Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1872-10-12
THE OATAsTRoPHY Ar SEATTLE.

THE CATAsTR0PHY AT SEATTLE.
From the Inseliiycncer of last Monday
We extract the following account Of the
recent crash of Stone and Burnett's
wharf and warehouse at that place:
On last Thursday our city was star
tied by sudden and tremendous crash,
occasioned by the fall of the large ware
house of Mrs. Stone Il Burnett, on the
end of their wharf building which was
stored with merchandise to the amount
of fifteen thousand dollars, covered an
area of about sixty or seventy feet, the
main portion of it being one story and
o half high, and was substantially built.
It was erected on the wharf, which was
constructed not quite three years ago
on piles, and its fall was wholly attribu-
table to the ravages made upon the
piles upon which it rested by that de-
structive boring sea-worm known as the
IeredO, which makes such havoc with
the bottoms of ships and submerged
timbers, oil along this coast, when ex-
posed to their action. Two or three of
the piles under the building were no.
ticed to be weakened from their attacks
but q few days before, and in conse-
quence Mr.. Stone had made prepare
tons to remove the building to the new
wharf extension recently erected in front
of it; but unluckily was delayed in SO
doing till some more of the piles gave
way, and then the whole structure went
down into the bay with a crash, and be-
came partially submerged wreck.
Fortunately there happened to be but
two persons about the building at the
time. One of them was William Ken
worthy, who had just driven under the
shed with Mr.. Russell's horses and wag-
on, and the other was the mate of the
bark Ef,card James. When the main
building went through the wharf, Mr..
X. jumped from under the shed, but
the latter being close to the corner Of
the falling house, went down with it in
to the water, and although timbers and
broken planks from the wharf fell all
around him, he escaped with only a few
scratches, swan to pile close by, and
got on the wharf again before the excit-
ed crowd of people who were rushing
to the spot had reached the mass of ru-
ms. The team in charge of young
Kenworthy could not be got from un-
der the shed in time, and were consc-
quently caught by it when it fell, and
were thrown down and held fast on that
portion of the wharf under the shed
which did not go down with the main
building; but owing to some sacks Of
grain in front of them and the wagon
behind, they were not materially in
jured. AS soon as it was found out
that no person was injured, everyone
went to work to extricate the horses,
which being accomplished, the still
larger and increasing crowd devoted
themselves to their utmost to getting at
and saving the contents of the crushed
and half-sunken building. They did
work unremittingly and we'll, and it was
not long before the wharf, all around
where the warehouse stood, was COW
cred with sacks of -four, grain and feed,
liquors, case-goods, and merchandise
of all kinds. As a matter of course, a
large number of persons are sufferers
by this mishap; but, owing to the bulk
of what was stored, consisting of -four
(thc greater portion of which was saved. }
coal-oil, liquors in casks and cases (all
of which were saved, the total loss will
not be SO large rs was at first expected,
probably not exceeding, aside from the
building, $4,000.