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Wild Scene At A Circus

Wild Scene At A Circus image
Parent Issue
Day
29
Month
May
Year
1903
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

CYCLONE STRUCK TENT OF BIG SHOW IN DETROIT. 

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PEOPLE BECAME PANIC STICKEN - WOMEN PRAYED.

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PERFORMERS RAN INTO STREETS WITH NO CLOTHING ON

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The wild tumult of thousands of frenzied people, each filled with the fear of instant death, was the circus that Forepaugh & Sells Brothers and a terrific storm provided yesterday afternoon. A catastrophe was escaped, but the succeeding panic was a smear of horror which will live long in the memory of those who witnessed it. 

A storm of fearful force struck the circus camp, which was pitched at the corner of Warren and Maybury Grand avenues. From 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. the vicinity was a hell in which thousands of people knelt and prayed in agony. 

Amid the grinding of heavy timbers, the straing of hemp, the ominious crack of the sea of canvas and the wild shriek of the wind about the camp rose the cry of women and children. With one accord the multitude threw itself forward from the ties of seats, and screams of agony were mingled with the long wail of terror. 

Women threw themselves beneath the seats in their frenzy. Terrified children hurled themselves after. The wild abandon of terror had its hold on every one. The main mass surged for the entrance, mothers clasping children not their own to their breasts in terror. 

What was immenent danger of becoming a charnel house was made a purgatory. Women knelt in the mud and on this improvised altar prayed aloud. Others followed their example. The wind howled and the yards of canvas flapped the wings of death, augmenting the fury of the storm. Literally hundreds of women fell to their knees in prayer.   

Through the dressing room rushed the half-dressed performers. The daring bare-back riders hurried to escape. Ankle deep in mud on a side street two lady equestrians stood in terror - clad in nothing more than bath towels. Barefooted circus ladies besieged surrounding barns and varanda for shelter. One daring rider who had just concluded her act when the storm broke, fled from the dressing tent bare-footed, bare-legged and with nothing on but a red waist wrapped about her. On the veranda of a neighboring house stood three clowns in trickling war paint, two lady acrobats in undress, and several other performers, hugging each other in abject distress. 

Each moment seemed to carry death with it as the big tent continued to bend and burst under the terrific force of the storm. The rain came down in torrents. The lightning played a sickening accompaniment. 

ELEPHANTS TAKEN OUT.

The big drove of elephants had shown symptoms of distress when the darkness came, heralding the storm. When the wind railed against the tent and the wild crowd pushed in, screaming at the top of their voices, the alarm was communicated to the elephants and other animals. The attendants were aleart. Each grasping the leading line of an elephant, the herd, trumpeting loudly and adding to the awful uproar, was hurriedly led into the street in the rear. Camels, elks and other animals not kept in cyclone proof cages followed. 

The climax came with a fearful crash. A quarter pole snapped in a twinkling and was hurled with the force of the flapping canvas. It came down with a reverberating road, accompanied by a heavy 50-foot acrobat ladder and other trappings. The wild shriek of human terror that arose from the 5,000 throats as the great tent appeared to collapse is beyond description. The people grasped each other, prepared to die together. Still the main tent held. When the gust had subsided the frightened people were reassured to find only one person beneath the wreckage of the pole. The man was carried to the rear and was supposed to be dead, but his injuries were comparatively slight. 

Outside the tents after the wind had subsided a mass of distressed humanity surged about in an aimless but frenzied hunt for friends and relatives. Most of the people were mud covered and soaked with rain. Few of them but what had torn or lost some of their belongings. 

Roscommon, Mich., May 28. - Peter Siglock of Roscommon township was killed and his cabin set on fire by a bolt of lightning. Ernest Sproon and Fred Mills, who were in the cabin, were also shocked, being seriously hurt.

Dryden, Mich., May 28. - A tornado of great force visited this section Wednesday afternoon. It passed within half a mile of Dryden village and did damage to the extent of several thousand dollars. Barnes and fences were laid flat and orchards ruined. In some cases trees were torn out by the roots. 

 Algonac, Mich., May 28. - At about 6 o'clock tonight a tornado stuck this section, destroying several of the cottages at Point du Chene and toppling over several others. No one was hurt Fruit and others trees were torn up and broken. The damage will reach into the thousands.