White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1869-10-14
THE INDIANAPOLIS DISASTER.
Explosion of Steam Boiler at the Fair
Gronnd--Ilumaaity MaaSiee, Roast.
ed, Sca;dea and Burned

ror. Four days OF unexsmplsl pleasure
and prosperity hal s.tsnfed the State
Fair In ths midst Of the excitement
su.l giadiness OF the closing hoars. with
out moments warning ot it, dread sp
prosch, Death, in most ho,fibls shapes
and with fantastic tort,re.. clsspei its
icy fingers sround IN. whole scene OF
jnyou. pleasure. envelopins it With a
deep and dsmniDg rsll. such as h.s bu,
seldom been drawn abou, even the most
doomed locslity.
II wss after the battle. One o'clock
vs..srday afternoon was the hour .sgneI
for tho tri.l Of portable engine, sni saw
mills. and into the comp ,ition several
firms entered. among them Sinker l. Co +.
engine builders. sni LoGg. Joseph &c
Garter. sswysrs. The t->, had heeo CON
pleted. and the victory. IL a victory it Is.
had been Won nv the Sinksr machine
Seven minutes and b,f Of sewing had
been done. aitb every par, OF the engine
and mil strained to the ntmo-t tension.
after which the fires bad heen permitted
to go dOwn and the machines 10 ret
Abou, three O'Clock Mr. Sink-,'s tore
IN N thought it s,lvi.sb!e to saw up the
logs on hand, 80 IS to clear up for reno
vsl on the morrow The engines was
started. and the task accomplished wirh
tine exception Of two .tu'Ds" The pit
beneath the saw was filed with saw du-r.
and = temporary rest uss taken, to al
low two men To clssn it ont. \ largo
circle o. inte'ests.l sdmirrr. hal gathered
abont rbs ares necupsd nv the In,eaius
~. while here aa.i there ovsr the grounds
were sc.t,s,ei tw-!vs or f;frsn ,hnn-and
paopio "a moment Of onli,rnr bs,.
qnist. while tae hrm Of the MACHINERY
was hnshsd 81! attention directed 80
ward the ring in whi.h the fast iro,,ipg
was shnHt to cun m.ncs. 4 noise like th-
explosion Of park "f sri ills,, salnl III the
ear, nnd ,h- coocn.-'on nf the = nth Al ~
an earthquake lent thrill Of fsA- 10 rap
heart 4 volam. OF steam, biiniing
clnnd OF dust and smoke. "a. ar 6lir /,
with debris Of timber. OF pieces of iron.
Of sbreds Of clothine. parts of human
beings, Of groans aad shrieks. men tai
ing aither soi thi;h.r. sni rsns. opened
=, II plowed through with grape sni
shrspnsl. told tho ie,rfnl tale Of an ev
plo>ion The engine. a moment before
n thing of beauty. obelient to the torch
of 10 an. was torn and rent By q mighty
convGl.iop; its comeliness gone. ITS pa'ts
scattered to the fonr winds, hardly JON,
left ia integrity. Tha, which in ons
second had been sn implemsnt of inIn-
try: IN the next Was turned into sickl-
OF death. re.ping and moving its VIE
tins in swssh confined by NO rule aud
measured hy no regularity.
The scene was one to sppsl tho stont
est heart. The immense crow,i. only in
formed enough to know that terrible
accident had occurred. swsysi AMI surgsd
like mighty billows. breaking over every
confne. aud Ihrea,ene"ins to add to the
list OF desths by trampliny beneath their
ieet some Of the ~s.ker and smaller, who
we're r.eling abont in the vortex in utter
h'lple-sness. Fret impel'ei by curi
o-i'y. the iam ~ss toward the spot from
whence the sonni came; the IN imsl and
wounded lying ahnut tho vicinity were
overwhelmed. snd doubtless some were
k'llsi outright who might have lived ia
they been allowed sir and given attention.
at once. When curiosity wss spn.sset
by the CHASTITY sigh's which met the eye.
aud when the psopl.. in dsz,i anil b.-
wildered way. came to comprehend the
character OF q disaster. . panic reizad
them, and even more fssrinl cslamity
wss thresten-d through their terror
STR mons exeriions were made by the
cooler and calmer to qnie, and sllsy ex-
crtemenf. end after time something lise
order va. evoked. aoi q survey IN sds OF
the extent OF the essualty.
The engine was se' MP stout seventy
five yard. west Of the Power HAN. and
the 8 ,w-miii som. 6'tv or one hundred
lee, due rorth OF tbs engine. Tbs force
of the explosion seemed 10 be lateral. |
Heavy pieces OF rhs IN schinery ere blown
10 tbs north spd to the s~., long dis
isnce; fsw Of The lighter parts were
found some distance to the essi. bnt more
wore thrown backward. Thn.e who .'~
it say that nothing was thrown higher
than 80 or 40 feet The bodies Of sew
eral men were lifted into ths sir, and
siigh'ed in msnglsd and mn,il.ted shape.
m msny yards trcm where they were stan
ding when stInck with til. stpsm. An
idea Of thu force and pawer sDd thu hor-
ror OF the explosion msy BE- gathered
rom some OF the incidents which we have
BEEN able to collect.
Where the engine stood was left no.
percepfible trsce. sxcep, % sres oi sink
ID and .hlaekenei grousd. Even the
'oundation had been torn up, snd not a
brick wss lett s'shdiBg the one rpon m.
''her. The framing Of The saw mill wa.
brown s-kewA turned over. broken .pd
'i-locsted. A is,ge piece Of the boiler.
which must have weighed FIVE hundred
pounds. was carried . disisDcs of hmm
ired yards. Oue smaller piece wss
brown clear into the time track, and
k'pping over it. bnried itself in the sod
'eyond. Another lsrg. piece was blown
westward. clear over the dyke upon the
'.'tie pens. 1t crashed through the roof
u one. aud struck large OF on the
'orns. bre.king of the tips. passing en-
rely oot OF the enclosure Of the Fair /
irounds One Of tho shafts. to which
vss attached sn eccentric. wss thrown F,
idewsys over Power Hall. snd landed 1t :
be side OF Domestic Hall. One Of the !
ods wss twisted Of and carried at least