The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-12-28


TERRIBLE OCCURRENCE.
Six men were suffocated in boarding
house in Chicago Saturday night by the
escape of gas from apipe in their room. Five
of them were dead when taken from the room.
The sixth died in few hours thereafter
The names of the men were CHARLES and
ADoIPH YouSG, JAMES McCoLEFr, LOUIS
I.AuTH, JOIN JOHNSON and CHARLES WHITE.
The Republicda says: sgxES
We have no disposition TO indulge in com
ment upon this affair which shall cast censure
where it does not belong, but We can scarcely
help refecting upon the gross negligence
which left the gas pipe of an unoceupied
housein such insecure condition. The cap had
! fallen from the mouth OF the pipe overhead,
/ and was found upon the floor. near the part-
ton, with no jar or disturbing cause percepti.
bic to the inmates of the building. Whether
! forced off by the pressure of gas or by the clo
! sing of a door, certain it is that it was inse
curely and improperly fastened, having moth
/ ing to retain 1t in It's place save little wax
I commonly used by plummers and gas filters
! An aperture of an inch even over the window
would have saved these lives and made the
1 sad record we are compelled to write unneces-
sary + .-4
The father of the victims Charles and
Adolph Young, has taken possession of their
bodies, and such personal effects as they left
/ behind them. The interment OF the remains
OF these unfortunate young men will probably
take place TO-DAY.
The victim James McColefI, had sister re-
4 siding at Fon du lac Wis. to whom Mr.
/ Soehl teegraphed at four o clock yesterday
afternoon. His features bear III death very
( natural appearance, with but little change
I from that it bore while living. There is moth
/ ing to mark the untimely summons. or to indi
cate that there had been the slightest physical
resistance to the King of Terrors
! John johnson. another OF the victims. had
! father, who resides in this CITY, but whose
means are not sufficient to enable him 10 sus
tain the expenses of the funeral of his son.
/ He WILL therefore, be buried by the Coroner,
! at the expense of the city. johnson face
marks the fearful effort he must have made at
respiration. There are no contortions of
countenance or body to indicate that be pass
| ed through any amount of physical suffering,
but the froth had oozed forth from his lips
4 and nostrls, a nd covered most OF his features.
Louis Laath, another of the victims. had a
father who resides at Delphi. Indiana, and
who has already telegaphed that he would be
in town last night, and take possession of his
sons body. While this unfortunate young
man S features show no signs of PHYSICAL ag-
ony. the same Characteristic expressed as to
the preceding victim is also observable. A
peculiarly which is universally attendant in
the case Of suffocaton. seemed to mark the
cases of the persons whose deaths we have
E, recorded. Calmly, as if asleep, they were
found living on their backs, their bed clothes
undisturbed, and nothing particularly. save
the hue of their countenances and the froth
,,,1,a h.t Al l.l
passed away. The struggle, if any, must
have been an unconscious one. so far as they
were concerned. and life was yielded. by
inches perhaps, but without convulsion.
. The Coroner, by virtue lof els office, has
taken possession of what little property was
{ found about the persons of the deceased, as
well as in their trunks. Lauth had in his
pocket three dollars, with some small change.
Johnson had the sum of four dollars and fifty
) cents Charles White had watch; and they
all had trunks. The two brothers Young had
, been in this country not longer than two
months, having arrived, in company with
! their father, from Sweden, where they lef,
| behind them a mother with FIVE children.
The ages of the victims were respectively as
follows: Lauth, 10; MeColeff, %: Charles
e White, between lS and 10; the brothers Dung
r Is and II; and Johnson, between IL and 20.
: Thus it will be perceived they were all at the
r threshold of life. They had barely reached
I manhood, and with life. and health, and strong
hopes Of the future before them, in lev
e short hours their earthly career was ended
: and they were summoned to eternity. The
n reflections upon this melancholy event ART
: indeed painful. and the subject which
IS will require long time to dismiss from the
1t public mind.
e The precise cause Of the cap coming off tn,
IS nine has not as vet been explained. 1t il
:, certain, however, that the cap was put on i,
d an improper and careless manner, as it wa
n much too large for the pipe although it had 1
sl thread, and therefore useless; and the cap ha,
% apparently, been fastened on to the pipe sim
? ply by the use of white lead. The theory q
IS the landlord is that the white lead had in tn
al lapse of time, the pipes not having been use,
I for several years. been more or less destroyed
le and probably only just held the cap
le severe frost coming on the gas pipes froze
~ and there being thaw on the night OF tn
accident the gas, it is thought, being fre
A. from its icy letters, dashed against the cap
~ which was thrown off. Such is the explana
al ton, and it appears to be reasonable one
rs The landlord of the house, Mr.. Soehle
ye says that up to the time Of the accident. h
Is was unaware of the existence of gas pipe
le although the boarders were in the habit c
he hanging their clothes upon the portions of ga
at pipe which projects from the side walls; i
Sc this case the gas pipe passed through the cell
OF ing, and it is difficult to understand how tn
cap could have got off, except in the manne
~ described.
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