The True Story of Our National Calamity of Flood, Fire and Tornado

L >> Logan Marshall >> The True Story of Our National Calamity of Flood, Fire and Tornado

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

The greed of provision dealers angered Governor Ralston to such an
extent that he started an investigation. Before the supply of bread
available on the West Side had been exhausted, loaves were selling at
twenty cents each. The supply of meat was entirely exhausted.

That section of Indianapolis lying west of the river, where martial law
was proclaimed, is the poorest in the city. The supply of meats, eggs,
milk, coffee, bread and butter was practically exhausted before noon.
Little except canned goods remained on the shelves of the grocers.

Relief trains loaded with provisions were unable to enter this district.
Members of the board of public safety and other city officials inspected
the entire flooded district from motor boats and directed efficient
organization of the relief workers, aiding the state troops and state
officials in every possible way.

THE RECEDING WATERS

By Friday the White River had begun to fall slowly, and the work of
caring for the suffering could be prosecuted vigorously. It was
estimated that the property loss in the city and environs would reach
$10,000,000. Part of this loss was in destroyed bridges. The Vandalia
Railroad bridge over the White River went down Friday, carrying with it
ten loaded cars.

By Monday, March 31st, White River waters had returned to almost normal
channel, and the areas that were covered were being searched to locate
the bodies of any who might have been drowned. The city board of health
prepared typhoid serum for 50,000 treatments to aid in warding off an
epidemic. State troops were withdrawn.

On Tuesday hundreds of homes were cleaned and, with furniture which
could be salvaged and that supplied by the Relief Committee, the owners
were able to resume housekeeping. Relief funds were still increasing
and all persons who lost homes or furniture in the flood were being
cared for.

Many persons in the West Indianapolis flood district were treated with
an anti-diphtheria vaccine, and Dr. T. V. Keene, in charge of the
medical relief work in the flooded districts, said he feared no
epidemic.

FLOOD VICTIMS HELPLESS

Hundreds of thousands of dollars were reported necessary to relieve
suffering among the flood refugees in Indianapolis, according to the
report of the General Relief Committee, made on Wednesday, April 2d, at
a meeting in Mayor Shank's office.

Plans for raising a vast sum of money, to be made available immediately
to the sufferers, were discussed and it was decided to start popular
subscriptions and designate places for contributions.

Joseph C. Schaf, one of the investigators for the committee, said:

"The flood victims are helpless. They need money and need it
immediately. The men are trying to hold their jobs and let the women
clean up the homes, and it is a disheartening task for which many are
not physically able. Give them money immediately so they can pile their
water-soaked mattresses and other furniture in the street and touch a
match to it. That will give them new heart."

Mr. Schaf increased his donation by $1,000, and several other members of
the committee did likewise.

CHAPTER XV

THE ROARING TORRENT OF THE WABASH

A BITTER TALE OF DESTRUCTION--MANY PEOPLE DRIVEN FROM HOMES--ALARMING
CONDITIONS--THE PLIGHT OF KOKOMO--THE HOMELESS IN WABASH--DISTRESS OF
LOGANSPORT--MILITARY CADETS AID IN RELIEF--NEW DISASTER AT
LAFAYETTE--A SECOND HORROR IN TERRE HAUTE--THE RECEDING WATERS.

Bitter was the tale of destruction in the valley of the Wabash River and
its tributaries. A traveler journeying over the Wabash Railroad on
Easter Sunday would have seen only the usual quiet little towns of the
Middle West; three days later, if he could have looked down over the
same territory he would have seen nothing but a raging torrent sweeping
through the region like some fiendish monster devouring and destroying
as it pursued its mad course. He would have found the entire Wabash
Valley, including Logansport, Wabash, Lafayette and Peru, a desolate
scene, its scores of prosperous cities absolutely paralyzed and cut off
from the outer world. Telephone and telegraph wires were down
everywhere; trains were not running and roads were obliterated.

MANY PEOPLE DRIVEN FROM HOMES

As early as Monday, March 24th, northern Indiana had suffered severe
loss, due to the heavy rains of the previous twenty-four hours, which
had carried away bridges, stopped railroad and interurban traffic,
flooded store basements, driven people from their homes along the river
banks, and washed away houses. At Hartford City there were seven feet of
water in the paper mills and the merchants had lost heavily from flooded
basements.

At Portland water was standing three feet deep in the center of the city
and the loss to merchants from damage to goods reached $100,000.

The wind, which followed heavy rain, cut a path several hundred feet
wide.

At Kokomo the light, heat, power, gas and water plants were out of
commission and the river was still rising. The city was without fire
protection; South Kokomo, with 6,000 inhabitants, was cut off from the
main city.

It was declared to be the worst flood known in Wabash since 1883; and
rain was still falling. Hundreds of residents of the lowlands abandoned
their homes. Interurban traffic was paralyzed.

ALARMING CONDITIONS

Reports on the following day were still more alarming. The worst
conditions prevailed in Kokomo, Wabash, Peru, Logansport, Lafayette and
Terra Haute. Thousands of people all along the Wabash were crying for
food and shelter. Wabash, Kokomo, Peru, Logansport and Lafayette were
entirely cut off from communication with the outside world. A big
snowstorm on the heels of a drop in temperature added to the suffering.

Rescue work was carried on by volunteers, police, firemen and the state
militia, and every place where there was a dry home was thrown open to
the flood refugees.

From many places frantic appeals for aid were received by the state
officials, but lack of all means of transportation and crippled
telephone and telegraph service forced the submerged towns to rely
entirely upon their own resources.

THE PLIGHT OF KOKOMO

At Kokomo the water in some of the streets was eight feet deep and
rushing like a mountain torrent. Schools and business were suspended and
state troops patrolled the town as far as they were able. The homes of a
thousand persons were submerged. No lives were lost, but there were many
narrow escapes. Several persons were rescued from second story windows
by the few boats available. Rafts could not be used because of the
swiftness of the current.

THE HOMELESS IN WABASH

Seven hundred and fifty persons in Wabash were rendered homeless as the
result of the high flood in the river. The city was without gas, water
or lighting facilities.

The mayor on Thursday, March 27th, issued a proclamation ordering that
all saloons and business houses close at six o'clock. He instructed the
police to keep people off the streets.

There was no loss of life, but the property loss was estimated at
$350,000.

There was no communication with the outside world from Monday until
Thursday afternoon.

DISTRESS OF LOGANSPORT

The business district and the south and west sides of Logansport were
under water on Tuesday. The bridge at the country club had been washed
away. Other bridges over the Wabash had been flooded. The moving vans
were unable to handle all the persons trying to move out of the danger
zone and the firemen of the city gave aid. The electric light and water
plants were endangered. There was great suffering among the poorer
people. Logansport was also cut off from telephone and telegraph
communication. Two deaths by drowning were reported (later corrected to
one) and ten houses were washed down stream.

MILITARY CADETS AID IN RELIEF

On Wednesday the flood waters of the Wabash were sixteen feet deep on
the floors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Station, and cadets from the
Culver Military Academy were rushed to the city to aid in the rescue and
relief of scores of people marooned in the business districts.

The Third Street bridge had been swept away. The bridge at Sixth Street
was being washed out. The people were fleeing to the hills, where they
were housed in school houses and churches.

By indirect telephone routes on Thursday, Governor Ralston received an
urgent call from Logansport for troops to aid in rescue work and to
patrol the city. The city had been cut off from reliable communication
with the outside world since Tuesday evening. The continuance of the
high waters added hourly to the heavy property losses, and the snowstorm
and bitter cold caused intense suffering.

NEW DISASTER AT LAFAYETTE

At 2 P. M. on Tuesday, March 25th, two spans of the bridge over the
Wabash River at Lafayette went out, carrying a number of people with it.
Boats below the bridge succeeded in rescuing all but one man.

At 3.15 P. M. West Lafayette, where Purdue University is located, was
cut off from Lafayette by the breaking of one of the levees and the
submerging of the other. The river was two miles wide and business
houses were preparing to move their wares, anticipating a three-foot
rise during the night. No interurban lines were being operated and steam
lines were making little effort to maintain train service.

The business district and the south and west sides of Logansport were
under water. The bridge at the Country Club had been washed away.

A SECOND HORROR IN TERRA HAUTE

All down the length of the Wabash the torrent raged. Hardly recovering
from the daze of the Easter tornado, treated in another chapter, Terra
Haute inside of forty-eight hours faced its second disaster, when the
waters of the Wabash left the banks, flooding part of the residence
section.

The river was then rising at the rate of five inches an hour. Railroad
traffic was suspended and interurban traction service had been
abandoned. Residents of Taylorville, Robertsville and West Terre Haute
deserted their homes, fleeing before the approaching waters. Five
hundred homes were under water and the coal mines near the city were
flooded.

For two days the situation seemed to grow hourly more desperate. On
Thursday the river had reached a stage of thirty-one feet six inches and
was steadily rising. Four thousand persons were homeless, and those
whose homes were on higher ground were without gas or electricity.
Traffic was at a standstill.

THE RECEDING WATERS

But slowly the waters receded and the work of reconstruction was begun.
On down the river the disaster-bringing torrent traveled. Throughout all
southern Indiana the river reached unprecedented stages and hundreds
were driven from their homes. Railroad lines were covered with water
through many counties, and on March 31st the river was reported forty
miles wide between Upton, Indiana, and Carmi, Illinois.

CHAPTER XVI

THE PLIGHT OF PERU: A STRICKEN CITY

LAST MESSAGE FROM PERU--AT ONCE TO THE RESCUE--THOUSANDS
MAROONED--TALES OF STRUGGLE--FAMINE AND DISEASE--GREED ABROAD IN
THE CITY--REFUGEES URGED TO LEAVE--SEARCH FOR THE DEAD--SHAKING OFF
DESPAIR.

Of all the cities devastated by flood in Indiana, Peru was the most
desolated. Situated on the Wabash River just below the entrance of the
Mississinewa, it suffered more than any of the stricken cities through
which the angry, swollen waters of the Wabash flowed.

"This probably will be the last message you will get from Peru," said
the man who telegraphed to Governor Ralston on March 25th, asking for
coffins, food and clothing. "Two hundred or more are drowned and the
remainder of the residents are waiting for daylight."

AT ONCE TO THE RESCUE

Governor Ralston immediately communicated with State Senator Fleming at
Fort Wayne and asked him to forward the coffins and other supplies as
requested.

When the messages of distress from Peru were sent forth South Bend and
other cities sprang nobly to the rescue. They found the people half
crazed from exposure, want and fear. One of the rescue party who made
the trip in the first boat that entered the city said:

"The cry to be saved from those who saw the first boat was heartrending.
Some of them threatened to jump into the water if we did not take them
aboard. But it was impossible with the scant boat supply to take all
away at once."

THOUSANDS MAROONED

Relief parties from South Bend were the first to arrive on the scene.
They found hundreds of people huddled together in the court house
square, which was three miles from the nearest dry land; hundreds more
were marooned in the upper stories of buildings already rendered unsafe
by the high water. There was no heat, no light, no water, and sanitary
conditions were horrible. The only motor boat had broken and it was too
dangerous to venture into the raging torrent in rowboats. This made it
impossible for the South Bend relief volunteers to get blankets and food
to the sufferers.

TALES OF STRUGGLE

Death faced hundreds of persons who were clinging to the roofs of
buildings, where they sought refuge. Currents of muddy water from ten to
twenty-five feet deep were running through the main streets at twenty
miles an hour.

Harry Lumley, a despatcher, lay on a table all Wednesday in the Peru
station of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, which the water had
invaded, and kept open the line for relief trains.

Dr. W. A. Huff, a dentist, started to South Peru with an unknown man
Tuesday night. The boat capsized and Huff lodged in a tree, where he
remained until Wednesday morning. His condition was critical.

No effort was made to count the dead. "Our energies are being devoted
entirely to saving those still living," said Lieutenant-Governor
O'Neill. "It is impossible for us even to try to learn the whereabouts
of the bodies just now."

A VIGILANCE COMMITTEE

Citizens, finding lawlessness in every block of the city above water,
organized a vigilance committee with orders to shoot looters.

On Wednesday night several thousand persons were still marooned in the
court house, hospital, factory buildings and other structures because
the various relief parties sent from South Bend and other cities had not
sufficient boats to carry them to the nearest dry land. Snow was falling
heavily and the suffering was intense, because of the lack of heating
facilities. The city was in darkness, except for a scant supply of
lanterns.

FAMINE AND DISEASE

But the height of the flood had been reached. On Thursday the water was
receding three inches an hour. It had fallen four feet since the
previous morning, but the current was still so swift on Canton Street
and in South Peru, that it was impossible to investigate in rowboats the
district in which the heaviest loss of life was supposed to have
occurred.

There were three inches of snow on the ground and it was still falling.
Recovering from the flood, Peru organized to meet greater menaces,
famine and disease. At a meeting in the courtroom at the county
building, Lieutenant-Governor O'Neill was chosen head of the committee
on organization.

Hundreds of persons marooned in the second stories of their homes
appealed to passing boats for food, fuel and water. Fishermen seized
some of the boats and were taking the curious sightseeing. Persons who
appropriated boats and tied them up were arrested.

There were 500 persons at the Bears Hotel in Peru. Their only fire was a
grate in the lobby. Two meals a day were served. The water had receded
so that a Lake Erie and Western relief train was pulled up to the
canning factory in the northeast part of the town and took out 200
persons marooned three days. They were taken to towns along Lake Erie.
It was estimated that 2,000 persons had left the city and were being
cared for in towns and school houses to the north. The relief committee
discouraged the influx of people who came to Peru to see and eat, as
there were more mouths to feed than there were provisions.

Lieutenant-Governor O'Neill remained in Peru to insure whatever aid the
state could give the sufferers. He ordered the Indiana Board of Health
to send experts to make the city sanitary. These specialists had the
co-operation of city and county medical societies and a score of
physicians who came from other cities.

[Illustration: Copyright by George Grantham Bain.
Scores of strongly-built bridges like this throughout the flood
districts were carried away by the raging torrents]

[Illustration: Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
When the waters of the Hudson overflowed, hundreds of men, women and
children were trapped in their homes near the river bank and were
rescued with difficulty]

TWELVE BODIES IN ONE HOUSE

Twelve bodies were recovered in a single house in the southern part of
Peru on Friday. This was taken to indicate that the loss of life in that
section of the city was great, as it was there that dwellings were
completely submerged before the occupants could vacate.

"It is impossible to tell how many lives were lost at Peru," said one of
the rescuers.

Six survivors were suffocated in the overcrowded court house. The
weather had turned severely cold, adding to the misery of the
unsheltered, but the flood was falling rapidly.

Terrible conditions prevailed among the refugees, who were increasing in
numbers, as the waters receded. Sanitary conditions among the hundreds
sheltered in the court house became so bad that boats removed many of
them to other places.

GREED ABROAD IN THE CITY

The water was rushing back as fast as it came, leaving a coat of mud and
slime. It was from this that the great danger of disease existed. The
state board of health combined with the Peru board to help clean up.

Relief workers and city officials joined to investigate statements
concerning exorbitant prices for foodstuffs, and proposed to expose
every merchant attempting to make money through the misfortunes of
others.

Several looters were arrested and others shot. One robber was shot by a
citizen, who threw the body into the river.

The work of rescue was greatly impeded by the selfishness of residents.
An Indian of the Wallace circus secured a boat and charged people $200
before he would help them off. Instances were told of men who drew
revolvers on the men and boys working in the boats, threatening to shoot
if they did not take them in.

REFUGEES URGED TO LEAVE

Railroad officials and the relief committee urged refugees to accept the
hospitality of the municipalities north. They hoped to be relieved of
temporary care of 3,000 persons by sending them out of the city.

Two railroads were bringing plenty of provisions within a half mile of
the city, but the boats could not transport rapidly enough to the center
where the supplies were being distributed.

SEARCH FOR THE DEAD

Systematic search for the dead was made, and the appalling early reports
of hundreds of dead continued to shrink, although it was believed that
the search would probably reveal more. The diminution was due to the
discovery in the hills on the other side of the Wabash River of hundreds
of persons who had been given up as dead.

The streets were strewn with dead animals that had begun to decay in
some sections. An epidemic was feared. One of the greatest obstacles
which the people faced was that of ridding the city of the dead animals
and filth in the low sections around the edge of the city proper into
which disease-breeding filth had been washed.

Water still covered these low sections, and seemed likely to remain
there for a long time. There were few sections around the valley that
could be used for burning dead animals.

Citizens and officials who were becoming alarmed at the new danger
estimated that at least 500 dead animals were strewn about the city of
Peru alone. Most of them had to be fished out of the water wherever
found, and it seemed an impossible task.

SHAKING OFF DESPAIR

Slowly the city began to shake off despair and repair the damage done.
The property damage totaled $3,000,000. The Broadway bridge went down
when a large house lodged against it and in turn carried away the Union
Traction structure.

As Peru emerged from the flood it became apparent that the death list
probably would not run over twenty-five.

The indirect death list as a result of the flood, however, went much
higher, as scores of aged men and women, who for hours were forced to
undergo terrible exposure and later to endure unsanitary conditions,
perished soon after they were rescued.

CHAPTER XVII

THE DEATH-DEALING TORNADO AT OMAHA

THE BOLT OUT OF THE BLACKNESS--RESCUERS WORKING IN DARK--A CITY TO
THE RESCUE--PATH OF THE STORM--INTERRUPTED MERRYMAKERS--FAMILY MEET
DEATH TOGETHER--FREAK TRAGEDIES--BRAVE TELEPHONE GIRLS--VIVID TALE
OF THE STORM.

Easter Sunday did not dawn very brightly in Omaha, but in the afternoon
the sun came out warm and bright. The usual Easter promenaders thronged
the streets in holiday attire. Then, as the afternoon wore on, clouds
appeared in the sky. They gathered very quickly, came lower, and as they
approached the earth there was suddenly a fall in the temperature. In a
few minutes the sky turned black and then came the bolt of wind down out
of the blackness. Through more than three miles of the city it cut a
clean path of from three to seven blocks in width in which not a
building was left whole. Then the storm mounted the bluffs and sped away
to the northeast, carrying destruction with it.

Omaha's destruction was kept secret from the world for several hours by
the storm, for all wire communication was broken down in the wrecking
of the homes. Messengers with the news stories had to go to Lincoln, the
state capital, to give out first definite news of the disaster.

During the early hours of the night uninjured citizens worked
desperately to remove such persons as had been caught beneath razed
buildings. No great number was killed in any one place. The wind swept
along, taking its toll here and there.

No sooner had the great wind passed than a second violent gale swept
over much the same territory, but with lessened fury. The total number
of dead in Omaha and suburbs amounted to 154; the number of homeless to
3,179.

Fire started in the debris of many wrecked buildings in the Nebraska
metropolis, and these were menaces for some time, as the fire companies
were hindered by fallen walls and blockaded streets. A heavy rain
followed the wind, however, and whilst it drenched the hundreds of
homeless persons, it also put out the flames.

RESCUERS WORKING IN DARK

Rescue work started as soon as the people were able to hurry to the
stricken district, but the night's work was by the light of lanterns and
little was accomplished. The storm took down all the wires in its path
and the electric power was shut off immediately to prevent further loss
of life. All night the stricken section was patrolled by government
troops from Fort Omaha.

With the arrival of daylight, a train-load of militia from Lincoln and
the presence in the city of Governor Morehead, the work was
systematized.

[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE PATH OF THE TORNADO]

The hospitals in Omaha Sunday night were full of injured, many of whom
had not been identified, apparently because their friends were either
dead or among the injured.

A CITY TO THE RESCUE

Immediately City Commissioners appropriated $25,000 for relief work;
citizens present at the meeting organized and donated $25,000 more. The
Citizens' Relief Committee was organized, composed of fifty citizens and
an executive committee of seven to work with the seven city councilmen.

Governor Morehead notified Mayor Dahlman that he would send a special
message to the Legislature asking for the appropriation of sufficient
funds to care for the homeless throughout the state.

Cots were placed in the Auditorium, and those without shelter were
housed here. The city purchasing agent arranged for enough beds to care
for all those who could sleep in the Auditorium. The Elks' rooms were
thrown open to the homeless and the Union Gospel Mission provided
seventy-five men with beds.

PATH OF THE STORM

The storm appeared to have started at Fifty-fourth and Center Streets.
From there it traveled north, veering slightly to the east, to
Leavenworth Street. Then it took a northeasterly course to Fortieth and
Farnam Streets, sweeping its way through everything. Still traveling a
little east of north, it covered a course from Fortieth Street east to
Thirty-fourth Street, six blocks.

Striking Bemis Park, where the homes of the wealthy Omaha residents were
located, the storm turned sharply to the east and passed along Parker
and Blonde Streets, to Twenty-fourth Street, where its path was six
blocks wide. In the latter section the damage was complete.

Finally, at Fourteenth and Spencer Streets, the storm swept over the
bluffs, high above the Missouri River, demolished the Missouri Pacific
roundhouse, leveled the big trestle of the Illinois Central Railroad
over Carter Lake, wrecked several buildings near the Rod and Gun Club, a
fashionable outing place, and disappeared to the northeast.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18