the great num- ber of homeless families, made destitude by the same tor- nado that razed the churches. lu the meantime other churches more fortunate, have been tendered the stricken conofrefrations in which to hold reliirious services tem- porarily. The following Sunday the various Catholic parishes bereft of relis^ious homes were invited to masses in St. 167 168 THE (JIJEAT CYCLONE. 169 Vincent de Paul's Church, Nintli street and Park avenue, whose auditorium suffered but little injury. Its environs, however, and some of its ' 'frills" were badly wrecked. Mass was celebrated hourly from 5 to 11 in the morning. The Lafayette Park Baptist congregation held services in the German Y. M. C. A. Hall, 1800 South Tenth street. The Lafayette Park Methodist congregation wor- shiped in a large tent on the cliurch lawn, facing Park avenue. The Presbyterian Church, just around the corner, worshiped in the basement of their damaged church and The Church of the Unity congregation met in its Sunday-school room. The McCausland Avenue Pres- byterian people held their meetings in the Grace Chapel, at Goodfellow and Theodosia avenues. The German congregations were invited to unite with other German churches most convenient for them to attend. Other homeless congregations were similarly provided for by churches of their respective denomina- tions. A QUARTEK OF A MILLION". One corporation lost $288,000 by the storm, of which only $45,000 was protected by cyclone insurance. This was the United Elevator Company, organized in 1889, with a capital of $2,085,000, and a bonded indebted- ness of 11,215,000. In May, 1895, a shortage of wheat was discovered in the stock in the elevators. This amounted to $250,000 bushels of wheat and entailed a loss of $150,000 to $200,000, the exact figures not being obtainable. In the summer of 1895 it was discovered 17() Till: <.i;i;ai' cvcr.oXF.. that a larire amount of the corn in stock liad licated, and this entailed a furtlier loss of $125,000. In order to meet these losses and to provide money for operating expenses it was necessary to place a blanket mortgai^e of $485,000 on the property. Tlie business during the winter was disappointing. The wheat crop of 1805 was a failure in the territoiy contiguous to St. Louis. The corn crop of 1895 was diverted from this city, being shipped by rail to Galves- ton and New Orleans for export. The result lias been tliat for 12 months past the elevators have had practi- cally no business and were operated at a great loss. A month airo a movement was set on foot to fund two years' coupons on the lii'st and second mortgage bonds for live years. All the bondholders were not agreed to this. A majority were. Several large bondholders, notably Messrs Kehlor and Haarstick, would not agree to the scheme unless $25,-000 was expended on the East St. Louis Elevators to ])ut it in I'cjtair. STKI'CK BY TUK TOKXADO. The matter was si ill under consideration when the toi'- nado struck the city and forever sealed the doom of the St. Louis United Elevatoi' Comjiany. Every elevator in the system was damaged })y the storm save the one at Venice, 111. Unfortunate as the comj)any has been it was the most unfortunate as to the loss of any corporation in the city. Its individual loss is the greatest in the city. The wind wrecked its elevators and its prospects at the same time. TIIK CRl'^AT CVOLONE. 1*71 The total loss on its pi'0})erty is given ;it $288,000. On this it had but $45,000 of tornado insurance, leaving a loss of $243, 000 above insurance. The h)ss is divided aniono; the elev^ators as follows: Valley (totally destroyed) $130,000 St. Louis (partially destroyed) 25,000 Merchants' (partially destroyed) 10,000 East St. Louis (partially destroyed) 15,000 Advance (partially destroyed) 30,00() Union (})artially destroyed) 25.000 Central A (partially destroyed) 5,000 Union Depot (partially destroyed) 8,000 Total $288,000 AN APPALLING LOSS. This loss to the company is appalling. It is alread} bonded for $1,700,000. This is as much as the proper- ties are considered to be worth, although the capital stock is $2,685,000. It would cost $1,250,000 to rebuild the elevators entire, but most of them are old, and two-thirds of that amount would represent the value of the buildings before the storm. Of the bonds $1,215,000 are firsts and $485,000 seconds. It is doubtful if the Valley or Advance elevators will adjnit of repairs or even reconstruction. This being the case and the manafrement, findin2: that it had not enou2;h funds on hand to care for the grain in store, to say noth- ing of the re])airs to the damaged property, at once notified all holders of grain in its houses that they must make provisions for the care of the grain as the elevator company was unable to do so. This condition of affairs, together with the fact that $4, 110 interest was due on the 172 THK (JHKAT CYCLONK. second mortgage bonds, |14,r)50on the second mortgage bonds- just after the storm, $22,665 on first mortgage bonds July 1, and $5,400 August 1, made a receivership inevitable. Two days after the storm tlie C. B. c^ Q. Railway Company, -which owns 1,^)00 shares of stock, $97,500 in first mortgage l)onds and $35,000 in second mortgage bonds, with R. P. Tansey, who also is a stock- holder and bond owner, ap})lied for a receiver. As both are non-residents of Missoui-i they filed their petition in the United States Court. Judge Adams heard the matter in chambers, granted the petition and apj)<)inted ex-drov- ernor D. R. Francis receiver. DAMAGE EAST OF nPwOAUWAY. The steel structure that supports the tracks of the Ter- minal Association acted as a sort of protector to the fronts of the buildings that face the river from Washington ave- nue to Poplar sti'eet. It served, also, as a convenient rack for the hurricane to hang sundry and divers articles, brought over from Illinois, upon. These varied from a tattered shirt, which waved in the wind at the foot of Lo- cust street, to a heavy beam weighing several hundred pounds, which had to be removed from the tracks be- fore ti'avel could proceed. Most of the houses along this locality are very old and it is a wonder that more were not destroyed. They are mostly occupied by levee saloons and chandler stores on the ground fioors and the u}>per stories are iriven over to cheap lodging and tenement houses. To the occupants of those houses it was a nii-ht of terror. 173 174 THE GREAT CYCLONE. l75 After the fury of the storm bad passed, their fear re- fused to be allayed and they huddled in groups until the day broke. Many were afraid to remain in the houses lest there should be a repetition of the violent wind and spent the night wandering along the levee front. With daylight, however, their courage returned and they thronged the levee laughing and discussing the events of the night as if nothing had occurred to upset their equi- librium, and morbidly curious, now that the danger was past, to gain all the gruesome details of the disaster. Here and there could be seen the tear-stained counte- nance of one who had lost a dear one in the course of the night's horrible events, but the majority of that motley crowd seemed unconcerned and even gay. '^he cyclone that caused the damage along the river front evidently crossed the river diagonally from the north v.'est. Its violence is noticeable all the way from Washington avenue to Lesperance street, where it seems to have veered westward. Along this entire distance the levee is thickly strewn with rubbish and debris. The wind was so violent that the waters of the Mississippi were at numerous places carried up into the lower stoi'ies of the houses fronting on the river. The steel posts that support the terminal tracks show marks that insure that the water must have flowed several feet deep over por- tions of the levee that are dry this morning. A number of sheds were standing near the elevator. In one of them was a horse and buggy belonging to an employe. Neither shed, horse nor buggy has been seen since the storm. All have completely disappeared, leaving 176 THE OIMvXr CVcr.oN'E. not a trace. The body of a horse, destitute of harness, was found lialf a mile souththe folh)\vinij!; inorninir, but has not been identified as the one carried from the elevator yard. As an illustration of the freaks played by tlie wind, a large wagon loaded witli lmnl)er, whicli an ordinary gust would be sufficient to overturn, wns left standing in the yard uninjured, while the horses hitched to it were torn loose and wliisked away. The sides of the elevator were covered with licavy ii-on sheeting, strongly bolted to the beams. All this was sti'ipped off as cleanly as if done by human hands. The lofty brick chimney withstood the wind's assault un- scathed. The large buildings occupied by the Campbell Glass and Paint Company and tlie Geo. P. Plant Milling Com- pany were also badly damaged. It is impossible at this time to estimate the damaii;e in dollars and cents. A PANIC AMONO FACTORY CIRLS. The factory of the Bemis Bros. Bag Co., at the foot of Poplar street, had one side completely blown out. Sev- eral hundred girls who work there were panic sti'icken and rushed in all directions. Quite a number are believed to have been injured by flying timbers. The next morning the girls assembled about the factory in droves and dis- cussed innumerable hair-breadth escapes they had experi- enced. TIkmi they went sight-seeing with evident enjoy- ment, regardless of the fact that they will be thrown out of employment. TIIK GREAT CYCLOXE. 177 The naval store and department of the Waters -Pierce Oil Company was completely destroyed. Malacliy Mc- Donald, the superintendent, was struck by a piece of fall- ing roof and instantly killed. The other employes es- caped with cuts and bruises. Bob Newman, an employe of the company, is congratulating himself on his good fortune. He left his office about a quarter to 5 o'clock, and had just reached Broadway and Olive street when the storm broke. The next morning he found his office a mass of ruins. McDonald was killed within a few feet of it. devastation's AWFl^L TRIUMPH. At Levee and Pine street seemed to mark the northern limit of the real hurricane. At that point several build- ings were partially wrecked. Commercial street between Pine and Chestnut was so obstructed by debris as to be almost impassable. Along this block almost every house was unroofed and two or three of the taller ones have lost the upper stories. The building occupied by the St. Louis Commission Company was entirely wrecked and its contents scattered over the neighborhood. Sacks of wool were carried blocks away. At the Levee and Market street several small buildings were demolished. They were occupied by families, most of the inhabitants being more or less injured. The rear of the large factory of the Bridge Beach Company was wrecked, the roof and two upper stories being carried away. Devastation on every side greeted the eye of a person 12 178 TIIK (JUKAI' CVCLoNK. walking soutli on the Levee, but not until Poj)lar street was passed could tlie full violence of the storm be appre- ciated. Between there and Carroll street there was not a whole house standing;. At the foot of Cedar street a two story building was completely razed to the ground. There is doubt as to whether it was occupied or not. People living in the neighborhood say that it had no reg- ular inhabitants, but almost every night a number of ref- uecees soutijht shelter there. The immense Nedderhut warehouse was partially wrecked, but no one is thought to have been killed there. The wind played havoc in the Iron Mountain yards. Freight cars were })lown about like they were baby car- riajjes, overturned and wrecked. Whole lines of cars are so covered with debris as to be almost invisible. A dozen sheds and small buildings that serv^ed various pur- poses about the yai-ds have completely disappeared. The main building is shattered, but still stands. The most appalling sight along the demolished river front was the wreck of the United Elevator at the foot of Chouteau avenue. This immense structure offered a fair mark for the cyclone, 'and besides lay almost directly in the center of its path. From the main building the four upper j^tories were torn. So clean was the wind's work that at a. distance it looked as if they might have been sawed off. For hundreds of feet on every side masses of broken and splintered lumber were strewn in a way to make approach difficult. Tiie river house was also demolished and the network of trams that connected it with the elevator proper obliterated, \ lis kV..^ ■' * *! A^ ' J ^ : > ^. .^ ^ 179 ^ao THE GREAT CYCLONE. ISl Half a, dozen rushed into the office, a little frame shanty on the north side of the elevator. Although it was the frailest structure of the lot it was the only one that remained intact. The terror-stricken men barred tlie door and then clung to each other in momentary ap- prehension of a terrible death. Timbers and flying arti- cles of all kinds dashed against the shanty and smashed the windows, but fortunate none of the men were struck. Several times it seemed like the house would be carried away intact, but an immense safe acted as an anchor and held it down. C. E. Allen, the day watchman, started to run across to the river liouse, but his companions saw a piece of flying timber strike him and he was buried in the ruins of falling buildings. Quite a number of men and boys were observed to be fishing from the river house just before the storm, and are supposed to be buried or to have been washed away by the waves. STATION TORN UR. The small station at the junction of King's highway and the Oak Hill railroad was completely torn up and thrown to the ground. The station master, Pat Higgins, was in the building at the time and was buried beneath the debris. By the prompt assistance of witnesses of the disaster he was finally extricated. His head was badly cut and he was bruised all over his body. His injuries are not serious. The storm did much damage to Charles Shewer's saloon at King's highway and New Manchester road. The stable was unroofed and the horses narrowly escaped being killed. 18*2 TiiK <.in:AT cycloNK. Mrs. Bredemeyer fui'iiislicd one ot" tlic few liuniorous gleams across the dark tale of suii'eringaud disaster wliicli the storm has left in its wake. Mrs. Bredemeyer went out to the cow shed to get some bran for her cow's sup- per. She did not find the cow shed and it was not until she had gone around like Diogenes with a lantern tliat she discovered tin; shed up in her attic. Slie did not at- tempt to explain tiie trick tlie wind had ])layed uj)on her. IX xoitTir ST, Loris. At Broadway and Carr street the roof of a three-story brick buildino; containino; stores and flats blew, off, a larjie section of the roof striking grip car No. 4 of tlie Broad- way cable. The car was wrecked, the passengers esca})- ing with slight injuries. A portion of the same roof fell upon the Rialto Livery Stable on Carr street, burying two of the stable eiu})loyes and several horses. The men were taken out uninjured. The Niedringhaus Memorial Hall, at Seventh and Cass avenue, was unroofed and considerable damage done the library and other contents of the building. The roofs of two of the buildings of the St. Louis Stamp- ing Company, at Second and Collins streets, were torn olf and eight large smoke stacks blown down. The driver of a Vjakery wagon belonging to B. Colom- bano, 1411 Pine street, was probably fatally hurt while passing the corner of Sixth and Carr streets. The wagon was completely demolished by a falling wall, and the driver removed to the City Hospital with a broken leg and serious wounds about the head. ^IIE GREAT CYCLONE. 183 The wall of B. Tegetoff's saloon, at Seventh and O'Fal- lon streets, fell on a Cass avenue motor car. No. 55, and a number of passengers were hurt, none seriously. The steeple of St. Patrick's Church, Sixth and Biddle streets, was blown down and the adjoining residence of Father McCaffrey unroofed. A squad of police from the Third District Station procured tarpaulins and covered the furnishings of the residence before great damage was done. The roof of the parochial school was also blown off. Gilbert Chapman's cigar store, at the bridge en- trance, Third and Washington avenue, was completely leveled. The proprietor and five unknown men in the building escaped injury. It was a small structure, val- ued at about 1600. PANIC AT THE RACES. At the Fair Grounds races, 3000 persons received a fright that they will not soon recover from. The roof of the grand stand was blown off' and completely demol- ished, a portion of it striking a horse hitched to a milk wagon on the Natural Bridge road. The horse was killed instantly. No lives were lost, and that such is the fact is indeed miraculous. The rain probably saved many persons from being crushed to death by falling portions of the room. AVhenev^er the visitors at the Fair Grounds are overtaken by a heavy rain all hands either seek the basement or betting ring as places for shelter. When the storm broke the portion of the crowd not in the betting ring at once turned down into the basement. There they escaped being injured. 184 TTIK (iKKAT CYCLONE. The crasluDg of the roof on tlie ground was like tlic explosion of a hundred cannons and togetlier with tlu^ thunder and liglituing sent fear to the hearts of ever} person on tlie grounds. Every one thought of the cyclone and its terrible ravages and pandemonium reigned for fully fifteen minutes. Women became hysterical and ran around the basement like mad while strons; men were terror-stricken and speechless. Only tlie presence of mind of a few kept the crowd from surging out of the doors leading to the north walk, where certain death from flying timbers awaited them. In the betting ring, where many speculators were in line trying to cash on the fifth race, which had just been run, and others waiting for the odds to be posted on the sixth event, the greatest confusion prevailed when the storm la-shed forth in all its fury. The betting shed stood well the test of the wind and the only damage done was the blowing away of the awnings that surrounded the afiair. As the wind continued to blow, several hundred persons who fancied that it was only a matter of a few moments when every building on the grounds would l)e razed to the earth, ran as fast as their legs would carr}' them across the track to the centei' field. There they stood amid the thunder and lisfhtniuir watchincj the wind spend its fury. Following the wind and electric storms the rain came down in torrents. The people in the field were soon drenched to the skin and wnth feelings of the man who jumped into the i-iver with all his clothes on. A horse and buiriry belonirinsf to the Sano Chemical 185 rksihenci'; on I'akk avk 186 THE OREAT CYCLONE. 187 • Company was standing on the north road when the storm broke loose. A large portion of tlie roof fell down upon them, and not a person wlio saw the horse struck believed he was alive. When the storm had subsided scores of willing hands were at work with axes and hatchets at- tempting to extricate the animal from tlie debris he was under. After fifteen minutes' hard labor the roof was raised, and the horse pulled out from his position — alive, and not a scratch on him. This is an illustration of the many miraculous escapes that both human beings and an- imals had in the course of the afternoon. Tlie force with which the falling portions of the roof struck the ground was something tremendous, as evidenced by the split tel- egraph poles which happened to be struck on the Natural Bridge road. The storm put an end to the cashing of winning tickets on the fifth race, for speculators and bookmakers iiew in all directions. Many made their es- cape to the hedge along the outside fence, where they sat down in the mud and slush awaiting their fate. No further damage was done at the fair grounds other than the blowing down of a number of trees. The Fair Association will sustain a loss of about $1,500. Secre- tary AuU stated that it would cost no more than that amount to put on a new roof to tlie grand stand. A wrecking company was put to work next morning and the debris speedily removed. Racing was continued the next day, only the lower part of the grand stand being used by the visitors. 188 TiiK (;heat cvn.oXE. RESCUED FROM A WRECKED SALOON RIILDING. The great Cupples buildings withstood the storm well, but huudreds of dollars' worth of plate glasa was de- stroyed. All the windows in the south and eastern ends of the buildings were blown in and tlie upper floors Hooded with the heavy rain. INlnch of the goods stored near the windows were damaged by the I'ain. No one was injured. Across the street, the small frame and brick buildings suf - feretl. Nearly all of them were unroofed and many of them had their second stories blown in. Tlie saloon of Peter Nalty, at 614 South Seventh street, was completely demolished. Nalty, his wife and nine customers were buried in the debris. All of them were rescued alive and sent to the Dispensary for treatment. Nalty lived over the saloon, and lost not only his business, but his home and its furnishings as well. Curley's lodging-house, at 628 South Seventh street, was demolished, but all the occupants escaped and most of them helped dig out the unfortunates buried in the wreck of Nalty's saloon. The Missouri Pacific head([uarters building was badly damaged, and the freight sheds at Seventh and \'alentine streets were completely unroofed. The street was filled with broken wires and poles from Market street south, so that travel was almost iinj)ossible. The large furniture store of AVm. Ottenad, at Soulard and Broadway, was completely destroyed. Ottenad, his wife and a clerk and a driver were buried in tlie wreck, which is possibly the most complete one in the city. The building was a four-story one and uothing but a heap of THE GREAT CYCLONE. 189 broken timber and dismantled stone and brick marks the spot. The Souhird Market bnilding was unroofed and a por- tion of the building was blown down. The old St. Vin- cent's Insane Asylum was unroofed and flooded and tlie great brick wall was blown down. All along Lafayette avenue houses were unroofed and moved from their foundations. The streets were filled with trees and broken wires. DOWNTOWN AVRECKS. The feed store of Arnold Fuchs, at Ninth and Clark avenue, was almost demolished, the roof and front of the western portion having been blown away. Morrissey's saloon, on Eleventh and Clark avenue, had the front and eastern walls blown out. A two-story frame house and a brick carpenter shop adjoining it on the east were literally wiped out of existence, and the con- tents of Heinrichshofen & Lawrence's lumber yard, on Tenth and Clark avenue, were scattered as far east as Seventli street. Enno Sanders' bottling factory, on Eleventh, near Wal- nut street, was almost totally demolished, the northern front portion, together with the roof, going by the board. The roof of the Sumner High School, on Eleventh and Spruce streets, took a vacation, joining the debris from the roof and walls of the jail, which blew out onto Spruce 190 Till-: (iKKAT CYCI.ONE. street. The roof of Tom McDeriiiott's saloon, oq Eleventh and Chestnut streets, fell off and ti'ied to get into the front door. All the windows in tlie front of the llagan Theater were blown out and a portion of the roof demolished. Tlie lieavy iron roof of the Mercliants' Excliange ])uild- ing was lifted otf in three sections and deposited on Tiiird and Chestnut streets. A portion of it caught on tlie wires on Chestnut street, where it hung down like a huge tar- j);iulin. The roof and upper front wall of the "Amerika" build- ing, opposite the Exchange building, w^as blown down into Third street. Perhaps the most unique freak j)layed by the wind was observed on the tower of the McLean building on Fourth and Market streets. The observatory of the towei' Avas filled with chairs, signs, awnings and other debris that had been caught up by the wind from the street, or blown out of adjacent offices and wliirled uj) a distance of eighty feet in the air, cathing on the projections of the tower, where they remained, a most practical illus- tration of the fantastic power of the tornado. The entire roof of the mammoth warehouse of Martin l.anmert, on Secoutl and Walnut streets, was uplifted and scattered over several acres of the vicinity. On Sixth and Chestnut streets the wind caught a heavy four-horse truck and blew it 100 feet up the street with- out overturning it. At the stables of the American Express Company, on Eleventh and Walnut streets, half a dozen of the heavy i?l WRJiCKliD ilO.Mli ON ORKGON AVE;. tfAMPIvK OF THli; storm's RAGE ON PARK AVli. 193 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 193 express wagons were overturned by the wind like so many toy carts. On Fourth and Market streets, within a space of 200 feet, no less than fourteen overturned wagons were counted during the height of the storm. Four horses were blown out of the harness that attached them to the vehicles, and all found refuge in a butcher shop. On Twelfth and Clark avenue an unknown individual deserted the horse and buggy he was driving. The wind struck the rig, whirled it around three or four times and blew the buggy clear of the horse, carrying it up Clark av^enue to Eighteenth street, where it was demolished. The horse was blown up against a telegraph pole and stunned. A man who was standing in front of Hoefner's saloon, on Twelfth and Clark av^enue, was caught up by the wind and carried through the glass door. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE UNROOFED. The roof of the Merchants' Exchange was ripped from the fastenings and whipped about like a rag in the wind. Great sheets of tin were hurled up in the air and twisted into shapeless masses. There was not a square foot of the roof left smooth and when the storm was over the roofing was lying on the four streets surrounding the building. A piece of the roof, 50 feet long, on the Pine street side, was lifted high up in the air and then carried down- wards towards White's restaurant, on the north side. The strings of wires running up the street were all that 13 194 TIIK <;ilEAT CYCLONE. saved the building, for one end of the sheet caught on the wires and it hung downward, reaching to the granite. AVhile this was going on the same scene was being enacted on Chestnut street. Two pieces of the roof Hew like liaudkerchiefs across the narrow thoroughfare, and again the wires saved the. l)uilding. One hung down in front of the Booth Packing Company's store and the other rested on its center on the top of a telephone pole in front of the American Tent and Awning Company. These swung; to and fro in the wind and threatened to fall at every moment. On Third street the surface was strewn with ])rick, bits of roofing, cornice and wire. A large piece of the cornice was torn from tlie galde over the main entrance and struck one of the ornamental lamp posts near the steps. The iron post snapped like a reed and fell with the other debris. Some of the sheet metal roofing was blown as far as Olive street and was tangled with fallen wires. The interior of the building presented a scene of utter desolation. The protecting roof being gone the rain came through the plastered ceiling in a perfect deluge, and the water on the floor was ankle deep. Throughout the entire structure the water poured as though no covering was over it at all. Every office from the cellar up was thorougldy di-enched, and an umbrella was necessary while walking through them. In the main hall workmen were busy all night sweeping out the water, but it was like trying to keep back the sea with a broom. There were no electric or gas lights in the THE GREAT CYCLONE. 195 place, and a hundred candles, with sample pans for impro- vised candlesticks, were stuck around to give light for the workers. The water simply rained in through the plas- tering, and the magnificent paintings on the ceiling were utterly ruined. So soaked was the plastering that it tlireatened to fall at any moment and bury the laborers who were.sweeping the water out, but they worked all unmindful of their danger. The pit was indeed pitiful. Water stood a foot deep in the ring, and reached above the lower step. In the basement is an ofHce which was kept busy all night. It is the supply department of the Bell Telephone Company, and the linemen were in and out at every mo- ment, getting material to repair tlie damage to the wires. They, too, had to wade in water, and the clerks sat on high stools to issue the supplies. SKYSCRAPERS ESCAPED. It has been said that a lofty office building is danger- ous in a storm. This did not prove the case with the St. Louis high buildings. In not a single instance was the slightest damage done to one of them, and tenants in the top stories felt no more inconvenience during tlie passage of the storm than if they had been on the first fioor of a one-story structure. A report was circulated and even telegraphed to other cities that the roof of the Kialto building, a ten- story of- fice building, was blown away. The Rialto sustained no damage. At the Union Trust building no damage was done and 196 TIIH (iUEAT CYCLONE. the building did not even sway during the height of the storm. The half finished Chemical building was open to the elements, none of the windows being in, but the damage to it did not amount to $10. Other big buildings that went through without loss were the Commercial, the Laclede, the Columbia, tlie New Century, the Odd Fellows, the Security, the Bur- lington and others. All of these dwellins^s are of what is known as steel construction. They are built with interlaced and riveted steel beams and joists, and are as solid as rock. Their roofs, the portion of the building that would be expected to suli'er in a wind storm, are as safe as the body of the building, as they are part of it, being built with it. To blow oflf the roof would mean to break the inter- locking of the entire structure and great -damage would result. In the construction of these skeleton buildings the ar- chitects made specific calculations for resistance to a wind having a velocity of from seventy to ninety miles per hour. The effect of a tornado on a tall steel skeleton building has never been tested until the present time. Since the construction of these buildings was begun in large cities a severe storm has never visited any of them. AT THE COURT -HOUSE. The storm struck the Court House at 5:05. The office usually closes at 5 o'clock, but two suits came in then and 197 108 THE GREAT CVOLONE. 199 the filing took about five minutes. Wliile the reporters were reading the papers the storm brols;e. For two or tliree minutes the electric lights had faded and revived and then faded again, and this indicated an unusual electrical disturbance, and finally expired altogether. Then the storm fell in its fury. Windows in the dome were ripped out, and gusts of wind shrieked through the structure and made dismal howls. The crash of falling glass was followed by flooding rain. Then the wind swooped down with a final supreme effort, but no further damage was done the old building. Every electric light in the building was extinguished. This would have been disastrous for the Fire Alarm Tel- egraph Service but for the fact that the office had kept its gas in commission in anticipation of such an emergency. AT THE CUSTOM HOUSE. Several hundred dollars damage was done the Federal Building, the bulk of it in the Weather Bureau. It rained through the roof up in the tower just about as hard as it rained on the outside and nearly ever window in the observatory was broken. For a time Observer Franken- field was apprehensive that his valuable instruments w^ould be damaged; indeed, it looked, when the storm was at its height, as though the entire tower and all its contents would take a sail over the roof of the Chemical Building. SCENES AT THE HOTELS. The Planters' Hotel lost several hundred panes of glass. The most damage was to the eleventh story, occupied by 200 THE CIJKAT CVri.ONK. the hel}). The iiiglit force were, for the most part, asleep when the storm came on. Some were awakened by the crashing of their windows, and others by the rain that blew and poured in on them. Two or three slept througli it all. Kvery room on the west side of the top story was damaged and a number also on the opposite side. Inside transoms were blown. in as well as outside windows. Two or three of the girls were cut witli glass, but nobody was seriously hurt. Tlie damage on the floors ])elow was mostly done l)y rain that poured in tlirough windows left open. The glass was, except in a few cases, sufficiently thick to resist the wind. On every floor two or three windows were blown in. Tlie rest withstood the force of the storm. Where windows had been left open carpets, bedding, and in a few instances the clothing of guests were soaked. Several transoms on the opposite side of the room, connecting with tlie hallway were smashed by the wind that blew through the room. Many of the girls employed at the hotel, and some of the men, too, thought their last hour had come. One man in the laundry is re- ported to have fainted from fright. Considerable excite- ment prevailed also among the guests. The parlor floor and corridors on the office floor were thronged during the storm. The ladies' ordinary at the Southern Hotel and the kitchen were badly damaged. Several holes were torn in the roof over the ordinary, letting the rain pour in in tor- rents. The kitchen lange was partially demolished, and the skylight overhead wrecked. Hot meals were sus- pended for dinner at the Southern that night. The chef THE GREAT CYCLONE. 201 was cut in the head and back with glass, and four others were injured. Dr. Powers, the hotel physician and sur- geon, w^as kept busy nearly an hour patching up wounds. One of the injured was a woman, the others being men. The skylight in the roof of the hotel over the rotunda was damaged enough to flood the floor of the rotunda. Manager Lewis w'as one of the busiest men in St. Louis during and for several hours after the storm. No hotel of magnitude was seriously injured, and the new Conven- tion Auditoi'ium was so slightly damaged that it was re- paired in three days. Fortunately it was just outside the storm area proper. DANGER AT THE JAIL. At the Four Courts the most fearful excitement pre- vailed. The woman's corner of the jail was blown down and bedlam turned loose. The first known of the storm was the violent shakinoj of the buildino- which is one of the strongest and safest institutions in the city. The wind played havoc w^ith the windows. Crash after crash would bring down showers of glass. Tlie court was just about closed, when several bricks from the roofs of a neighboring building came flying through the window. The women among the witnesses screamed, and burly men pushed and trampled their inferiors under their feet. The mob was so excited that the clerks voice could not })e heard as he cried out for the people to take their time. But it w^as useless, as the crowd sur- ged forward and out of the doors. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. •20"2 THE (SREAT CYCLONE. A teri'ihle whistling noise, followed by a series of frightful screams, came out of the jail. The prisoners, penueil in the cells, cried to be let out. Deputy Sheriff Wagner ran into the bull ring and ordered silence, but they cursed him and kicked against the door. A hurried conclave was held, and it was de- cided to let them out. About fifteen cells were opened, and the j)risoners flocked out. Other cells were being opened, when a terrific crash of thunder came. Again the prisoners who were still confined screamed to be released, and the lucky ones who were already out gathered around the winding stairwa}^ where the guards were assembled. Aiiain and a n X « 2 « s « in o a) So W ?3 215 216 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 217 the best known members of the Brotherhood of Locomo- tive Engineers. He runs on the Baltimore and Oliio Southwestern, and was to have taken out the 3 o'clock fast mail train on that road. He was in a barber shop at Third street and Missouri avenue when the storm came u]). The building was completely wrecked and the half dozen people inside buried out of sight. Mr. Cogan worked his way out without assistance, and did not think he had been seriously injured. He suffered intensely from pains in his back and sides. H. K, Vail, one of the boarders, had a broken arm in a sling. He was crossing the bridge when the storm came up. He hurried across and sheltered himself on the leeward side of the frame building;, which blew over on him dii'ectly afterward. One room at the Tuttle House was occupied by three young ladies. Maggie Herbert, of Washington, Ind., had a broken arm. "I was in the dining room of the Tre- mont House when the storm occurred," she said. "A portion of the roof blew off and half a dozen of us ran to get out of the way of flying timbers and bricks. We ran into the kitchen and back into the dining room, and finally the whole house fell in. Mrs. Hays, the laud- lady, and two or three others were killed and the rest of us badly hurt." Miss Herbert's companions in the room were Florence Reilly, a telegraph operator, and Josie Gallen, a type- writer. Miss Reilly lives at 3672 Finney avenue, this city, and Miss Gallen at 3311 Chouteau avenue. They are both in the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad, 218 THE GREAT CYCLONE. and were at work in the company's freiglit office, on the Levee, when the storm struck the building. Tliey went dow^n with the structure, but each escaped with only a few ])ruises. They inquired anxiously about the effect of the storm in St. Louis, and particularly on Finney and Chouteau avenues. C. E. Obrist, a boarder at the Tuttle House, got one of liis arms badly cut by falling glass, lie is an electri- cian. Mrs. Dowd, one of the boarders, was missing. She went out for a ride on her bicycle just before the storm. Mrs. Dowd's husband is a government beef inspector at the National Stock Yards. He escaped without injury and hurried to the hotel to find that his wife was gone. SCENES IN THE HOSPITALS. A trip through the east side hos{)itals at midnight revealed terrible suffering. At St. Mary's the Sisters were treating fifty cyclone victims. Dr. McLean had charge of the surgical ward, and was assisted by I)rs. Fairbrother, Le Haan and Thompson. The doctors had been busy since the storm sewing up and dressing wounds. The patients had sustained injuries of various kinds, but fortunately only a few were considered in a critical condi- tion. Two or three died after being received at the hospital. Several had fractured skulls, and several others were injured internally. The reporter talked with a number of the patients. Roy D. Moore, a Vandalia freight clerk, was found wntli his riirht arm broken between the elbow and wrist. THE GREAT CYCLONE. 219 His home is on the Missouri side of the river, near the corner of Page and De Hodiamont avenues. He said he had been cauf»:ht in the wreck of the Vandalia freio:ht office, on the Levee, with about thirty others. He was pinned in near Mat Quirk, Joe Crean, Thos. Dougherty, Mr. Givens and Bob and Ed Bhind. They were all taken out alive, and as to the twenty-five others he could not say what became of them. On a cot next to Moore lay two children, Nancy and Albert Fierce. At their side sat an older sister and their mother, who had escaped with but a few bruises. The boy's shoulder and breast are badly injured, and Florence's right w^rist is dislocated. Their home near the- Crescent elevator, was blown over and demolished, the entire fam- ily being buried in the ruins. The next cot west was occupied by a boy with his head in bandages. No one seemed to know who he was or where he had been brought from. The little fellow was asleep. Nearby was an unknown man with his head tied up. He had come from the opeivating room and was un- conscious. One of the attendants said he was not ex- pected to live long. He had been taken from the ruins of the Mai'tel House. In the same room was Frank Barr, who works in Nel- son Morris' stock yards. He was at home. No. 7 Kock road, when the storm came up. His house was blown to pieces and he and his wife were buried in the ruins. He didn't know how seriously his wife was injured. His own injuries were not very serious, consisting of bruises and cuts. 220 TIIK (iHEAT CYCLONE. In tlio hallway downstairs was John Malloy, who was caught in the ruins of the Air Line freight house and completely covered. lie complains of ])ains in his side and left shoulder. Thomas Dougherty, a Vandalia freight clerk, who lives at 1322 North Seventh street, St. Louis, escaped with a bruised hip and cuts on his head. Al Tndrer was another storm victim found in the hall- way. He comes from Hamilton, O. , and came to East St. Louis a few days ago with Charles Kinney, of Indi- anapolis, in search of work. When they saw the storm coming they crawled into an empty box car. The car was blown over and the occupants badly bruised, one on the shoulder and head and the other on the hip. In another ward Dr. E. Thompson was found sewing up a frightful gash in Patrick Trainer's head. Tlie in- jured man was delirious and imagined that several men had him down and were beating him. A couple of men were holding him while the Doctor stitched up the wound. In the same room was John MciNIahon, with his shoul- der blade and rib broken and back injured. He came to East St. Louis from Alton a couple of days ago. He sought shelter, Avlien tlu; stoi'm came up, in a little frame house near the Green Tree Hotel. The house was demol- ished and McMnhon's ch^thes were blown from his body. He was cut and bruised all over, but no bones were broken. Deamie Bender, who lives at 2609 Walnut street, this city, and works for tlie J)ig Four line, was found in that room with his feet injured. He went down with the freight oiiice of that line, along with a number of others. 22 1 1 "^ ■* 222 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 223 THE BABIES TAKEN AND THE MOTHERS LEFT. Joseph Burke occupied a cot in the hallway near the operating room. He works for the Air Line, and was in the act of closing the doors of the freight house when the building was blown down. Burke was injured internally and his left leg was broken. Peter Harris, on the next cot, wanted the attendants to let his folks, at 1205 Liberty street, Kansas City, know that he had not been killed. Peter's left arm and one rib were broken, and he was otherwise injured, but wnll prob- ably recover. He worked for the Illinois Central, but was injured at his boarding house on the levee. On the second floor of the hospital was Mrs. Horace Trump, whose pathetic story would turn the coldest heart. Mrs. Trump was at the bedside of a sick sister, with her year-old baby in her arm, her 4 -year-old daughter being near her on the floor, when she saw the storm; but it was impossible for her to get out of the room, so sudden was its approach. The storm in all its fury struck the house and the flying missiles struck her, knocking down the walls of the building over her and her two daughters, killing the baby and 4 -year-old daughter instantly. Mrs. Trump was considerably bruised and hurt internally, and it is as if by a miracle that she escaped the fate which befell the children. It was fully four hours before she was rescued from the j)osition and taken to the hospital. Miss Minnie Evans was brought in suffering with a broken leg. Fred Weide, a railroad man, hurt in the tumbling walls of the Tremont house, suffering with a double fracture of 224 THE riREAT CVrLONE. the rio-lit ankle, a dislocated shoulder and several broken ril>s. He was in the parlor of the hotel with several others, saw the storm coming and thought there was no danger; that the building was strong enough to withstand its fury, and made no attempt to escape. lie was caught in the collapse. Wni. Murray was very seriously injured internally, as well as suflt'ering from a broken arm and broken limb, also a dislocated hip. Mary Ilanet was very seriously injured about the head, and also internally. Joe Duffy, a clerk of the Vandalia Kail road, suflFered intense pain from a very j^ainful injury. M»'. Dutfy had the whole right side crushed in. WHEN MOKNINO CAME. When the dawn came it was possible to see the devas- tation wrought by the storm in East St. Louis. The sky was clear, and the beauty of the morning strikingly contrasted with the scene of desolation that was dis- closed. On the river bank, from Kehlor's mill on tjie south to the elevators on the north, not a house was standing. These huge structures and the cold storage company's plant were badly damaged. The river bank was lined with wrecks of boats. With the river banks as the base, the entire triangle formed by what is called the Island, there is not a whole house standing. Even the Relay Depot had its corners broken and two huge roundhouses were shaved off below THE GREAT CYCLONE. 225 the tops of the middle of the locomotives which stood within them. One brick house stood without one wall, disclosing the interior and furniture exactly as the dwellers had left it. The pictures, beds, bureaus, washstands, chairs, tables and even the lamps on the tables were undisturbed. A room or two of several houses were left. For the remainder either the walls and roofs of the frame houses were folded together like cardboards and lay flat on the ground or they were broken into kindling wood and were scattered to the four points of the com- pass. The brick houses were heaps of building materials. It is marvelous that 10 persons escaped from buildings so completely wrecked. The Island, on each side of the roadway, looked like a vast lumber and truck heap. Freight cars were overturned or wrenched from their trucks and turned completely upside down. Across the creek, although few houses escaped damage and many were demolished, the destruction was neither so general nor complete. But in every direction the eye rested on ruins. Walking the length of Missouri avenue and looking up and down the cross streets one would say that a third of the houses were wrecked and seven -tenths were damaged. 15 226 THE (iREAT CVCLOXE. THE DEATH ROLL. Identification of the dead was in many cases difficult, and the lists were still growing when this work went to press. Following is the latest revision of the sad roll- call in St. Louis, Mo. : Anderson, Wm. F., 38, 606 vSouth Seventh street. Altus, Henry, 62, 3026 IvavSalle street. Anderson, Richard, 1029 North Seventh street. Allen, Charles PCdwards, 43, Platte City, Mo. Alcornero, Charles, 19, address unknown. Ahillern, John, 26, 2929 Missouri avenue. Archambo, Alex, 45, City Hospital. Bradshaw, Wallace, 20, 923 N. Jefferson avenue. Bowler, Wm., 2S, 328 Montrose avenue. Benwall, Fred., 24, Jefferson and Shenandoah. Boecklin, Ulrich, 48, 1309 South Seventh street. Bergeest, Johu, 27, 2408 South Broadway. Bohle, Fred., 64, 2807 Wisconsin avenue. Benz, George, 22, Twentieth and Gratiot streets. Bolm, Augusta, 63, 1706 Park avenue. Bene, Sylvester, 5, 1418 Ohio avenue. Caruero, Charles, 19, 1411 Papiu. Claypool, Cora, (>7. 2641 Papin. Claypool, Kthel, 10, 2641 Papin. Cahill, I\Irs. Mary, 70, Jefferson avenue and Papin. Craddock, Martin, 36, 1211 Carr street. Cheney, Emma L., 42, 1432 Mississippi avenue. Crook, William, 33, 1611 Lafayette. Crump, Catherine A., 47, 2711 Park avenue. Creamer, Kate F., 20, 2643 Caroline street. Craig, Charles, 817 Walnut. Dieterich, Peter, 67, 1516 South Tenth street. Duggan, Rose, 55, 1527 South Ilighth street. Dunn, Michael, 42, 1213 North Fifteenth street. De Martini, Sophia, 16, 402 vSouth Twelfth street. Eyman, T. A., 47, 3129 South Jefferson avenue. Enders, Chailotte, 40, 616 Rutger. Elser, Joseph, 32, Gas Company stables. ^^msimsm^^^^ 227 %&' \^ r U - X > 1 •-^■ V /. < .\ : -: 228 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 229 Fischer, Frank H., 6, 1944 Papin. Friesecke, Mrs. Clara, 30, 609 Hickory. Friesecke, Estella, 6, 609 Hickory. Friesecke, Edna, 4, 609 Hickory. Fiegler, Caspar, 40, 3313 Salina. Gall, Julius, 26, 1507 Sulphur avenue. Gearse, Julia, 64, 1306 South Third street. Gibson, Henry, 38, 5526 Odell avenue. Gray, L,eroy, 5 months, 1523 Hickory. Gegan, Henry P., 34, St. Louis House. Gardner, Anna, 24, 1S4S Menard. Gardner, Emma, 1, 1848 Menard. Goff, James, 29, 3715 Chouteau avenue. Gallagher, Chas. L., 4, 2136 California avenue. Gregory, Wm., 20, 1213 North Sixteenth street Goodman, Adolph, 40, 1816 Linn street. Hessel, John, 17, 1109 Emmett. Hess Harry, 28, 1109 South Seventh. Herbert, Geo., 22, Minneapolis, Minn. Helix, Mrs. Melanie, 69, Seventh and Rutger Howell, Mrs. Alice, 27, 71t Rutger. Howell, John, 35, 714 Rutger. Howell, Ida, 7, 714 Rutger. Hasseufratz, Daniel, 71, 1014 Armstrong. Home, Isa, 26, 1432 Mississippi avenue. Hickey, Maggie, 21, Vail place. Hermann, Catherine A., 58, 3644 Castletnan. HoUerman, Taylor, colored, 38, 1401 Missouri. Irvin, Thomas, 65, 2220 Chouteau aveuue. Jones, Richard, 35, 2809 Easton avenue. Jacobs, Bertie, E., 21, 1510 Vail Place. Jones, Thomas, Central Home of Rest. Knoll, George, 55, 1801 South Thirteenth street. Kuehling, Henry, 18, 2824 Oregon avenue. Killian, Thomas, 40, 1303 South Seventh street. Killian, Harry, 9, 1303 South Seventh street. Killian, William, 7, 1303 South Seventh street. Kuobel, George \V., 43, 1303 South Seventh street. Keim, George, 72, 2111 Kosciusko. Labar, John, 21, killed at 1S19 Chouteau. Loeblein, John, 49, 916 Barry. Lanahan, William, 42, gas company's stables. 230 THE (UlEAT CY'CLONE. Lanahan, James, 26, 2005 BidcUe. Ivigon, Mrs. J. J., 50, 2358 Park avenue. Matz, Joseph, llelleville, 111. Mauchenlieiiner, Fred, 63, loOO South Seventh. Maucheiiheimer, Mrs. Catherine, HO, 1300 South Seventh. Maurer, Joseph A., 54, lS30vSoutli Highteenth street. Miller, Joseph J., 30, 1510 Pennsylvania. iMoraghan, Thomas L., 24, 1G53 South Jefferson avenue. M'Donal, T. Malachi, 34, 2745 Clark avenue. M'Giveu, Mary, 1, 2725 St. Vincent. Nee, Chas., 35, 1503 Chestnut. Gates, Thos., 55, 2230 O'Fallon. Ottensmeir, Aug., 23, 3431 Gravois. Ottenad, William, 41, 1700 South Broadway. Osterman, Annie, City Hospital. Platschek, William, 5S, 614 Rutger. Pomely, William, Second and Chouteau avenue. Poppitz, Thomas, 20, 2501 South Broadway. Proute, Kalheriue, 67, 1500 South Thirteenth. Plank, William, 1S4S Menard. Rafferty, John, 23, 2223 Wash. Ruebeck, Chas., 55, 1230 High street. Rux, INIatilda, 56, 716 Barry. Rux, Tina, 17, 716 Barry. Rohlfing, Anna, 23, 2122 Geyer avenue. Reis, Theodore, 8, 2140 Chouteau avenue. Rodriguez, Mrs., 40, City Hospital. Sims, L. P., 37, 1707 Park avenue. Selp, P>lw., 26, Lami and Pestolozzi. Sherbold, John, 53, 714 Julia. Smith, Andrew, 4 mouths, 1523 Hickory. Schmalenbach, Herman, 1700 vSouth IJroadway. Schwerdtman, Chas., 29, 2(i48 St. Vincent avenue Stephens, Thaddeus J., 23, 372S North Market. Steinberf, Christian R., 23, 2648 Allen avenue. Schmidt, Chas., 37, 2633 Hickory. Schueringer, Alex., 23. Smith, Wm. Q., 82, Memorial Home. Silva, Benj., 56, 3042 Locust. Spillman, Martha B., 73, 2711 Park avenue. Steinkoeter, Adam, 15 days, 1622 South Thirteenth. Sudhoff, Chas., 39, 1805 Dolman. The (ilJKAT CYCLONE. 2^)1 Smith Samuel, Central Home of Rest. Tandy, Chas. A., 3135 School street. Trachter, Wm., G4, Third and Rutger. Tainter, Chas., 3 months, 1522 Hickory. Taylor, Wm., 45, 1401 Missouri avenue. Tolbert Mary, 30, 213)^ Market. Teva, Anna, 1007 Allen avenue. Vignette, Louise, 89, 1300 S. Seventh. Vollmer, Gustav, G9. 1300 S. Seventh. Winkler, William, .30, 2011 Virginia avenue. Woods, William H., 29, 1428 S. Eighteenth. Woodruff, Sarah B., 50, 2743 Ann avenue. Wells, Fred, 2 years, 1728 S. Ninth. Wells, Theresa G., 9 months, 1728 S. Ninth. Wilson, Robert, 23, 4214 Cottage avenue. Wills, Michael, 4G, 1315 S. Sixth. Wagner, John, 33, 919 Geyer avenue. Weis, Max, 49, 3100 Magazine. Weckerman, Anton, 40, 1938 Cherokee. Zimmer, Ernst, 32, 4731 Greer avenue. Zimmerly, vSamuel, 56, 321 Russell avenue. Zeic, Gregor, 2507 S. Second street. Unknown white man at Alorgue. Among the list of names at first published as reported missing, the following have since turned up alive and un- harmed : Captain George Zeigler, of the Cit^' of Monroe. Charles and Eddie Appel, 2904 Michigan. Miss M. Paule, 2630 S. Fourteenth. J. W.Johnson, Terminal Hotel. Inquiry into the cases of George Hesse, reported missing from 1707 Jefferson avenue ; Mollie Thurns, reported missing from Jefferson and Gravois, and Lizzie, a colored woman, reported missing from 2728 Rus- sell avenue, disclosed that no such persons had heen known in those respective neighborhoods, and the reports, consequently, lack verification. All of these went down with the steamer J. J. Odill, just below the bridge. Morris Fisher, Hardin, Ills. Mrs. Gorgar, Ilardin, Ills. Sim Woods, clerk. Louis Morris, cook. 232 THE GREAT CYCLONE. The followiiiij; river men, ;:t first reported missiug, were fouml to luive iiiiniculoiisly escaped : Jas. Flaiiagau, carpenter Vicksburg. Jos. Joviu, diver. Larr}' Dauer, pilot ferryboat Christy. Heury Levy, fireuian ferryboat. G. A. A. Simons, second clerk Odill. Jas. Boland, captain Pittsburg. Geo. Townsend, captain Odill. Among those known to be dead are : Barber, name unknown, buried under ruins of Anchor Hall. Colored driver for Polar Wave Ice Company, at Union Depot power-house. Unknown teamster at same place. Unknown Bohemian woman, in ruins at Thirteenth and Soulard. Unknown child, in ruins at Twentieth and Papin. Oscar Jones, roustabout, steamer Houck. Sol Parker, roustabout, Houck. Will Oaden, roustabout, Pittsburg. Jacob Wendt, ferryboat clerk. MISSING. The list of missing people revised to date is as fol- lows: Arnika, Louisa, 36 years. Women's Christian Home. Brouthers, John, 304 North Fifteenth street. Brown, C. M., 2621 »St. Louis avenue. Buck, Mrs. Catherine, 78 years, 4368 Swan avenue. Brandeuburger, Carl, 40 years, 1827 Park avenue. Conelly, John, Springfield, 111. Cooning, Alphonse, 22 years, Earlington, Ky, Conrad, Mamie, 22 years, Jefferson Barracks. Coles, Charles, 21 years, 4900 Washington avenue. Cook, William, 36 years, 932 North Broadway. Dorsey, Joseph, 23 years, 4008 Kaston avenue. Detzer, Joseph, 2.> years, 1828 South Tenth street. Davis, Mrs. Florence, 141!) Bremen avenue. Davidson, Stephen O., 2102'i Franklin avenue. Damat, Philip, 30 years, Wheaton, 111.; boarded at 405 South Second street. Decker, Jean, 56 years, 2039 Biddle street. 233 234 THE GKKAT CYCLONE. 235 Eastman, Fayette, colored, 1606 Carr street. Ely, Teleph, Eighth and Washington avenue. Forfit, Hy., IS years, Decatur, 111. Fruin,Jere, 70 years, 2107 Menard street. Foster, Sidney, 28 years, 21073.sA Market street. Gingles, Nancy, 50 years, Beaver Creek, 111. Goodman, Maggie, 181() I, inn street. Goodline, I/. P., disappeared from Terminal Hotel. Gruenewald, Walter, 15 years, 1614 Arlington avenue, Harris, Jacob, 19 years, 1114 Angelica street. Hauck, Dr. Eugene F., 2354 Whittemore place. Huss, Charles, 27 years, Twelfth and Cass avenue. Heenan, Joseph, 37 years. Sixth and Poplar streets. Hardy, Albert, 35 j-ears, Logausport, Ind. Johnson, roustabout, Pittsburg. Jean, E. T., 45 years. Jones, Samuel. Jeremiah, Ray, 44 years; worked for E. H. Berry Boiler Company; came here recently from Belleville, 111. Jencks, , 26 years, 172 Illinois street, Indianapolis. Keiffer, Mary, 26 years, 2110 South Seventh street. Keim, Lizzie, 14 years, 21U6 South Seventh street. Kiefer, Charles, 1307 South Seventh street. Kelljs E. F., 30 years, 1204 State street, Chicago; boarded at Tenth and Wright streets. Knipp, Sadie, 507 Espenschied street. Klein, James, 45 years, 1516 Cora place. Lambkin, Charles Anthony, came from Cincinnati the day of the tornado. McCarthy, Cal, 41 years, motorman. McClellan, James, 29 years, Webster Groves. McCarthy, Josie, 27 years, Memj^his, Tenn. Meyer, G., 60 years, Hamburg, 111. McLaughlin, Joseph, 26 years; worked at Ligget & M)'ers tobacco factory. Moser, George, 73 years, 2830A South Ninth street. Myers, Dora, 19 years; came from Chicago the day of the tornado. Niesinger, A. J., Indianapolis, Ind. O'Leary, John, 5 years, 1449 Biddle. O'Meara, William, thought to be bxiried in the ruins at 1700 South Broadway. O'Reilly, James, worked for Laclede Car Company. Parker, M., 45 years. Probasco, Andrew P., 816 North Twenty-third street. '2'Si) TiiH <;ki:ai' cv(I.48 THE GREAT CYCLONK. wall, for tlie interested persons are keeping a stiff iipi)er lij) ill tiie hope that tliey can withstand the mercantile cyclone that is forming, and to tlie credit of wholesale houses, many of them are offering extensions witliout be- ing asked. One cigar store owner notified his su})[)ly house he was as poor as the day tliat he was born. lie received by messenger a receipt in full for the amount of his indebtedness, with a notification that as soon as he could open up again in any w'ay, his store would be stocked for him on any terms of credit he desired. "All was lost save honor," — no, not quite. The repu- tation for honesty which the sufferer had earned for him- self, was sufficient capital for him to commence business SUFFERING MECHANICS. The number of men thrown out of work cannot be estimated, but it certainly runs far into the hundreds in excess of the number employed to clear away the rubbish and repair the damage. The largest number of men now idle on account of the damage done one concern is the force of 250 formerly employed by the St. Louis Refrigerator and Wooden Gutter Co. The factory of this concern, at Minn street and Park avenue, was burned, and is a heap of ruins. It will be a long time before Oj)erations can be resumed, and as yet little has ))een done to recover from the blow as the adjustment of tlie fh'e insurance is proving a tedious task. Kventually business will be done on the same scale us of yore, for this company is rated. very high THE GREAT CYCLONE. 249 by the mercantile agencies, and is believed to be the lar- gest and strongest concern of the kind in the country. Its recent order for 100,000,000 feet of lumber is talked of by kindred concerns as the largest contract of the sort ever made. The 250 persons employed in the factory of the St. Louis Refrigerator and Wooden Gutter Co. were engaged in making everything "from a needle to an anchor." The St. Louis Steam Forge and Iron Works, better known as McDonald's Forge, at Main and Miller streets, was badly damaged by the storm. Up to last Wednesday evening it gave work to seventy men. Now ten men are engaged in cleaning and repairing. The company expects to be in shape in about thi'ee weeks or a month. Until then sixty men will be in idleness. Wlien a reporter called at the office of the Union Iron and Foundry Co., Second and Barry streets, groups of workmen were standing on the corners. They had visi- ted the shop to get their pay and their tools. Similar scenes are transpiring daily about many like places. The men got the wages which they earned j)rior to the storm and they looked at the money with a knowledge that it may be the last they will receive for some time. The Union Iron Foundry Co. had 100 men in its shops. They have been idle since. TELEGRAPH COMPANIES OVERWORKED. The storm shut off all telegraphic communication be- tween St. Louis and the outside worhl for hours, and hence the reports published in other cities of the extent 250 THE GREAT CYCLONE. of tlie calamity were wildly exaggerated. It was the greatest disaster of the time, but St. Louis, being a city of 600,000 inhabitants and having over sixty square miles of territory, could not by any possibility be "blot- ted otf the map" by a tornado. Yet such was freely announced, and one imaginative writer placed the loss of life at 100,000. Telegrams and cablegrams of inquiry came in consequence from all parts. Aside from the actual storm damage sustained by the telegraph companies they were in an absolutely paralyzed condition up to the following Sunday. Even had not a single wire of the telegraph companies l)een destroyed by the tornado, they could not have han- dled the immense volume of business that was thrust upon them. Even had their armies of operators been multiplied by ten, every instrument clicking constantly, and the ai'my of messengers been multiplied by 1,000, and the whole force worked night and day, the amount of businei^s cre- ated by the storm could not have been promptly handled. Within an hour after the tornado brief bulletins were sent over the one or two wires remaining in working order to the outside cities announcing that a terrible storm had struck St. Louis. At that time it was impossilde to })articularize, for the extent of the damage was unknown. These brief bulletins were repeated all over the United States and cabled to all parts of the civilized world. The afternoon papers of New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, San Fi'ancico, New Orleans, Boston and other large cities is- sued extra editions. They had no definite information at 251 ■20-J. THE GIIKAT CYCLONE. 253 liand, and they relied on the imagination of their writers. These publications with their exaggerated reports were sold on the streets long; after midniojht, with the result that all St. Louisans abroad, and those residents of other cities in this country and foreign lands, who had relatives or friends in this city, rushed to the nearest telegrapli office and started messages of inquiry. Hundreds of thousands of St. Louisans in this city, whose first thought, after their own safety was assured, was to reassure friends and relatives abroad of their escape, hastened to the telegraph offices and left from one to fifty messages to be sent, sub- ject to the delay which they knew would be experienced. No city in the world, in proportion to its population, has better telegraphic facilities than St. Louis. But the storm had blown down the wires and stilled the instru- ments, and for a few hours St. Louis was virtually in a world to itself. Thousands on top of thousands of mes- sages were stacked up here to be sent, and as great a number were filed in other cities for St. Louis delivery. In addition to the private telegrams inquiring about friends and in reply to queries many special newspaper correspondents had congregated in the city, and to a great extent they monopolized the wires with specials to their papers. Friday night nearly 1,000,000 words of special telegrams were sent by these correspondents, Li these hundreds of thousands of private messages, business Avas almost a tabooed subject. One operator kept account for a given time of messages received by him. Of the seventy telegrams he handled, sixty-eight 2')4 TIIK (JKKAT CYCLONE. were inquiries from relatives and friends. Tlie otlier two were of a lousiness nature. At tlie Post-office the conditions were almost as ]ku\ as with the telegraph companies. When the gi'eatly exaggerated reports were bulletined over the country, thousands of telegrams poured into tlie city. They came in such a quantity that the telegraph companies were powerless to deliver them, and all day Thursday and Friday the telegraph companies put 2-cent stamps on the envelopes and dumped them Ijy the bushel into the post office for delivery. The wires were working so badly that nearly all the replies were sent by mail, and this increased the bulk of the matter fully 100 per cent, while the force was diminished nearly 25 per cent. The telegrams were given the preference and were sent out as rapidly as })ossible. While the business mail in- creased greatly the amount of miscellaneous letters sim- ply flooded the office and the carriers were all over- loadtul. The greatest increase in bulk was in the newspapers sent through the mails. From the newspaper offices the increase was only al)out 15 or 20 per cent. But the people all over the city felt themselves powerless to describe the storm in letters and they sent thousands of extra papers to their friends all over the world. The letter boxes all over the city were piled high with these papers. The volume of this kind of matter jumped up from an aver- age of 600 pounds per day to 10,000 and 12,000 pounds. THE fiKEAT CYCLONE. " 255 TWO DAYS AFTER THE CALAMIT\\ Two days after the cyclone, sav^e where the city has cleaned the streets, little had yet been done by the torna- do suft'erers to clear up the del)ris. They seem still stunned by the disaster and apparently knew not how to go to work. Thousands of visitors crowded the tJioroughfares and vied with each other in securing some memento of the storm. Their industry would lead a casual observer to believe that work at reconstruction had actually l)egun. Such is not the case. Labor is scarce, and the house owners do not seem to know how to proceed. Many of tlie residences along Mississippi avenue, Jefferson avenue. Park avenue and Ohio avenue can yet be sav^ed, but the inhabitants do not feel assured of this, and they are waiting to hear the reports of the building inspectors. Teams of all descriptions crowded the narrow avenues throug;h the ruins and scattered lime over the sicfhtseers. On the green sward of Lafayette Park a company of militiamen bivouaced and sought the insufficient shade of the broken branches where once were lordly forest trees. A few children played happily on the sward as though their dwellings were not half destroyed. The sufferers themselves gathered in knots at the doorways of the houses yet standing and spoke in (piiet voices, looking passively resigned. On the side streets every form of vehicle was in use. Furniture =vans and those who could not afford to pay the high prices charged for teams were carrying the personal effects which survived the storm to places of safety. t2r)(> TIIK (iUEAT CYCr.ONE. They were all too busy to mourn longer, aiirovided with two assistants, but even then there was i?i)2 iiii; <;rk\t cvcr^oxE. no cjettinsf ahead of the crowd. The more he ltunc answers tlie thieker they seemed to come. "Talk about liuiri- canes and one tiling and another," remarked Frauenthal to a friend, ''l)ut this is liurricane, cyclone, toi'nado, all in one." Tluulay was the liveliest ever spent by the ])ersons who dispense information to the travelinjj; public. It is estimated by Afr. Fi-auenthal that fully 100,000 (piestions were asked and answered Sunday at the I>ureau of Infoi- mation. AXOTIIKK DISASTKR ^AKltOWI.V A \ KiriKD. There was a time at Inion Station when, for a few moments, it looked like the city was to be visited bv anothei" calamitv, indirectlv brouo'ht about )>v the more tei-rible catastrophe of a few niglits ago. A jelly-like, squirming mass of wornout humanity was packed ant! jammed in the Midway passage. And that ])assage with its immense area of 8^,000 scpiare feet, was practically impassable. \\omen could be seen sitting on top of United States mail boxes, to which places of safety they had been raised by relativ^es or friends. Families were forced apai't ; women were crying. There was no room inside the building. The spacious waiting-rooms down- stairs and uj) were l)ut a repetiti<»n of what was taking place along the gates affording entrance to the trains. Woman fainted. There was a danger of children being crushed to death. There were fully 30,000 people in that inclosure 50 feet wide and 606 feet in length. Something had to be done to save lives. The jam became unmanasreable. 263 264 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 265 Thousands in the multitude had stood up during the niglit before or rode on the platforms of coaches in order to get to St. Louis and satisfy a craving that had gone forth throughout the adjoining States to witness the ruin and woe that had been left in the wake of the Storm King's trail. Tlie constantly increasing gathering kept on crowding those already in the midway opeliing closer to the big iron railing, and everyone seemed to realize that at that moment it re(|uired l)ut a very slight pi'ovoca- tion to create a panic that would l)e fraught with great fatality. Men climbed up the iron railing, women shoved babies through the larger holes in the bottom of the fence to save them from the apparently unavoidable disaster. Regardless of rules of order, all the gates were at once thrown open, and the station turned over to the multitude. Vice-President Bryan, of the Terminal Association, at once telephoned ])olice head-quartei's that the crowd had gotten beyond their control, and asked tiiat 50 patrolmen be sent to the station as soon as possible in order that disaster may be averted. In the meantime Vice-Presi- dent Karasey, of the Wabash, had taken care of the babies and little children that had been passed through the openings in the bottom of the fence, and the several women who had fainted were removed to places of safety. Althoufrh trains, crowded to the sfuards, had been leav- ing Union Station since three o'clock in the afternoon, it seemed the jam was an inexhaustible one. 'if)<> iiiK <;i:KAr cvci.o.m:. o.NK nrxi>i;i;i) and I'oinv thoisam), acital corNT. By aetual count there were 140,000 ])assengei's who ari'ived at and passed out of tlie gates at the Ijiion Sta- tion on Sundaw Out of this numVjer, however, there wei'e, l^y a conservative estimate, about 100,000 passen- ger's who came tVom other points and from other States to go over the wreck and I'uin in tliis city. The other 40,000 i)assengers were those wlio I'eturned from East St. Louis on the trains of the Terminal Association. It was expected that an immense tlirong of people would gather in the city, and the Terminal j)eoj)le arranged trains ten minutes apart between St. Louis and East St. Louis for the ])enetit of the excursionists who wished to visit l)Oth sides of the I'iver. Out of twentv -three roads I'unninjj: into this city, five companies alone brought in by actual figures 25,000 people. The ^^^al)ash had thirteen trains in, with forty-six cars, and brought in «ner 7,000 excur- sionists. The Baltimoi'e and Ohio Southwestern had seven trains in with fifty-six cars, and had about 4, r)00 |)assengers. \'aneration as far soiitli as the bridge across the railroad tracks, carried them ])y tlie thousands, while others came on foot, in buggies, wagons and in cabs. From both ends of the city the Broadway cable hauled people by the 200 and 800 to the train, with three-car trains running in either direction every minute in the day from early morning till long after dark. Around the j)i'inciple ruins where there was loss of life or ])articularly heavy ])i'0])erty damage the cui'ious gatli- ered till the streets were blocked, and it was all tlie |)0- lice could do to keep the crowds moving. From every street and a\enue they poui'ed into the streets where the storm's fury was greatest, and gazed in oj)en-moutlied amazement at tlie horrid j)icture pi'esented. From the AYest End residence portion of the town they came by the Lindell on all of its branches, tiie Subui'ban and the ()live street cable, invading thence the section laid waste througli every street affoi'ding ingress. The Laclede avenue and People's lines brought their pro rata from the west and southwest, and the Cass avenue, Nortli- ern Central, Mound City, Bellefontaine, Union, Fair Grounds lines and Citizens' lines fairly emptied the ])op- ulace of the northwest ])ai't of the city into the Lafayette Park and Broadway districts. The crowd double discounted any that has e\er been seen at the Veiled Prophet's j)arade, the Fair or tlie ilium- 269 i^TO TJIE (iUKAT ( VCr.UXE. - 271 illations, and the estimate of its number was given at from 400, 000 to 500, 000 by conservative men. FEEDING THE HIWCiRV. A half dozen wagons were busy all day distributing food to the hungi'y. Over a hundred teams were ke[)t busy moving furniture from the wrecked buildings to dry and comfortable quarters for those who did not have the means to pay for a van. There were hundreds of them. The most activity in that direction was in the Soulai'd dis- trict. Head(|aarters are at the Soulard Street Police Sta- tion. The Captain has given up his room to the Relief Committee, and the building was thronged all day with applicants for aid. A perfect system had been established for the exten- sion of aid. All applications were received and recorded by the clerks in charge. The chairman then sent a re- sponsible person with the applicant to investigate the merits of the case. If the visitor reported that the ap- })licaut was deserving, an order was given for the needed aid. If it was a moving Avaigon, a. teamster was given an order to move tllfe applicant at once, and it was done forthwith. If the party needed funds to pay rent and was found woithy an order bearing the signature of the chairman was given him agreeing to pay one month's rent. These orders were redeemed with cash when presented for payment to the treasurer of the fund. AFTER THE CROWDS HAD GONE. Sunday night, amidst the ruins, all was darkness. Quietness reigned supreme. An occasional flash of elec- IIIK (iKi;AI' CV* L(»NK. tricity as a trolley slipped fioiii the wire, would momen- tarily light u]) the scene. Here and there people flitted, earrvinir lanterns and lookinjji; like straf]r2:linfj liiihtniiiij: bugs in June. A sudden rap of a policeman's club on the sidewalks startled the ])assersby. Occasionally a gong on aoable car would. l)i'eak the stillness of the night. Sheet lightning at intervals lighted up the eastern sky and brought out into relief the frowning ruins of homes, stores, churches, buildings and clubs. The twisted stumps and broken trees in Lafayette Park made a ghostly sight. Ruins, ruins everywhere. There were no lights stream- ing from the windows of the mansions on the avenues. Occasionally a straggling beam would llicker out from a house not totally wrecked. All was as silent as if the city Avag deserted. Such was the condition of affairs last night out in the ruined residence district. There were but few peoi)le on the streets. Policemen were every vvhei'e keeping guard against the crooked gen- try. Out Jefferson avenue couhl be seen the flickering lights of torches moving about as the men worked on the ruins of the power house at ^leyer avenue. This was the only sign of life out there. West of Jefferson avenue in the Compton Ilill district it was as silent as a graveyard. Once the tinkling music of a piano broke the stillness for a moment and then there was silence again. The park was deserted save for the officers at the police station. Coming on down Lafayette avenue the only speck of light was at the Phcenix Brew- ery, where Elngine Company No. 7 has its temporary quarters. The old City Hospital was deserted. Not a THE GllEAT CYCLONE. 273 sign of life was visible. Occasionally a brick or piece of debris would fall, and when they struck the ruins below tlie crash would re-echo for several moments. Here and there lights could be seen through the broken trees in the houses untouched by the storm. On down and the wrecked Soulard Market loomed up in all its ghastliness. One or two men stood about swapping personal experiences and telling of the heroic deeds they performed. The ruins of the old Insane Asy- lum frowned ominously from the north. To the south light was streaminsi; fi'om the Soulard Police Station. From upstairs the echo of a hymn floated out into the stilly night. 'Twas a queer state of aflPairs. Downstairs the police were guarding the offenders against public peace and morals. Upstairs the members of the Soulard Station Mission were worshiping their Deity. As the old hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee," floated out on the niirht air a ser2;eant came to the door to answer a knock. He listened a moment, took off his hat until the last note of the hymn had died away, then, with a sigh, replaced it, saying : "Misery makes strange bedfellows." ALONG BROADWAY. Along lower Broadway there was not much life. The saloons were almost deserted. No drunken people could be seen. The calamity had sobered everyone, and most of them have remained so. On the fronts of the stores w^ere large banners announcing great sales of dam- aged stock. Around the ruins of Ottenad's building a crowd of idlers gossipped of the happenings of the day. 18 274 TIIK (JREAT CYCr.ONE. On down Soulard street toward tlie river the quietude of death reigned. Beneath the ruins, there were many ghastly corpses. Over on Rutger street no one appeared but an officer, who silently surveyed tlie passerby, won- dering what could induce anyone to wander about that dark and desolate place. Opposite the old French Mar- ket on Broadway on the vacant lot a small circus tent was lighted up. A band was playing a lively air. Through the tent could be seen the silhouettes of a few patrons who were willing to sit through the chilly two hours to while away tlie time. Across the street, silent and dark, stood the ruined church. Down in the manufacturing and tenement district there was not a sign of life. All the wrecked buildings were de- serted. The Relief Committee had moved the tenants to other quarters. Piles of broken brick, battered tin and other debris still littered the streets, and it was dangerou.« to walk about. The Levee was dead. Not a roustabout nor a Levee rat could be seen. At intervals a train darted along the elevated tracks. A few lights on the steamers told of their presence, while the swollen river rushed by on its headlong pitch to the gulf. Across in stricken East St. Louis could be seen mov- ing lights, telling of the activity over there. A tnnn crawled cautiously over the wrecked Eads Bridge with a load of freight. A tug soon afterwards came puffing down the river, disturbing the spell. Swinging back again into the wholesale district, the great Cupples l)uildings stood out in ]x)ld relief, with broken windows and twisted roofs. Numerous small buildinofs 275 276 THK OREAT CYCLONE. 277 in ruins made a desolate scene in the stillness of the night. Chouteau avenue was deserted and black as printer's ink. Park avenue was like a lonely country lane. The only thing that broke the stillness of the night was the whirr of the machinery in the wreck of the cable power-house as it ran in the open air. St. Vincent avenue was like a ruined city — no sound, no life, no existence. It was late. The city was asleep, unconscious of the misery, the sutfering, the woe of the morrow. lU'RYING THE BEAD. In all the wide, wide world there never was a sadder city than St. Louis was this sad Sunday. It was the day on which she buried her dead. There were 200 funerals in St. Louis and her sister city on the Illinois side of the turbulent Mississippi, nearly every one of which was that of a tornado victim. All day long these mournful corteges, wending their way silently and tearfully to some peaceful cemetery, were seen in every section of the city, and on the avenues leading to the principal burying grounds one procession followed another so closely as to make it look like one long, unbroken line, miles in length. It was no unusual sight to see two and even three funerals moving side by side on streets leading from the devastated districts, and such a vast concourse of mourners probably never gath- ered in a modern city to witness services so sad. The scenes at some of the churches were painfully im- pressive, and in certain localities the sacred edifices seemed to have been converted into morgues. There 278 THE (JREAT CYCLONE. were families of two and three and in one case of five per- sons buried from the same church or residence. In many cases wliole families were killed, and their homes were piled into rubbish heaps in the cellars. Friends and rel- atives of the victims gave them decent burial from theii- own homes, or from undei-taking parlors near the once ha|)j)y homes of the deceased. The priests in some of the churches preached half a dozen funeral sermons during the day. As fast as one body was carried from the edifice and the mourners had started to follow it to its windowless palace, another took its place on the catafalque, which was placed in front of the chancel rail on Friday to remain a fixture until Mon- day in anticipation of the numerous funerals that must be held. There were a dozen instances in St. Louis and East St. Louis where there were four and five corpses in the churches, residences and undertaking establishments awaiting the sacred oflices. Mothers, wives, sisters, fathers, brothers, the widow and the orphan, mingled their sobs and their tears over lifeless clay that until Wednesday's horror had lived and moved and loved. Grief and anguish and heart aches were plainly stamped on the faces of the sad -eyed grou])s that gathered about biers in many of God's houses. The lamentations of the bereaved and the soft, sweet music of church choirs, chanting the requiem, were rudely dis- turbed by the ring of the mason's trowel, the ceaseless chop, chop of the lineman's ax and the hammering of the carpenter as the work of clearing away the debris and bringing order out of chaos went steadily on, regardless THE GREAT CYCLONE- 279 of the Sabbath. It was a Sunday such as no great city ever spent before. Singularly enough scarcely a bell was tolled. The task of conducting the funerals, pronouncing the last words and keeping the almost numberless processions moving assumed such serious proportions in some localities as to obscure its pathetic features to a certain extent, and re- duce it almost to the plane of a business transaction. The undertakers were scarcely equal to the emergency, and in not a few cases the tiny white coffins enshrouding infants, and even those of children 10 and 12 years of age, were taken to the cemeteries in cabs and carriages that were converted into hearses for the time being. It was sad to see infants at the breast and sunny -haired toddlers of 3 or 4 years — and there were many of them whose in- nocent lives were snuffed out in the storm — carted to chill, cold graves, some in almost deserted cemeteries in the southern section of the city, scarcely noticed by neigh- bors and friends in the general confusion that prevailed. There were funerals, too, of those who have fared bet- ter in the matter of this world's goods; more pompous, more stately and more orderly, but none that were marked by greater or more sincere grief. Side by side, the funerals of the wealthy wended their way to costly mauseleums with those of less fortunate brethren and sis- ters destined for humble graves. It was nightfall before the last groups of mourners left the burial grounds, and the wet sod was turned back over graves that will make May 27 a memorable day for years to come in St. Louis. 280 THE (JIIKAT CYCLONE. SAD irXEKAL SCKNES. Amid all the bustle there were striking reminders of the tragedy of the elements, and hearses stood on several thoroughfares. Playmates when they were girls, clerks for the same firm and meeting death locked in eacli other's embrace. Misses Emma Cheney and Isa Home were buried Sat- urday. No bells tolled as their storm-bruised remains were taken to the tomb. The church where they wor- shiped was leveled by the same awful wind which blew out their life light forever. The house where they had lived so many happy days was not to witness the pay- ment of the last tribute 23aid by the quick to the dead. It also lay a wrecked mute witness of the mighty power which struck and spared not at all. Miss Cheney and Miss Home were clerks at the Sawyer jManufacturing Company's building, No. 1819 Chouteau av^enue, and when that building was literally blown to pieces, like many others, they had no time to escape. As they felt the building giving way beneath them, they rushed into each other's arms and so met death. When a rescuing party reached them, they were yet in that final embrace and as the same beam struck both they must have died together. The girls, neitlier was twenty years, had boarded at 1529 Mississippi avenue, but that house was wrecked, so the remains wei-e taken to the residence of a relative of Miss Cheney, Mrs. B. T. Ilandley, 1432 Mississippi avenue. It was first intended to bury them in the same grave, but Wm. Home, father of Miss Isa, preferred to take her body to Shrewsbury, and inter it in ■■ • -^T ( '^51 ALONK IN TUE KUINS. 282 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 283 the family lot. However, both were consigned to the grave at 11 a, m. The funeral services over the remains of Miss Cheney were conducted by Rev. Mr. Williams, a Methodist minister, and were simple but impressive, A simple wreath of flowers rested on the bier. The coffin con- tained the simple inscription, ' 'Emma Cheney, died May 27, 1896." The choir of the Jefferson Avenue M. E. Church sang some simple hymns, and Dr. Williams spoke feelingly of the fair dead girl, and of the uncer- tainty of life. The interment occurred later at Bellefon- taine Cemetery. There was grief in the family of little Patrick Galla- gher Saturday afternoon, when they followed the white hearse, which bore his mangled remains from the home of his childhood, at 1729 Iowa avenue, to the Bellefon- taine Cemetery. The child had celebrated his fifth birth- day on Tuesday last, and on Wednesday was riding on a hobby horse which had been presented to him, when the tornado crushed out his life. The funeral services were held at the residence, and were conducted l)y Rev. Mr. Fountleroy. There was no hearse and only four mourners who went with the poor torn remains of Johnny Helwood, colored, killed at 2113 Papin street. A plain white box resting on the knees of his mother and father with two brothers of the dead boy on either side of the casket were borne in a carriage to the African Methodist Episcopal burial ground. The father, Washington Helwood, had a large bandage across his brow. He had attempted to escape 284 THE GREAT CYCLONE. from tlie liouse when it fell, cairyiiig liis little son, John, in his arms. A heavy beam struck him a glancing blow, knocked the boy out of his arms and fractured his skull. AVith the loss of the house the llehvood family was doubly bereaved. They suffered the child at first to be taken to the Morgue, but when the news of their loss reached the A. M. E. congregation, of which they were members, money was contributed to prevent the grief- stricken sufferino; the additional blow of seeing their child buried in the potter's field. Rev. John Mason preached the funeral service, which was held in the open air, with ruins of houses on every side. A large assemb- lage of both white and colored sufferers gathered around the bier and entered into the services with heartfelt sym- pathy. AN EAST ST. LOUIS FUNERAL. Among the many funerals there was none which elicited more real sympathy from the general public than that of City Tax Collector David S. Sage and his wife, who were buried in a single grave at St. Peter's Cem- etery. Not only the fact that Mr. Sage stood high in social, political and financial circles brought many to see his bier, who, through those channels, associated with him in life, but the more touchino- circumstances of his traffic and pathetic death. Mrs. Sage was the accomplished and pretty daughter cf Attorney E. R. Davis. She was mar- ried to the handsome real estate man about five years ago, and the pair lived in a fine home on Eighth street. About THE GREAT CYCLOlSrE. 285 a year ago they rented their residence and a temporary home was established in the Strickler household. On the fateful evening the couple had been entertained by St. Louis friends and returned to the city about 5 o'clock. A few moments were passed at Mr. Sage's office, and Mr. and Mrs. Sage noticing the threatening clouds, hastened their steps towards Collinsville and St. Louis avenues. As they reached the corner, an eye-wit- ness says, they stopped for a moment and attempted to enter the front door of the grocery. The door was either locked or fastened in some way, and a break was made for the hallway. Just as they entered the door the awful crash came. The air was filled with flying missiles and the house began to fall forward. The couple were then standing in the landing leading to the first flight of steps. Mrs. Sage leaned on her husband's arm, while her other arm was high up on his breast, as if she were half -pleading for further protection. The request was granted without ceremony, and long before the building finally crashed Mr. Sage held his wife firmly in his arms, while hers were as lovingly clasped about his neck. In this position their mangled bodies were found, and as this was the position in which they were last seen aliv^e, it is believed that when they noticed the awful effect of the storm upon the back part of the house and knew escape was impossible in any direction they av/aited in terror and in affectionate embrace their doom. The big building rocked and swayed before finally plunging into the shapeless mass for probably ten seconds. That space of time must have appeared as so many days 286 thp: great cycloxe. to the pair, but they were surely motionless during the time extending from the storm's first impact until the building was razed. A THiKV^Es' oppomrMiv. Gentlemen possessed of thieving propensities flocked to St. Louis from all parts of the country to ])ly their nefarious business in the storm -swept districts. An entire gang of Cincinnati thieves arrived Sunday on an excursion train, and its members were promptly arrested by Chief Desmond's men and lodged behind the cold iron bars of the cooler at Twelfth and Clark avenue. Thes(^ gentlemen were treated to a forced stay at the City Work- house, and will not soon forget the experience of attempt- ing to take advantage of the excitement and the disor- dered state of affairs in this city subsequent to the tor- nado. The names of the Cincinnati men were not made public by Chief Desmond. He had reasons for with- holding them. A number of the light-fingered gentry from Chicago also blew in with the storm. They enjoyed about two hours' liberty, and then kept the Cincinnati friends com- pany in the dismal confines of the holdover. Neither the Chicaco nor the Cincinnati crooks were allowed to make a single steal. They wei'e nabbed almost before they had taken a breath of the exhilerating atmosphere com- mon to St. Louis, and others who followed met with the same experience. Kansas City and several other cities were also repre- sented at the holdover. In fact, thieves from all parts of 287 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 289 the United States were soon registered at that city insti- tution, and from present indications they will remain longer than they expected; not free, however, to roam at will, robbing demolished residences and stores, but con- fined behind locked doors. A large force of extra police and detectives were de- tailed at the Union Station and throughout the damaged district. Thieves were arrested without unnecessary de- lay and sent for safe -keeping to the holdover. Chief of Detectives Desmond went through the wind-swept locali- ties every night, and the Board of Police Commissioners met in session daily, considering measures to protect the property of storekeepers and citizens whose buildings were damaged. INCIDENTS OF THE CYCLONE. AND DESOLATION. Thrilling and miraculous escapes during the storm were numerous, but that of George A. Simons, second clerk of the lost steamer J. J. Odill, is specially worthy of note. Mr. Simons and First Clerk VV. S. Woods were in the cabin when the storm struck. The boat was torn from the wharf by the fury of the storm, and when in raid- stream was struck by the Libbie Conger and overturned. When the crash came Mr. Woods called to his corapan- 19 290 TriE GREAT CYCLONE. ion, "Save yourself, George, the boat's gone," and those were the last words ever uttered ])y the unfortunate first clerk, as at that instant the boat overturned and went to the bottom. Mr. Simons came to the surface entangled in wreckage, and drawing a long breath, dived un- der the water again, this time coming u]) clear of the wreck. lie then swam to some wreckage which he recog- nized as part of the cabin of his boat, and in an e.\lianstej)rictor of the Martell Hotel, East 8t. Louis, recovered from his injuries in a few days suffi- ciently to visit the wreck of his house, although so badly hurt that he was reported dead. A number of traveling men met him at the Relay, and after they had congratu- lated him upon his escape with life he told the fearful story of his escape. He said that when the first shock came he left his dining room and came out to the front room, facing the Relay. Here he met Judge A. W. Hope, of Alton, Judge Foulk, of Vandalia, and Messrs. William Flynn and John Mumme, of Edwardsville. Hope, Mumme and Flynn decided that they would run over the roads, while Mr. Martell and Judge Foulk con- cluded that it would be safer in the house. The three gentlemen had scarcely left the building when the house was razed. Martell does not know what occurred afterward to the others, but when he revived he was pinioned in such a way that his feet were elevated at an angle of probably forty -five degrees, while his head was pushed far up on ^?^l 341 342 THE GREAT CYCLONE. ' 343 his breast. He could not speak or see, but could hear and feel people passing over him in search for the dead at the back of the house. The fire had then started, and the horrors of a burning deatli confronted him. He was also further dumfounded to learn that several parties no- ticed him, but seeing that he was motionless, said that there was no use bothering with that dead man; let us go on and succor those who may be alive on the fire's side. In this way he believes at least fifty people passed over his body, all injuring him by tramping ou the boards which bound him, and not one believing that he was alive. At last, by a superhuman etfort, he chanced to move a foot as a rescuer walked along, and that movement no doubt saved his life. The man held his lantern down closer to the form, and realizing that the boot was not shaken by the breeze, he called for help, and soon extri- cated the semi-conscious ex-Treasurer of the City of East St. Louis. He was taken to the hospital immediately and tenderly cared for, and is now ready to commence the rebuilding of his place at the Relay. Judge Hope was also present last evening, and listened to Mr. Mar- tell's tale. He, too, had a trying experience at the door. He said the party had scarcely gained the outside when he was knocked down and lay upon the curbing near the railroad tracks. At that instant the house crashed in, and missiles of all kinds were piled up about him. He })artly raised himself, and in that instant saw the roof of the Martell House and other large articles pass over his head and lodge near tlie Relay. Another instant, he was 344 TlIK ORKAT CVCLOXK. looking at Ji waste wlieie a few seconds before stood fine l)iick and frame l)uildiiigs, tlie Vaiidalia round house and other I'aih'oad ])ro])ei-ty, all of which cut off a view of any ])art of the bridge. Xow, however, lie saw the structure in its entirety, and could not, on that account, realize his position. Seeing the bridge, he naturally con- cluded that it was he who had been blown away, and not the ol)strnctions. Yet, turnino; ao-ain, he recoirnized the remains of the Relay Depot, and then for the tirst time he concluded that tliestoi'ni had actually taken everything fi'om the creek to the Levee, a distance of nearly a mile. The rain was pouring down in torrents, the thunder rolled, and the lightning momentarily lit up the heavens. Dur- ing the intervals, however, the darkness was intense. These flashes set out the whole panorama of destruction more vividly than if the light was continuous, and surely, he states, the scene was more terribly impressive. A barber's story. Upon the top floor of the Wainwright building there is a neat little barber shop, presided over by Louis Tisch, that has had lots of trade since the cyclone, because a great desciiption of the tornado and its flight to the city is served up with every shave. With a haircut Tisch and his assistants point out different ] daces of interest in the path of the storm, as they are seen from his elevated })erch,and if a man takes a shave a haircut and a shampoo, maybe if he is good he can go out on the roof. The barbers in the Wainwright building, Tisch, G. C. Adams, John 1). Iluppci't mid A. Rust, saw the storm THE GREAT CYCLONE. -345 from start to finish, and they tell a most remarkable story about it. They say it was not a funnel shaped cloud such as is commonly pictured as being the shape of a tornado. Each solemnly swears it was a horizontal black cloud that moved through the city with a twisting motion like a screw, faster than any railroad train that ever ran. Pre- ceeding the black cloud was a dense yellow cloud that looked as though its interior was a mass of flames. From out of this cloud shot long firey arms in every direction, and wherever one of these arms struck something went to pieces. Tisch compares the cloud to a big serpent that wriggled along up in the air and trust out a multi-forked tongue as though in anger. Shortly before the storm broke, Huppert went up on the roof and came back with the information that there was a tornado in sio;ht. Rust followed him and came back with a confirmation of the report, and then the two barbers went out and saw the grand marshalling of the storm in the western skies. When the rain began, they came down into the shop, and the last they saw as they were coming through the scuttle was the advance guard of the tornado as it came in from the southwest. The barber shop is at the southeast corner of the build- ing, and all around it are little windows, round, like the port holes in a ship. The barbers stood at the south windows and watched the tornado from the time it ap- peared, away off to the southwest, until a portion of it j'olled upagainstthe building and madethem wish they were somewhere else. Tisch says they saw houses and busi- 34«) THE GHKAT CVCLONK. ness blocks go down before it, their view (jf tlie destruc- tion it was wreaking being made plain by the yellow clowd of fire that preceded the storm proper. He is sure it crossed the river some distance below Park avenue, switched around when it got neai'ly to the Illinois shore and started directly up the stream. In tliis he is borne out by the statements of the others who were watching it. Just as they were getting ready to move around to the east windows, in order to observe the passing of the storm up the river, a gust of wind and rain that shook the building came along, and the}^ were in the midst of the storm. When next they saw the river and the city below, the storm had passed, and the rain was falling straight down. They saw dozens of wrecks floating down the stream, and on the other side saw all the steamboats blown away from the harbor and piled up along the bank. Then came the second storm, followed by the St. Louis Wooden Gutter Company's fire, which they saw from their airy observatory. It was late when they went down, after three hours' of uninterrupted excitement. A colored boy named Mose is one of the valued attaches of the shop, and he was one of the spectators when the awful cloud was first seen. lie instantly started for the ground, and he got there in a hurry. He forgot about the elev^ators and made a slide, it is averred down ten flights of stairs. No amount of persuasion could get him back to the shop that night. Next morn- ing when he was being twitted about having run away from the storm, he remarked: "Oh there was others. " 347 348 THE GREAT CYCLONE. '349 HER daughter's ASHES. Beat with age and with feeble steps an old lady hob- bled into Chief Harrigan's office at the Four Courts two days after the tornado, carrying on her arm a market basket in which was a curious looking can or urn. Pov^- erty had pinched the features of the aged woman and sor- row had left its deep lines. Secretary Espy was at his desk and he noticed the visitor and asked her what she desired. Her story was most pathetic, and the secretary was moved to pity at its recital.' With hesitating words she stated her mission: "My name is Julia Weise, and I live at 416 Barton street. Two years ago my daughter, Mrs. Louis Sehr, died in Memphis, and this urn, which 1 have in my bas- ket, contains all that remains of her, after her body had been cremated. It was her last desire that her husband, Louis Sehr, should have her body cremated. For two years he carried the ashes of his dead wife with him wherever he went. Some months ago he came to this city, a sufferer from consumption. He lived with me at 416 Barton street, and did what he could to earn a liv- ing, though growing weaker every day. Finally he was compelled to remain in bed and for weeks he lingered, wasting away to a shadow. Wednesday he died, and I had not the means with which to buiy him, so his body was taken to the Morgue, where it now is. "I am greatly in need of help," said the old woman, with quivering voice, "and I want Louis buried decently. He has a brother in TTtica, N. Y., Michael Sehr, a well-to- do barber, and if you could notify him of Louis' death 35(T rilK (iKEAT CYCLONE. and ask liis assistance lie might send niouey enough to pay for the funeral. " The old lady was told to come back at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. In the meantime, Chief Harrigan telegraphed to the brother in Utica, stating the circumstances, and asking if he would defray the expenses of the burial. The urn containinc: the ashes of Mrs. Weise's daui^hter remained in the Chiefs office all day. The old woman left it there for safe -keeping. She had no special place to stay, and is afraid she will lose the urn. It was the ob- ject of much curiosity on the part of attaches of the office and visitors on account of its peculiar shape. It is made of heavy tin and has a screw top, which can be removed at will. The ashes weigh about five pounds and are of a light straw color. A MAN LOST IILS IJEASON. At the old police station in East St. Louis, the officers wrestled with a man who said his name was Thomas Phil- lips. Phillips was picked up while aimlessly walkini: about the railway yards and lodged in the station. A> soon as he was brought in he displayed unmistakable signs of insanity, and attempted to make a break for lib- erty. He contended that the officers wished to murder him on account of the part he had taken in the late tor- nado, and as he was a man of standing he would sell his life dearly. The next instance he quieted down and said that his name was Thomas Phillips; that he lived at Greenville, Mo., but afterwards held that he had just ar- rived from Canada. As soon as he was placed in the THE GRKAT CYCLONE. 351 cell he fought desperately for freedom. Several police- men i"an to the assistance of the turnkey and the man was finally overpowered. He then paced up and down the corridor and de- nounced in unmeasured terms the action of the police in firing at him so often. The police believe that the poor fellow is a victim of the storm. Some claim that he was seen on the streets a few days ago, and if he is the same person something since has caused him to become de- mented. He is a fine looking fellow, tall and stout, with light hair, sandy mustache and blue eyes. His hands do not indicate that he is a laborer, and in his lucid mo- ments he uses langjuasre with characterizes him as a man of fair education. BATTLE OF THE WINDS. H. D. Sexton, the wealthy real estate owner, Vice- President of the East St. Louis Electric Railway, and di- rector in the Workingma'n's Bank, had a narrow escape in the storm, and gives a graphic account of "The Battle of the Winds,'' as he terms it. Mr. Sexton, with his stenographer. Miss Rose Taylor, Cashier Isch of the Workins^man's Bank and several others were sitting in his office on Broadway when the skirmish line of the infuriated elements hove in sis^ht. They started to go home, but saw that they would be overtaken on the way and concluded to wait awhile. For a time they ti'ied to hold the front door shut, but the glass in the broad window crashed in and stampeded them. They dodged under tables and desks, and Mr. 352 THE <;kkat cvci.oxe. Sexton says that above the roar of the winds he could hear some very audible and fervent jM'ayers. A telephone pole broke just in front of the office, and was shot straight as an arrow against the wall, knocking a hole in it, and added to this the terror-stricken occupants could hear the roof crackling and falling above them. They dared not venture out, so lay prone upon the floor, expecting the worst, but when the storm had spent its force, all rose, shook the wet mortar from their clothes and ventured out. Mr. Sexton says that for fully ten minutes before the storm reached East St. Louis he stood in his office and watched the grand elemental display that was playing such havoc in South St. Louis. He said at times the heavens seemed to brighten and he could see the storm moving northward at a rapid rate. He expected it to reach the East Side, but f(>r the moment his attention was turned to a terrific gust of wind that came from the north. The contending forces were advancing to meet each other, and they did with terrible force just about at the Eads bridge. Nothing but such combined force could have shaken and crumbled a span of the great bridge, is Mr. Sexton's opinion. The south wind was the stronger, but the brief fight the north wind gave it was deadly and terrific. Both aimed their wanton forces upon the defenseless victims on the Levee and upon the railroad warehouses in that section. That is why the result was so calamitous. The south wind, in its maddened triumph, swept on with ter- > 2 I 353 .■«dS, ^->>i 354 THE GREAT CYCLONE. 355 rible zeal and devastated every obstacle that human hand had raised to impede its march of destruction, and spared not life itself. ''It was indeed a battle of the winds," continued Mr. Sexton, ' 'and as a common enemy, East St. Louis will wear its scars for years to come. FAMILIES BKOKEX UP. John Bergeest, driver for the Louis Ottenad Furniture Co., at 1700 South Broadway, leaves a wife with a you.ng boy and girl, who are suddenly cast upon the sea of ad- versity, with no means of support. He was by an open window trying to quiet his team when the building col- lapsed and his body was not found until Friday evening. William Ottenad, president of the Ottenad Furniture Co., was in the office at the rear of the store when it col- lapsed and was instantly killed. His family consists of his wife and seven children, ranging in age from one Aveek to eight years. Mrs. Ottenad is very low, indeed, and her death is momentarily looked for. The deceased left no estate, his all being in the furniture he had in stock, Mary Rux is the only surviving member of the family which lived at 716 Barry street. There were in the building at the time her mother, Matilda Rux, 56, her sister, Jennie, 17, and Tina, 16, and a friend, John Labien, aged 49. All were sitting in the front room when the first blast came and it almost lifted the house from its foundation. Mary jumped through the door and escaped by the narrowest margin. All four of the ;i56 ■ TilK GRKAT CYCLONE. othei's were killed instantly. The survivor is 19 years of age and self-supporting. A TERRIBLE SCATTER. John \V. Dunn, Assistant City Treasurer, tells a re- markable story that he dug up while visiting the cyclone district near Lafayette Park. A driver for an ice wagon was last seen entering an alley back of the power house of the People's Railway Company, seated on his wagon with his whole outfit intact. Later he was missing, and for hours nothing was known of him. j\[r. Dunn says tliat the entire outfit was discovered, the wagon in one place, the horse in another, and the driver in another. They were at the tliree angles of a triangle, and Mr. Dunn is authority for the statement that they were 100 yards apart. It is impossible to explain how the driver was blown from the seat, or tlie horse separated from tiie wagon, but the facts Mr. Dunn says, are as stated above. A MAN AND WOMAN HI.OWX AWAY. Architect Isaac S. Taylor tells of a dramatic scene which he viewed from his ofiice on the ninth floor of the Columbia Building, at Eighth and Locusts streets. JMr. Taylor says that soon after the storm broke, a man and woman turned into Kighth street frt)m Locust. As soon as the rain began to fall the man put up an umbrella. Wlien the speed of the wind increased both of them sought the railing around the Custom House, with the umbrella still u[). The latter was soon wiped out by the gale, and then the man and woman were seen desperately THE GREAT CYCLONE. 357 clinging to the iron ruiling. The fury of the gale in- creased from forty to fifty, sixty, seventy miles an hour. There was a moment of darkness as the wind blew furi- ously, and the man and woman were still clinging to the rail. In another minute the street lit up and they had entirely disappeared. Mr. Taylor says he does not know what became of the couple, but there is no doubt they were swept down Eighth street by the wind, and it is probable they will figure ev^entually among the number of missing persons who have not been accounted for since the storm. HORSE RESCUED ALIVE. Workmen on the ruined Strickler Building came upon a live horse Sunday night after tlie • wreck. The poor animal was freed from its predicament some time duiing the day. The Strickler Building was one of tlie worst used by the storm of any of the structures in East St. Louis. It was absolutely razed to the ground and at least four peo- ple killed. Among those who lost their liv^es there were Special Tax Collector Sage and his wife, Phil Strickler, the driver, and Dr. C. E. Mill, perhaps the most promi- nent victims of the disaster. There was a horse stal)led in the basement. He used to di'aw one of Strickler's grocery wagons. After the building fell and people began to think again, some of them remembered the poor animal, but thought, of course, he must be dead, covered as lie was by the great mass of debris. The workmen had been lal)oring ever since to 35.S THE ({REAT CYCLOXE. get the wreck cleared away witli u view to fiiiding any more dead bodies tliat iniijlit be there. Sunday night they heard sounds indicating that some- thiuir was alive somewhere in the debris, (xreat excite- ■^ji EAST ST. LOUIS KLl'XTRIC CAR BLOWN FROM THE BRIDGE. ment followed this discovery. Lal)ored Ijreathing could Ije heard, and the sound of something struggling as though to get freed from the crushing weight. TJIE (iRKAT CYCLONE. 359 Efforts were redoubled by tlie men. They felt sure they were about to come upon some poor torn and bleed- ing man or woman, but when the last stick was lifted the dirty nose of the horse was seen. In some miraculous way the animal seemed to be in pretty fair spirits. A bridge of timbers had formed over him in such a manner as to keep him from being mashed to death. Monday morning a quantity of oats was let down to the lucky prisoner and a bucket of water was sent after it. The poor creature was famished and ate and drank ravenously. Great care was exercised by the men to prevent the props from tumbling out, and the horse was finally gotout unhurt. it's an ill wind. The luckiest man in East St. Louis is A. M. Meintz. The tornado actually did him good instead of hann and that without any injury to his fellow-townsmen or at their expense in any way. Meintz is a very wealthy man and also a very shrewd one. He owns a two-story building at Third street and Missouri avenue. Recently he decided to add an extra story to it and was just getting ready to remove the roof for this pur- pose when along came the cyclone and took it off for him. Meintz is one of the few men in East St. Louis who had tornado insurance. His losses are entirely covered in this way and he saved the expense of getting ready for hi^ third-story addition. He is going right on with his plans and workmen are now busy [tutting on the third story. 3Gl) THK CKKAT CYCr.OxVK TYl'K'AL SADNESS. One of the most pitiable cases seen at relief beadijuar- ters was that of Mrs. August Brauer and live of her six children. Until the storm tliey lived at 500 Broadway. Their house was torn down completely. Mr. Brauer was so badly bruised that he could not walk, and Philip, 8 years old, had a leg )>roken. How the other members of- the household escaped is a marvel. Not a single article of furniture was saved and all of their clothino- was lost. To add to their misfortune the baby was badly bruised on the head and has since become sick because of the weather. The family found temporary shelter with Mr. Brauer's sister, Mrs. Andrew Peterson, whose husband is a mem- ber of the East St. Louis Fire Department. A WILL) A XI) AWFUL HIDE. Two maddened horses racing south on Jefferson ave- nue, dragging behind them a "trouble wagon" of tlie Union Depot Street Railway Company, with two fright- ened men clinging to the rails on the elevated tower which rests on the bed of the wagon, was one of the scenes witnessed. Tlie wagon had gone to 2313 South Jefferson avenue to repair a broken trolley wire. The wagon liad diiven into the tracks. The tower was elevated so that the two men on top could be in easy reach of the trolley wires. » THE GREAT CYCLONE. 30 1 After the wagon Avas in place and the two men were at work on the wires the driver left his seat to go to the side- walk. He had hardly reached the ground wlhen the wind blew a paper in front of the horses. They became fright- ened and started on a dead run down the avenue. One of the men in the tower had his hand in the ropes about the trolley wire and his ai'm was nearly jerked off. Both men screamed, but that only seemed to urge the horses to greater speed. So high was the tower that the rails nearly caught in the overhead wires, and a dozen times the endangered men stooped and crawled to the floor of the high platform to keep their heads from being severed from their bodies. Men who were blocks down the street saw the team coming and realized the jeopardy in which the men's lives were put on the tower and they rushed frantically into the car ti'acks, some pulled their coats from their backs and waved them in the air in an effort to stop the horses, Ijut that only made them turn from the tracks and the wheels, in gliding against the rails, nearly overturned the top heavy vehicle. Finally one of the two men who had been dodging elec- tric wires and boughs of trees scaled the rail and while the horses were going the fastest lowered himself down the tower until his feet touched the bed of the wao-on. Then he sprang to the ground and rolled over into the gutter. The horses made for the car sheds and dashed into one of the car doors. The tower with the man on it struck the top of the door and it was torn loose from the bed 3Cy2 TIIK (JUKAT CVCLoM:. and toppled over to the sidewalk. Tlie iiiau jiini])ed and struck in the street, sustaining nothing more than a sprain of tlie ankle. THE WIND S IDIOSYXCRACY. The twister fairly out-twisted itself when it demolished Mt. Calv^ary Church at Jefferson and Park avenues. The SCKNH ON CHUITKAI' AVi;XL'K. belfry v/as on the northeast corner of the building before the storm. Afterwards it wasn't. The tornado struck the church and carried the roof up into the air. While it was up there the walls gave way. Then the roof turned end for end and dropped on the ruins, covering them THE GREAT CYCLONE. 363 completely. When the storm had passed it was found that the belfry was on the south end of the building ex- actly opposite its former position. Down on Iowa avenue the tornado deposited a large telegraph pole in a place where telegraph poles are not usually seen. The owner of a house in the neighborhood had been repairing a chimney early in the afternoon and had left the scuttle-hole leading to the roof from the sec- ond story porch uncovered. The tornado saw its opportunity and seized it. It picked up a telegra])h pole in front of the house, carried it over the roof and set it down squarely in the scuttle-hole. The pole was there for several days after the storm, its base resting on the porch and the cross- arms protruding through the opening in the roof of the porch. HOW THE BIIJDS FAKED. A dead robin was ])icked up in Lafayette Park. On one side the bird was intact. On the other every feather was gone. It was "naked as a picked bird," to use a familiar expression. Instances have been recorded of the dove, the most timid of birds, seeking refuge with man when in great peril. Such an incident inspired the writing of the hymn, '•Jesus, lover of 1113' soul, L,et me to thy bosom fly." A dove pursued by a hawk flew into an open window and into the bosom of John AVesley. It was that which inspired him to write one of the most widely known hymns of the century. During the storm a similar inci- 864 TIIK GREAT CYOLoXK. dent occurred. A number of people liad taken refuge in the large corridor of the Union Trnst l^uilding. A snow white dove, unable to cope with the wind in its native element, equally unable to find security on any resting pLice exposed to tlie wind, blown hither and thither, in its fright entei'ed the (tjx'u dooi'way and flew lo the shoulder of a gentleman standing there. The frightened l)ii'd seemed to know it was safe, and sat there quite and contented. Henry J. Ruck, who lives at Thirteenth and Geyer, had a red bird and thei-eby hangs a tale. Before the storm the caiie containint; the bird huni; on a nail on the back o o o porch. Most of the porch was carried away. Mr. Ruck. in the o;eneral confusion, foro-ot all about the bird. An hour after the storm he looked out of the front window. The cage was lodged in the telegraph wires in front of the honse and the red bird was singing gaily as if to say, ''never touched me." SOME criuors effects. Until repairs were commenced, the curious eflPects of the wind on certain objects was a source of much comment. At 1914 South Broadway, was J. B. Steffen's furniture store, which occupied a three-story brick building on the east side of the street. When the wind struck there it shaved off the entire front wall of the thii'd story, but dis- criminated at the second. On each side close to the side walls, was a full length window with large panes of glass, one to the sash. All the rest of the front of that floor is gone, but these two windows are still in their places, the THE GREAT CYCLONE. 365 frames intact, and the glass not even cracked. The win- dow to the south was evidently opened slightly at the bottom, as the drawn curtain behind it has been stained as if by rain, but otherwise no damage whatever was done to it. The very tall steeple and its prototype of a minaret, which tower above the Catholic Church of SS. Peter and Paiil at Eighth and Allen avenue, must have been lined with steel to have witlistood the shocks as well as they did. The intermediate roof between them was badly wrecked, most of the debr.is falling into the body of the church, and the very steep roof of the east tower was also torn up veiy considerably. That the main roof should have been so damaged while the spires escaped is the more remarkable, as the church lies east and west, the direction of the storm's path, and hence the roof was to a very large extent protected by the two spires. One of the out-of-place objects seen hanging to one of the spikes of Lafayette Park fence was a new spring bon- net. It was not claimed. A coat and vest from some unknown source came sail- ing through the air and landed on the corner of St. Ange and Park. A negro soon after the storm appropriated the garments and was seen to abstract a "roll" from the vest pocket. No inquiry was made after for either clothes or money. At one house a shirt was found under the back cellar door. As the celhir door was fastened down the only way the shirt could have got there was by bhnying throuo;h the front cellar window. It was made for a man 3(>l> THE (JREAT CYCLONE. as big in girth us Grover Cleveland, and as the newspa- per man is a light weight, the find did not profit him. He also acquired three trees, an old rug and an empty chicken coop, which latter was identified as the j)roperty of a butcher near the City Hospital, a block away. On St. Ange avenue, from Park to Carroll, not a house. UNION DAIRY COMPANY. save one, escaped damage, many being entirely wrecked. All of them were occupied but one, and, strange to say, the empty house was the one which escaped. It was only sliglitly damaged by falling ])ricks from a chimney next door. THE GREAT CYCLONE. 367 A POOK REBTTGE. Very embarrassing was the plight of three ladies who were on an open car of the Fourth street cable when the storm came up. For want of a better refuge they re- mained where they were. But when the unprincipled wind began to take unwarranted liberties they Vjraved it and sought cover. The wind got into their big sleeves and blew out their skirts like balloons, until seams be- gan to rip ominously and presently sections of garments were carried bodily away. It got to a poijt when to re- main longer meant that they would be unclothed entirely, and they escaped while there was yet time. But in those awful few minutes even Peeping Toms had something else to indulge their prying propensities, and the ladies had no cause to blush. CRAWLED UNDER THE BRIDGE APPROACH. The Purina mills, Kobinson Sl Danford, proprietors, situated just south of the Twelfth street bridge, was the scene of many narrow escapes. The full working force were in the mill at the time, including two young women who were in the third story. When the upper ])ortionof the mill went down the employes ran out and crawded under the approach of the bridge, where it kept them busy dodging boards from the elevator on the east and brick from their own building, which were carried under the bridge with great force. The two young women in the third story did not get out until the roof had fallen, but fortunately they made their way safely to the bridge approach, where they also found refuge from the warring 368 THE GREAT CYCLONE. elements. A pony which was tied in the stahle back of the mill, after the storm was found cutting all kinds of didos, and could not be pacified until Mr. Robinson found in its stall an elevator belt chain ah)out 9 feet long which had been blown in from the elevator east of the bridge, a distance of about 400 yards. When the chain was re- moved the pony became quiet. ALOXE W^ITH HER BABY. Mrs. L. Schnute, who lived at 838 Gi'atiot street, was alone with her babe. Their two-story residence is a com- plete wreck down to the first floor, furniture and all. Mrs. Schnute took her babe when she saw the storm coming and stood in the hallway close to the door. Where she stood is a space about 6 feet long and 5 feet wide not molested by the wreckage. Anywhere else in the build- ing they would have been killed. Mrs. Schnute says she owes her rescue to James Stevens and Ed. Scanlon, the latter a watchman for the S. X. Long Syrup Company. Mr. Scanlon was blown from the third story of the S. N. Long Syrup Company building and the soles of his shoes torn from his feet; otherwise he w^as not injured, and is credited with many noble deeds of rescue. MRS. WORHEIDe's EXPERIENCE. Ever since the cyclone Mrs. Fred. Worheide has been wondering how she and her two children escaped death. Her home is just across the street from St. Henry's Church, corner of Hickory street and California avenue, which was so badly wrecked. She and her little son and THE (IREAT CYCLONE. 8G0 daughter, 5 and 7 years of age respectively, were on the second floor when the cyclone swept down upon the resi- dence. The entire second story was lifted up and carried away and a moment later her little girl was drawn away by the force of tlie wind and dropped upon the debris on the street. Mrs. Worheide and her son escaped with slight injuries, but the little girl, it is feared, may not re- cover. Mrs. Worlieide says the wind seemed to hold her fast, while her little daughter, who was standing only a few feet from her, was blown upon the street. Judging from this, it is thought tliere must have been several twisting counter winds sweeping through the building. AN ADVENTUROTTS AND COSTLY RIDE. Ferdinand F. Herold, of the Herold Liv^ery Co., No. 1717 Park avenue, sent Mr. Jerome Hill a bill for $155 for a carriage on the night of the cyclone. "I did not charge half what I should," said Mr. Her- old. ' ' I am a wreck myself and two horses are ruined. I went off and left my family in the woodshed and one of my men is half crazy. I would not go through it again for 11,000. "Mr. Hill came to me five times and begged me to hitch up and take his family down to the hotel. The office was full of injured people, waiting to be taken home. Mr. Hill tried to get Mr. Keyes to take him down and Mr. Keyes told him he would not hitch up for any amount of money. "Finally Mr. Hill asked me if I wouM liiteh up if he 24 .".70 THE (illEAT OVrLOXE. j^ot a lantern, lie offersd a man across the street 110 for a lantern before he got one. 1 hitched up myself and EAST OF LAFAVKTTE PARK. had to drive over the sidewalks most of the way, and I had to walk ahead and cut wires or lift them THE CHEAT CYCLONE. 371 up every few steps. I cut tliousands of wires with pincers, and some I had to cut with a chisel. All this time I was wringing wet. On the way down to the hotel we were stopped every block by the police, who told us we coald not go on. I told them not to bother me, that we could go on, and I did go through where it was thought no one could pass. I was wet all this time and shivering with the cold, and it was just as bad coming back. I left one man, his name is Gustav, on the other end of the Eighteenth street bridge. He is out of his head yet, and I don't know if he will ever get well again. "Mr. Hill asked me to get him to the hotel, no matter what it cost, and I did it, and the bill I sent him is a very moderate one. I would not go through it again for any amount of money." BROKE UP A WEDDING. On Wednesday, May 27, a marriage license was issued from the office of the County Clerk at Belleville to Rob- ert R. Haig of Caseyville and Miss Eliza Collins of Birk- ner. The wedding was to have taken place that evening and the wedding party was assembled at the home of the bride, when the mighty wind swept down the hillside and scattered death and desolation on every hand. The Collins home, like all the rest, went down, and many of the wedding guests were injured, including the sister of the bride, but the bridal couple escaped without a scratch. They were taken to Belleville on the special train and 372 THK (iKKAT CYCLONK. sheltered by friends, and the tliouglit of marriage was temporarily put out of their minds. When the expectant groom again bethought him of tlie license, the precious document could not be found. The wind which broke up the wedding party had made its work complete by carrying away the legal w^arrant for it. The couple went to Belleville later and a duplicate was issued to them witliout extra cost. EIGni'V-FIVE MILES. There w^ere just 85 miles of streets obstructed by debris as a result of the tornado. All of these streets w^ere cleaned up in 10 days. In 8t. Louis there are 480 miles of improved streets, so it can be seen to what extent the tornado interrupted traffic. The storm district, on its outside lines, extended from the river on the east to Tower Grove avenue on the west, and from Olive street on the north to Lynch street on the south. The extreme limits were three miles east and west and two miles north and south. An adequate idea of the damage can be formed when it is stated that if all the houses damaged and blown down were on both sides of one street, that street w^ould just be 85 miles long. This figure is given by the Street Com- missioner, who has been through the entire district, and from the reports of his general superintendent, who has cut a roadway througli the 85 miles of streets. In addition to this, there wei'e many more streets ob- structed by wires and the like, which are not counted in the total, as the obstruction was but slight. These streets THE GREAT CYCLONE. 373 were cleaned up roughly the first day. It took just three days to cut out a passage through the debris so that traf- fic could be resumed. As 1,000 men were employed at this work, tlie magnitude of the task can be realized. There are 90 alleys obstructed. These alleys represent about 20 miles. The street gangs are now engaged in cutting a passage way through these alleys. It is a very difficult task, as in some of them there are three and four feet of brick and other deVjris. The work of repairing and rebuilding in the wrecked district was pushed as rapidly as possil)le. The force of the Building Inspector's ofilce worked with all its vim to* see that unsafe buildings are properly and promptly re- paired. No permit to reconstruct or repair demanded. The inspectors were simply seeing that the work is done substantially and safely. No one was asked to show a permit. Official red tape was tabooed. A HIDE ON THE WIND. On Thursday, following the great storm in St. Louis, there was found on a farm in the northwestern part of Fayette county. 111., a piece of tar roofing paper fully a yard square. Sixteen miles west of Vandalia, near Smithsboro, a photograph of two young girls, presum- ably sisters, bearing the name of a St. Louis photog- rapher, was found in William Defree's door yard the next morning after the storm. As St. Louis lies in a southwesterly direction, and the course of the storm being from the southwest to northwest, it is very probable that these articles were carried that distance by the wind. 374 THK (JKKAT CVOLOXE. A Kixin.v i)i:i:i>, A pathetic story ami a geueruus action came to notice. Mr. Sauford Snyder, 05 years old, avIio at one time was (j[uite well-to-do, Ijut of late years has suffered reverses of fortune, was coming home on a Sixth street car the eveii- inir of the storm, from Carondelet, where he had been ADVANCK RLKVATOR "li," KAST ST. I.OUIS. seeking employment. The car was at Eighth and Hick- ory wIkmi the storm struck, and everyone on the car was more or less injured, Mr. Snyder being knocked insens- il)le. Someone carried him to the sidewalk, where he lay in the driving rain for sometime. Finally recovering consciousness he returned to his home in a pitiable condi- THE GREAT CYCLONE. 375 tion, only to fiud it destroyed, and his wife huddled in a corner of the only room in the house which had not been wiped out of existence. Since then they have had a severe strus^gle to exist. Their condition was learned by a conductor on the Laclede avenue line, who immedi- ately appealed to his fellow employes for help in reliev- ing the aged couple, A sum of mone}^ was quickly raised and taken to Mr. Snyder, wdiere it was joyfully I'e- ceived. Mr. Snyder and wife were still living in the ruins of their former home at 1227 Merchant street. ANOTHER LUCKY ESCAPE. The mangled bodies of a large number of the people taken from the ruins tell plainer than words the horrible manner in which death was met, but at the same time a number of the escapes made by citizens are as miraculous as the deaths terrible. Each survivor of the tornado has a story to tell, and chief among them isTimO'Connell, a track walker on the Belt Line, who is spending his spare time in thanking fortune that he and the members of his family were born beneath lucky stars. O'Connell was walking along the Belt Line track when the tornado caught liim. The tornado lifted him into the river. As O'Connell fell he caught a rope which was attached to a pier, and managed to hold on in safety while the storm blew overhead. At the home on North Missouri avenue were Mi's. O'Connell and her four children. AVhen the storm struck the place it carried everything away, and left the family unscathed. 370 TiiK <;hkat cvcloNE. TIN-: ( IIINKSK AM) 'I'llK STORM. Little, if ;uiy, inciitioii was made of the Cliinese who were injured or the h)ss of property they sustained. No less than seven wei'e injured, one of them seriously, while the loss to their laundries alone will, it is said, amount to more than $u, 000. The more fortunate members of the race have not been idle, however. They are not only taking care of their sufferers, but have raised 1100 for the benefit of other unfortunates. Wong Chin Foo, the well-known interpreter, stated that a meeting of the Chinese merchants was held and measures were at once taken to alleviate their country- men's sufferings. The injui'ed were given nuMlical attention by Chinese physicians, while those who lost their property have received substantial assistance financially. They liad little difticulty in raising the $100 for all other vic- tims of the storm. jiKxiiv w^i:i)i:rmf.yi':r's experience. Henry AVedermeyer, of 911 Warren street, a switch- man in the employ of tlie Wabash Railroad Company, was at w^ork in the yard of that company when the storm began. "About half-past 5 o'clock," said Mr. Weder- meyer, "I went over to the buildings of the Belcher Sugar Refinery and climbed in a tank in one of the old sheds to take refuge from the storm. As I stood there })ieces of flying boards and broken glass fell all around me. AVhile looking south I saw the cupola of the St. Louis elevator and the biggest part of the roof blown ofi'. The old buildings of the Belcher Sugar Refinery, between THE GREAT CYCLONE. 377 Dixon and Ashley and Lewis and Main streets, were nearly entirely unroofed. The conveyors, about eight in number, on the river house of the St. Louis elevator were partly destroyed, and the top of the building where they weigh and shift the grain fi-om one bin to another, was blown otf. The smokestack on the St. Louis elevator was demolished. The St. Joe House, on Lewis street, between Ashley and Biddle, was totally unroofed and the gable end of the building was blown in. A box car on the Merchants' Elevator tracks, foot of Mullanphy street, was blown off the track and landed on its side. The Merchants' elev^ator building was also unroofed and ])adly damaged. The steamboats Polar Wave, Benton, Char- lotte Boeckler and Jack Frost, lying between Smith and O'Fallon streets, were damaged, and the pilot houses and smokestacks being blown off and the sides demolished. " UNEASINESS OF SHANTY- BOAT OWNERS. Where are the fishermen and others who occupied the boat houses in the beach just below the elevator? w^as a standing question on the Island after the cyclone. It is known that there were twenty or more of these l)oats on the bank, many of which came in when the river win at its height. Few were known, as they had come from a distance, and, finding a good harbor south of the eleva- tor, anchored their crafts. On the morning after the storm all of these late arrivals had disappeared, and the denizens of that locality now believe that the boats were swept int(^ the water and the occupants were drowned. These boats were not as high up under the shelter of the 378 THE CJltKAT CYCLONE. clcv.-itor as tlie others, which may exphiiii their loss; wliiletho old-tiinci's weatliereil the storm without a single fatality, aii«l with little loss. No in([uiri<'s have beeu re- ceivtul at headquartei-s for lost fishermen or persons who WRKCK OF KIvUVATOR OX THH; LEVEE. follow the i-iver in boat houst^s for a living, but the resi- dents of Sandy Hook firmly believe that wdiea these people fail to write from the points along the shore des- THE GREAT CYCLONE. 379 ignated by their friends, in the same manner as Gipsey letters are forwarded, a general howl Avill go up from dif- ferent ports and a full investigation will be made. Few })eople can form any estimate of the vast number of per- sons who are born and reared in these two-room shanty boats. Every great city has its Little Oklahoma, and many smaller ones its Sandy Hooks. All do not fish for a living, Many are first-class me- chanics, and go from one town to another in dull seasons. They live cheaply on the water and pay no rents for land. A few are known who make fair livinos sellino- fancy Avork; while others are gamblers and saloon-keepei's. The estimate of the loss of twenty boats, with their in- mates, is not considered too large by some persons; but there is no authentic record of the swamping of any of them. All may have silently left the mooring and crept down the stream to a better hiding place, even after the storm, unnoticed by any one. STRANGE FREAKS OF THE WIND. The wind played strange freaks. A horse was lying dead on the track beside the loco- motive of the wrecked Chicago and Alton train. "It seems to me," said a railroad man, "as if he had killed himself trying to help the locomotive pull the train out." In the worst part of the wreck of the upper Louisville and Nashville offices a doo; lived to bark his deliijjht at being released from the chain which kept the wind from blowing him away. 880 THE (iKEAT CYCI.ONE. One of tlie dead horses on the Ishiud roadway was apparently stabbed to death with splinters. A stable which stands in tlie roadway was j)inned through the corners by wooden beams, which were forced into both sides by the wind. The ends of the beams, extending up and out from the stable, contained a j)ile of lumber carefully arranged, as if placed there by hand. A THINK MYSTKItV. The police were worried by a trunk, wliich was fished out of the river at the foot of Elwood street, on the nigrht of the storm by John Gamache, residing at 5901 South Broadw^ay. A quantity of woman's clothing, some dresses, evidently belonging to a little girl, a child's pic- ture and a large number of letters make up the contents of the trunk. The letters are addressed to Miss Emma Boyle and nearly all of them are signed J. AV. Rice. They are written on letterheads of the Moser Hotel, St. Louis, the Ringo Hotel of Mexico, Mo., the Grant House of Rolla, Mo., and some are on plain paper. The address, 3531 Olive street, appears in one letter, in others Rice requests the recipient to address him at Post Office Sta- tion F. One of the letters is signed l)y Charles Boyle, and from its contents it is evident that the "Miss" Emma Boyle in (question is his wife. The; letter is remarkable for the ex- traordinary spelling of several words. "Answei'," for in- stance, is spelt in the delightfully original manner, ' 'ancer." The writer refers to himself as having been a "devorsed" man, and declares that he loves Kiiinia as "mutch" to-day T1[E f;KKAT CYCLONE. 381 as he ever did. This lettei* opens with the single word "Mildred." It was evidently written by Boyle to a woman whose first name he uses in opening. Apparently she gave the letter to the owner of the trunk, who is thought to be the Emma Boyle before mentioned. In this communication, Boyle discusses at length his wife's actions and certain threats which she had made about leav- ing him. He declares himself at a loss to account for her coldness and says he has always treated her right. The letters from Rice are addressed to the general delivery, and not to the house address of the recipient. It is tliought possible that the owner of the trunk per- ished in the storm. Theories that it was blown from a train on the Eads bi'idge or a wago i on the roadway of the bridge are also advanced. IIAVLIn's TIIEATElt DAMAGED. About two-thirds of the west wall of Havlin's Theater building fell into the alley with a crash during the first storm. The section of the wall which fell left the entire stage exposed and the scenery and canvass decorations were loosened and torn down. The rent in the wall ex- tends from the roof to tlie ground. The Avails which have remained standing are bulged and cracked in places. A family residing on the third fioor of the building, thinking the entire structure unsafe, sought other quar- ters. ENGIISrE HOUSE COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED. Engine House No. 7 was completely demolished by the storm. The hose reel and the horses belonging to 3S2 TJIK (JliKAT CVCLoNK it were burled under the deljris iu the eelhir, The engine |];ul responded to tin ahii'ni of tire ;it Ninth and Walnut streets, and escaped destruction. At the time the crash came five mem})ers of tlie company were in the engine ALI, THAT WAS LEFT OF A BEAUTIFUI^ HOME. house. The sound of the tower iu the rear of the house falling gave them timely warning, and they ran out and escaped injury. Joseph Utley and ''Tip" Lanham, of Engine Company TIIK GREAT CYCLONE. 383 No. 7, lost their homes and all their household belong- ings by the storm, though their families escaped injury. The men have been kept hard at work since the calamity rescuing people from ruins and recovering dead bodies. KILLED ALMOST OPPOSITE THE MORGUE. Josephine Martini, 19 years old, was almost instantly killed in her father's shop, at 402 South Twelfth street, by falling debris. She was attending the business. It is a lunch stand, the dimensions of the room being about 4x12 feet. The flashes of lightning and peals of thunder frightened her and she attempted to run to the yard to the family's living apartments. As she reached the rear door the little dilapidated structure caved in and she was buried beneath its contents. Joe Diggs, porter at the morgue, dug out the lifeless body of the girl and with the assistance of the Superintendent of the morgue placed the body in an ambulance and had it conveyed to the Dispensary. Here the body was pronounced dead and removed to the Morgue. The girl was killed almost opposite the Morgue. The mother of the dead girl, hysterical with grief, saw the body of her daughter placed on a slab and then she swooned. PANIC AMONG LAUNDRY GIRLS. The scene on Grand avenue, from the Fair Grounds to Carondelet, after the storm, resembled the thoroughfare of a besieged city after a heavy bombardment by the enemies' guns. The street was strewn from one end to 384 TiiK (;i:iv\T cvci.onk. the other witli trees, whole trees and bi'okeii branches, l)rok('U telegraph, telephone and electric light poles, that made traffic of every kind both tedious and dangerous in the darkness and fallen wires, and it was with great diffi- culty that pedestrians wormed their way along the side- walks, which were strewn with debris of every descrip- tion. The middle of the thoroughfare was blockaded witli electric cars of the various lines that traverse it from end to end, and a number of serious accidents occurred on ac- count of horses becoming entangled in the wires that strewed the ground everywhere. For half an hour after the storm struck the West End pandemonium reigned supreme at the Excelsior Laundry, corner of (Irand and Bell avenues. Over 125 women are employed in this establishment, and the first gust of the storm crashed in the windows of the buildinix, fillino: the air with broken glass and wrecking everything that was not nailed down, throwing the entire establishment into confusion. Many of the women were slightly injured by the bits of flying debris. All made a rush for the exits from the building and rent the air with their screams, and several who fainted were nearly trampled to death by their com- panions in their frantic efforts to escape. The damage to the building is inconsiderable, and with a few exce])tions the women were much more frightened than hurt. All the streets in the West End presented a scene very much similar to that on Grand avenue, and in many places the streets were almost completely blocked with fallen trees, fences, poles and other debris. Chimney tops, THE (iKEAT CYCLONE. ,%.") window blinds, sign boards and broken glass were every- where, and the intense darkness and pouring rain, lighted up l)y frequent and vivid flashes of lightning tliat blinded and terrified the soaking and dripping multitudes of working people who were compelled to grope their way home in the darkness and rain, made a scene that defies description, A priest's escape. Rev. Father Head and his sister narrowly escaped with their lives. Both are ])ainfully injured, especially the reverend father, whose injuries ai'e of a most dangerous charactei'. The tornado tore off the two towers of An- nunciation church on Sixth street, near Chouteau avenue. These with the heavy bell of the church fell with a crash onto the three-story residence of the priest immediately north of the church. They smashed through the house from roof to cellar. Father Head and his sister, who were in the room on the second story, were thrown into the cellar, as was their housekeeper. The injured ones were carried as soon as })ossible by tender hands to the residence of Dr. J. C. Lebrecht at Sixth and LaSalle streets, where they spent the night. Father Head had a terrible scalp wound six inches long and another in the back of his head. Both of his eyes are injured. His left knee is violently sprained and liis right thumb crushed. He sustained a shock to his sys- tem that may prove very serious. Miss Head, while not so badly otf, had both hips in- jured and is internally hurt. The housekeeper escaped with slight injuries. 25 386 THE GRJEAT Oi'CLONE. DIED IX THEIR ARMS. ( )ne ot" the most aifecting stories of tlie terrorn of the tornado comes from members of the Fire Department who worked on the wreck of Anchor Hall, at the soutli- IMPERIAL, LAUNDRY. west corner of Jefferson and Park avenues. Down under the debris lay the body of poor Joseph Meyer, a barber employed in the shop in tlie building. When the storm came up he attempted to take refuge in the basement, l>ut TllH (UJEAT CV0LO:>J^E. 387 was caught in the crash ])efore he liad reached a place of safety. The entire two upper floors came down upon him, and lie was pinioned in the most painful position imaginable. He could scarcely move hand or foot, and the pressure of the tons of wrecka2;e above him was gradually crushing his life out. He fully realized his position, and knew that unless assistance reached him within a short time he would perish. He called to the men he heard above him when the storm abated, but could not make them hear. It was known that Meyer was under the wi-eck, and as soon as possible a rescue party was organized to search for his body. For long, weary hours he waited and listened, and as soon as he heard them coming, he called out the exact ])Osition where he lay, and rendered all the assistance his enfeebled condition would permit. As his rescuers gradually drew nearer he encouraged them and begged them not to give up the task. But it was slow work digging the mass of broken timber and brick and mortar out of the cellar, and day dawned before the res- cuers came within speaking distance of the unfortunate. During the long dreary night not a word of complaint came from the dying man, and not once did he chide them for not working faster. He occasionally showed the torture he was undergoing by groaning, but whenever they called to him to know if he could hold out till they reached him his answer was invariably that he was all right and that he would keep his senses about him long enough to direct the movements of those who were work- ing to save his life. He said he wanted to see the mem- 388 TJIK (iKEAT LVCI.OXK. l^ers of his f.-miily and would uot allow liiiiisclf to \\\\]\k of giving up when help was so near. At last about nine o'clock in the morning, the last stick of timber was removed from the dying man's legs and he was carried to the sidewalk above. He smiled faintly on his rescuers as they bore liini out of his prison, but in spite of his efforts to appear strong an'. One of them was wrenclied off by the storm. Sixty feet away is a wooden post of tliesame size and heiglit of tlie iron j)illar, and it was in no way damaged. Chunks of ice, presumably from the Wainwright Brewery, were found in tlie water in Twelfth street, just below the SI lickle -Harrison Iron A\\)i-ks. IIOKSK rXIIAUNKSSKI). On (rrand avenue^ not far from Shenandoah, a horse was torn from its harness and thrown, upside down, in an excavation tliat is beino" made for a sewer. The other horse in tlie team was tossed aci'oss tlie sti'eet. A bed with its mattress in place was thrown from a house on Missouri avenue to the center of Lafayette Pai'k. The pillows fell not fai- from it, but they were not the pillows Ijelonging to this particular bed. A child's chair was taken from one of the lamps at the gate leading into Lafayette Park on the south side. Part of an arc lamp was fastened to it. A middle-aged German was walking along the railroad tracks east of Twelfth sti'eet just after tlie storm, be- moaning the loss of his little daughter. Another child, who was with him, found a bonnet that was recognized as belonging to the missing girl. The father thought that THE GLEAT CYCLONE. 397 it was conclusive evidence that his other youngster was hist when the little one ran up and shouted that she wanted to get in the house, because it was getting too wet for her. Bales of hay ought to be good for defense in a cyclone. In many livery stables on the South Side everything but the gi'eat stacks of hay in the lofts was blown away. In one case carriages were taken half a dozen blocks and set down with little injury. The hay was not disturbed. PET CAT FOUND. A })et cat, owned Ijy a family on top of Compton Hill, was found in front of the Lafayette Avenue Methodist Church at o'clock Friday morning. It was not in- jured. In a house on Arkansas avenue a glass stopper in a whiskey decanter was broken off at the top of the bottle, but the vessel itself was not broken. A young man named Murphy of South Twenty-third street, says that he had two rings on hist left hand. He lost them, with a good deal of the skin of two fingers, while trying to keep his hold on a telegraph })ole. The pole was overturned and Murphy narrowly escaped being crushed under it. Letters addressed to many prominent people were found in the trees of Lafayette Park. One was the prop- erty of Mrs. Charles Nagel. The upper part of the stone house occupied by A. K. Hammond in Waverly place was torn away. A brick house in the same square was hardly damaged. 898 THK fiKKA'l rVCI.oXK. FRKJHTKXED CHICKENS, Achickeucoop with two live and very iniicli frightened chickens was found ilonting iu a new -formed pool of water in Lafayette Park. Two vounir women wlio wei'o on a Fonrtli street cable .^Si^. TRI-ANGLK WAREHOUSE. car at the time of the storm were entirely denuded. Tliey left the car stark naked and were cared for in a house near by. Black mud was found on the walls of many houses after the storm. In one residence on Arkansas avenue THE GREAT CYCLONE. 399 the ceiling is decorated with black patches. There is no such mud in the neighborhood. Where did this come from? There was a new spring bonnet on one of the spikes of the Lafayette Park iron fence. The bird on it wasn't stripped of its feathers. The irony of fate was never more forcibly illustrated than in case of a dwelling-house located on South Broad- way, the entire front of which was swept away, leaving the interior with furniture exposed to the elements. The furniture and bedding were piled in a confused mass upon each floor, while upon the rear wall of the second story bedroom was the legend, "Good Luck." EXCHANGE MEMBERS TBIID. There were great fears that the storm which unroofed the Merchants' Exchange had made that building unsafe, and at the opening the morning after the cyclone many of the more timid were fearful of entering. President Spencer at once sent for James Stewart front windows on a table. It is as good as new, and not even a drop of water got on it to mar its whiteness. THREE LITTLE ONES DIED. A touching incident occurred at the Bethesda Home during tlie prevalence of the tornado. The home is at Twelfth and Hickory in the line of the storm, but escaped uninjured. It was rocked and ))adly shaken, but none of the inmates w^ere injuied. Sad to say, however, three children died during the storm. Some think the deaths were caused by fright, but others say the children we''e dying before the storm broke. The death scenes were TUK GREAT CYCLONE. 401 impressive. Outside the thunder roared, the lightning flashed, and crash after crash of thunder shook the home. Tlie little ones looked into the faces of the nurses, appeared at first startled and then smiling peace- fully they passed to the other world at the same moment other souls were being hurled into eternity by the fierce- ness of the storm and the unmerciful strength of the wind. iii.owN" INTO THE mvKi;. Jim Murray, employed on the Anchor Line wharf- boat, was sitting on the wharf boat when the tornado de- scended on the Levee. Foreseeing the danger, Murray made a run for the shelter of the elevated, road. The wind gratified his desire to seek this shelter, but not be- fore it had some fun with him. Murray was lifted off his feet and blown over the ''apron" of the boat into the river, landing in a dry dock moored close by, used by carpenters to repair the hulls of vessels. The next in- stant the diy dock, which is a hollow affair about 10 feet wide by 15 feet long, was blown westward out of the water, tearing off a portion of the railing of the ''apron." It was driv^en with great violence against the iron sup- ports of the elevated railway, dumping Murray out uncere- moniously upon the ground. The dry dock was again taken up in a return current of wind and carried out to- wards the river almost to the water's edge, where it was caught by a reverse current, whirled high into the air and dashed to pieces against the roadbed of the elevated, scattering debris all over the wharf. Mui'ray was dazed 26 102 TIIK (ilJKAT CVCLONK and |>!-etty sorely bruised, but not injured otherwise, and lie held on with a death grip to the Terminal elevated su})|)ort until the storm had spent itself. TAPER hanger's EXPERIENCE. During the height of the storm Wednesday a paper- ^KKCKKD AND BIvISTERED. hanger named Stewart was decoratinjx the walls of Ed Morrissey's saloon, opposite the Four Courts. When the front walls of the restaurant blew in and scattered debris through the house Stewart fled to the cellar. AVhen his two assistants decided to follow him a few minutes later, they were convulsed with laughter at observing him THE GREAT CYCLONE. 403 stretched prone upon his back in the damp cellar, the water reaching nearly above his arms, with two heavy- stones across his breast, which he had placed there to pre- vent the wind from blowing him away. Despite the "jibes" of the other occupants of the house Stewart con- tinued to occupy his uncomfortable position until assured that all danger was past. SAVED HIS DRINK. Henry Collins of East St. Louis, tells a queer story of his experience during the storm. He was standing in a saloon in East St. Louis with a glass of liquor in his hand. Suddenly the roof fell in, he was turned over twice or thrice and landed on his feet with the glass still in his hand and half of the liquor still in it. He quaffed the liquor with relish, as his collarbone had been broken in the crash and he needed the stimulant. WEDGED IN A CAR ROOF. Mrs. R. P. Tausey, wife of the president of the Mer- chants' Transfer Company, well known in St. Louis so- cial circles, but now a resident of Springfield, Illinois, was a passenger on the Chicago and Alton ti-ain that be- came tjingled up with the tornado on the eastern end of tlie P]ads Bridge. When the coaches turned over Mrs. Tan- sey, in some way, became wedged in the roof of one of them and there was considerable difftculty in extricating her; as it was, one of the brakemen finally pulled her through a window and she then footed it over the cross- ties in that overwhelming downpour of rain to East St. 404 iiiio (;i:i;Ar (vci.oni':. Louis and tried to liiid the Martell House, but ouly suc- ceeded in reaching the spot where it had once stood. How she ever got to St. Louis she does not know, l)ut late in the evening she made her way to the Planters' Hotel, more dead than alive, where her anxious husband found her the next morning. In Clifton Heights an old lady living in a house in tlie rear of the residence of L. Haller was killed bythe shock experienced when an uprooted tree was dropped througli the roof. She was not struck t)r injurcil in any way })y fallinoj debi'is, but her nervous system had been so shat- tered by the intensity of the storm that the additional strain was too much for her. IN A FIKE-PROOF VACLT. There were lively times in the (xeneral a\u\i:. There were stories told ])y tlie collection of rubhisli, piled like the drift that waves of the sea wash ashore, that ])ordered Lafayette Park, particularly on the south- ern side. Bits of dainty millinery, lying in close })rox- iniity to broken hat boxes, told the tale of festive sj)i-ing ST. LOUIS WIKK MII^LS. and summertime headgear that must forevermoi'e remain nothing but memories. Tiny crib mattresses, caught in a tangle of shattered pieces of woodwork and fallen limbs of trees, hinted so j)laiidy at the possibility of a wee bit of humanity being hurled without mercy through the air, that one hesitated THE GREAT CYCLONE. 407 to continue investigation for fear of uncovering suddenly a pale little face. The bits of polished wood, with handsome metal han- dles attached, that still retained shape enough to be dis- tinguished as a lady's writing desk, accounted for a lit- tering of torn letters and envelopes, bearing the name and address, as closer observation disclosed, of Mrs. Charles Nagel. Of course, it goes without saying the desk was caught and blown from its place in the residence opposite the park, which is now among the ruined. COLORED VICTIMS. The colored people along Papin and (Iratiot streets could be seen for blocks in the half open or entirely un- covered and unsided houses gathering together their be- longings. On the north side of Papin, Gratiot and Caroline streets nearly all the front walls are out, while on the other side of these streets all the way up from Jefferson avenue the people are saved the trouble of raising their windows. They were all leaning out of the empty frames, watching the slow and tedious clearing up process of their neigh- bors across the way. WILLIE WINCKLEr's DEATH. Poor Willie Winckler, nephew of Adolphus Busch, was in high glee all day Wednesday. Early in the morn- ing he received a cablegram announcing the safe arrival in Kreuznach, Germany, of his wife, to whom he had been married a little over a year. In the evening he got 408 nil': tiiiKAr Poppitz, whose store is at 2501 South Broadway. A PANIC AVERTED. Captain Pat Carmody's presence of mind prevented a panic at the Fair Grounds. When the crowd stampeded for protection from the tornado, Pat corralled the fright- ened people underneath the stand and forced them to re- main there. lie had a mob of about 300 in check, and it was lucky for them that he did so. Everybody was trying to get out and wanted to make a break for the south side of the stand. While Carmody was holding tliem back, the roof of the stand was blown off, and the debris fell just where the people vvanted to go. Car- mody's good judgment saved many lives. * Dan Honig, the well-known horseman, fainted away duriiicc the heio;ht of the storm. Dan is a robust-built man, but he is subject to heart failure, and his friends thouo'ht he was a "dead one." o When the stand fell R. J. Pearson's horse and buggy was caught in the debris and completely buried. The big posts saved the horse and he was all right when dug out. llis escape was simply miraculous. Drs. Bernays, Newman and Neville made a tour of the track after the tornado and found no one injured. Hundreds gathered in the infield when the storm blew up and were thoroughly drenched. Frank James found a hill and located close to it. He ordered the people to 414 THK (;kkat ("Y(;i.<)NK. lie down on the grass and everybody took his advice. The roof of the stand was blown in all directions. Part of it landed on Natural Bridge road and several shanties were bui-ied beneath the debris. The bookmakers lef i the betting ring in a rush and their cashiers flew with SINGULAR I'RKAK OK THE WIND. them. In the crush a numbci- lost part of their bankrolls and the touts had a scramble for the coin, Mrs. Charles Van Dusen, wife of the well-known jockey, was caught in the stampede and knocked down. She lost her i)ocketbook containing $110. Another woman from THE GREAT CYCLONE. 415 San Francisco lost her purse, which, it is said, contained several hundred dollars worth of diamonds. The lady had a little child with her and the youngster behaved with startling bravery. One of the supporting pillars of the stand fell through the first floor when the roof went off and a number had narrow escapes from being crushed to death. Johnie Goebel, one of the form book men, was near by at the time and had the narrowest escape of his life. The awnino; over the club house veranda wasV)lown oft'. It suffered the same fate last season. Clayton Woods, who works for one of the books, was trying to get out of the betting ring during the height of the storm wdien a bettor asked him to pay off a winning ticket on one of the horses in the fifth race. ' ' Pay off!" said Clayton; " not for me. I guess we will all have to account this time to the main squeeze up above. " George Munson and Secretary Aull were hard at w^ork trying to quiet people after the worst of it was over. Munson was drenched to the skin. train's narrow escate. While the storm was at its height , passenger train No. 7 of the Chicago and Alton road pulled out of the bridge from the Missouri side on its way east. Engineer William Swoncutt had only proceeded a short distance when he realized the awful danger which threatened the train. The wind struck the coaches at first, startlingly, causing them to careen omniously. At that time he was 416 'IlIK (JKKAI" fVCLoXK. about half way across. Overliead telegi'aph 'j)ole8 were 8na])ping and tumbling into the river, while sevei-al large stones were shaken loose from their foundations and came toppling doAvn into the water. Fearing that every mo- ment his train would either be blown into the water or else the bridge would be blown away beneath him. Swon- eutt, with rare presence of mind, put on a full head of steam in an effort to make the Illinois shore. The train had scarcely proceeded 200 feet, and when within al)out the same distance from the shore an entire upper span of the driveway of the bridge was blown away. Tons and tons of huge granite blocks tumbled to the tracks, where the train loaded with passengers had been but a moment before. At about the same instant the wind struck the train full on the side, upsetting all the cars like j)laythings. Luckily no one was killed in the wreck, but several were taken out severely injured. The wrecked ])art of the bridge is just east of the big tower, near the Illinois shore, and extends east for about 300 feet. The entire upper ])ortion, traversed by the cars and carriages, is carried away, while the tracks beneath are buried in del)ris, in some places eight feet high. ForNI) A DKA\) J5ABY. An unknown man who came into tlie Union Station at 7 o'clock to meet his wife, who was expected on an eve- ning train, reported that he picked up a dead baby in the street at Twenty-second and Market streets. lie gave it to a woman, who said she thought it was the child of a woman living; neai- that corner. I! i!