Great Disasters and Horrors in the World's HistoryGodbey, Allen Howard
History
Great Disasters and Horrors in the World's History
Godbey, Allen Howard
Disasters
reached. One lady was taken out fatally hurt, and one after another her
three children, unconscious, but destined to recover. While her husband
was urging the rescue of his fourth child, still somewhere beneath the
ruins, an under-current of air having been admitted, the fire again
broke out with startling fierceness, and the furious heat compelled a
suspension of the work. The groans of the imprisoned were now changed to
fearful shrieks, while the watchers, helpless to render aid, screamed
and ran wildly about with anxiety and horror. Three or four lines of
hose were turned upon the flames, and they were subdued; but an hour, in
which probably many a life went out, had been lost from the work. By
twelve o’clock many dead and wounded had been removed from the ruins.
The dead were largely in the majority. Many of these exhibited no
outward wounds, and had been apparently suffocated by gas escaping from
broken pipes.
But the reader may be spared further details of the recovery at Falls
City Hall. Suffice it to say, that two days were required to remove the
wreck and demonstrate the precise extent of the calamity. On this spot,
about eighty persons had lost their lives.
The narratives of some of the survivors will serve to show that while
the tornado comes without warning, the heaviest wind is not just at
first: and a cool head may sometimes profit by the interval to escape.
Sailors have a saying that the “tail” of a gale is strongest. A young
man who was taken from the wreck of the hall says:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account