Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 January 1889 — VICTIMS OF A CYCLONE. [ARTICLE]

VICTIMS OF A CYCLONE.

TWO BVXDRET) GIRLS BURIED IX RUINS OF A FACTORY. A Terrib!« Wind-Storm UrmolUUe* » I-arye Silk Factory In Which Girl* Are at Work—Fearful Results of the Storm Elsewhere. [Heading (Fa.) special.) A cyclone swept over the northern section of this city Wednesday afternoon the 9th inet., and laid waste everything within its path, with a terrible Joss of life. The number of lives that have been sacrificed and the nnrnber of persons injured can only be estimated. The most reliable computation is that not less than sixty and perhaps eighty persons have been killed outright and 100 injured. It had been raining very hard all the morning. Toward noon the rain ceased almost entirely, and by 4 o’ clock there was •every indication that there would be an entire cessation of the storm. Half an hour afterward the sun began to penetrate the -clouds, and the tints of a rainbow were seen in the eastern sky. It portended a beautiful sunset. There was a clear Lky overhead. This continued for half an hour. Then the scene changed with a suddenness that was appalling. The fleecy cIoImL gave way to the ominous signs of a commg storm. Dark heavy banks of clouds marshaled themselves, and soon darkness seemed to have settled over the city. The re was a stillness as of coming danger. Then the wind whistled, the storm clouds grew heavier, ard still louder grew the wind. In the western sky the storm was seen approaching with a thundering noise. Per•sons residing along the track of the storm say that they saw the first sign of danger in a funnel-shaped cloud which seemed to gather up everything within its reach and cast it right and left. Out in the country houses and barns were unroofed, farm outbuildings were overturned, crops rooted up, and destruction spread in every direction. The track of the storm was not more than two hundred feet wide, and it is lucky that it only touched the suburbs of the city. It came from the west and passed along the northern border of Reading. First it touched the Mount Penn stove works. Here the corner of the building was struck, and a portion of the roof was cut off as nicely as if done with a pair of -scissors. Then the storm crossed some fields and took off a portion of the roof of J. H. Sternberg’s rolling mill. A gpumber of dwellings were unroofed as readily as if their tin roots were paper. The storm hurried across the property of the Reading railroad company and crossed the railroad. A passenger car was overturned as quickly as if it had been a toy, and its splinters scattered in every direction. Meanwhile the rain poured down in torrents. The atmosphere became heavy and •oppressed, and it was almost as dark as night. On one side of the track of the Reading railroad was situated the paint shop of the company. It was a one-story building abont *iU by 150 feet in size. Here about thirty men were employed painting passenger cars. There were eight or nine of these cars in the building. They had been built •at the company’s shops in this city at a cost of $6,000 each. The building was struck squarely in the middle, and the bricks scattered about as if they were playthings. The cars were turned topsy-turvy, while the men were buried under the debris. Some of the bricks were carried away. The chamber of each of the passenger cars was -already filled with gas, as they were ready to be taken out on the road in a few ■days. They exploded one after another with the fearful bang of a cannon. Bang, bang, bang, they resounded over the city, causing the people to run out of their houses, thinking that it was the sound of an -earthquake. There was a considerable quantity of gasoline in the building, and this added fluel to the flames. A sheet of flame shot upward with the roar of musketry. About twenty of the men had a •chance to crawl out of the debris, but four of their companions were enveloped in the -flames. Their cries were heard for a moment by the terrified workmen and then their voices were hushed forever. They were quickly roasted to death. The fire deportment was called out, but its services were unavailing. The building and cars were consumed in fifteen minutes -and nothing left but blackened, smoking ruins, under which lay four human beings •burned to a crisp. Their names are: JOHN KALLEtt. ALBERT LANDSBERGER. SHERIDANMONES. GEORGE SCHAEFER. It was rumored that several others had ‘been killed, but these are the only ones known to have lost their lives. Aaron Dewalt, one of the employes in the paint shop, had his arm broken, and George Knabb was injured internally, no doubt fatally. 'The loss to the railroad company is fully $75,000. J The alarm for relief was immediately sent out, and in a short time thousands of citizens arrived to help out the dead and -dying. The scene was harrowing and defies description. The mill is situated near the foot of Mount Penn, a mountain -overlooking the city. When the people arrived everything was enveloped in darkness. Bonfires were built, which cast a -dismal glare on the scene. The fire companies left the burning paint shop and assisted in the rescue. The entire police force was called out. The ambulance and relief •corps and a thousand people were at work in the debris carrying out bricks, pulling away timbers, and doing what they could. A girl was taken out all bruised and cut. ■One body taken out from the wreck had its head cut off. Others were in various postures. The living weie all suffering from the most terrible wounds. In the basement of the building were found five bodies of young girls lying close together. The finder tried to pull them out, but they were pinned down and it was impossible to get them out. They were beyond all human aid. Already about a dozen dead bodies have been taken out. The work of rescue will be pushed, but it may be’several •days before all the bodies are taken out. The rescuers still have the greatest hopes •that some of those inside are still living. All is chaos and confusion around the mill. It is impossible to tell how many may be under the ruins, as the managers are missing. The number may not be over forty

•ad may reach eighty Among those known to be dead are: HENRY CROCKS, foreman of the silk mill: aired -’3 and married: he came from hew London. Conn. LAURA KERSHNER. EV A LEEDS. LILLIE GROW. KATIE BOWMAN. KATE LEADS. AMELIA CHRISTMAN. SOPHIE WINKLEMAN. ELLA LONG. WILLIE SNYDER. WILLIAM PETESON. REBECCA POUSE. KATE HEIDENAUEB. “RO-iE CLEMMER. These are all the dead who have bean taken out. Clerk Autenback said be believed that fully eighty bodies were in the ruins, His list of employes is lost. Eighty is a conservative estimate of those who lost their lives. Among the wounded are: Geraldine Glazier, Annie Leads, Bertha Kusel, Ella Lamm, Emma Bauensehn, George Nelman, Ella Karl, Minnie Merkel, Sallie Hasson, Lizzie Owens, Bertha Herman, Marie Mellon, Ellie Salmon, Ellie Pflum, Kate Hep.’er, Mary Cunnius, Mary Evans, Effle Ebright, Howard Bricker, Annie Bricker and Annie Fry. The names of many others cannot be ascertained in the confusion. The silk mill was built about four years ago. The builders were Reading capitalists, and the cost of putting it up was $63.000. The mill was leased to Grimshaw Brothers, of Patterson, N J. 'The machinery cost $45,000. This is a total loss. CATASTROPHE AT PITTSBURG. Buildings Wrecked—Seven Killed Outright, and Nearly Forty Wounded. [Pittsburg (Pa.) telegram.) A terrible wind and rain storm passed over this city about 12:30 o’clock on the 9th inst., during which a large building in course of erection on Diamond street collapsed, carrying twenty workmen to the ground and burying at least twenty more in the ruins. Twelve are known to have been killed out- 1 right. Six others are fatally injured and about? thirty others seriously hurt. The force of the falling building was so great that the rear walls of two other adjoining buildings were crushed as if they had been made of paper and their front walls fell upon the pavement on Wood street, burying several people in the debris and mangling some others, horribly. Of these, two were a girl and a boy and one man, who is unknown, all of whom were taken in the patrol wagon to the H omeopathic hospital. A larber shop in the rear was also demolished, and its six occupauts buried in the ruins The top story in the rear of Eichbaum’s building on Fifth avenue, was also knocked in, and three printers who were working there were injured, but how severely can not be learned at present. The number of killed and injured can not be definitely .stated at this time, as many are supposed to be still in the ruins. It is believed, however, that twelve have been killed and thirty-eight injured, six of them fatally. Already forty mangled and bruised bodies have been taken from the ruins. Some were dead, others were dying, and many were fatally injured. One or two died on the way to the hospital From the best information obtainable seven were killed outright or died in a short time and thirty-six others were injured. It is believed that the list of dead will be greatly increased. The following have been identified: SAMUEL STRINOEN. aged 16, a printer. THOMAS JONES, a brick-layer. CHARLES FHITCH, aged 16. GEORGE MASON, a carpenter. TERGGE, a colored bootblack. GEORGE KIRSCH, a barber aged 18. THE INJUBED, John H. Gkaiung, fatally hurt. Miss White, a school teacher, fatally hurt. Jeuky Hokenstink, very serious injuries. William Sandon, leg and thigh fractured. Samuel Brown, very serious injuries. Rose McCautnky, little girl badly out and bruised, Richard A. Dabney, cut about the head and body, seriously. Weldon Mason, very seriously hurt. Charles Petticokd, badly bruised. Denis McCartney, probably fatally hurt Owen Donnelly, serious injuries. Elmer McKoeon, probably fatal. Two unknown laborers, seriously Injured. A boy. unknown, body bruised. The falling walls crushed in the buildings on Diamond street occupied by George Trexter, barber, and W. C. Thomas, dealer in shoe findings, and badly damaged portions of the buildings occupied by Joseph Eichbaum, printer, on Fifth avenue; J. R. Weldon & Co., booksellers, and Rea Brothers, stock brokers, on Wood street. The wounded ■ already rescued number thirty-five, of whom six will probably die. All kinds of theories have been advanced for the collapse of the building. In some instances the responsibility is placed on the contractors, while in others the building inspectors are blamed. Nothing definite can be known, however, until an investigation is made. It is hard to estimate the damage done at this time, but it will exceed $50,000. The cyclone wrought a terrible destruction in other parts of the city and out along Ihe railroads centering here. A portion of the foundry of Mclntosh, Hemphill & Co., on Thirteenth street, was wrecked, as was also a house in Allegheny. At Wall’s station, on the Pennsylvania railroad, a large brick building, owned by the Westinghouse Air-Brake company, was partially demolished, and at Wilinerding, Pa., a coal tipple was wrecked. At McKeesport houses were unroofed, trees blown down and windows smashed. Three houses in course of erection were blown to pieces. On the rivers a number of boats were torn from their moorings and cast about like corks, but they were secured before much damage was done. The velocity of the wind was fifty miles an hour, the highest recorded for years. A number of narrow escapes are reported. Seven men were thrown from the seventh story to the ground and escaped with slight injuries. Adolph Herman caught on the telegraph wires and was rescued uninjured. It has just been learned that a nut factory owned by Bontreger & Co., in the Eleventh ward, was blown down during the storm and a man namad Hines killed. The loss was $13,000. Forty members of the Carpenters’ union volunteered their services and are at work trying to save their unfortunate brethren. The richest gambler has seen “bettor” daja.