, 1873-05-07
Archer Avenue md Salt Street.
Chicago, tho Scene.
Terrible Explosion in sohunemann
&,Oo's Paoking-Houso.
4 Great Tall0W-Tank Torn and Rent
Into Ribbons.
Three nTeal and n Boy Instantly
Killed.

| Horror followss1pon horror go thick and 40
| faat that wo hayo scarcely comprohondcd tho
| shocking "details Of ono catastrophe before nn-
othor comeH to match 1t, furnishing freah shock
| to our Ahuddoring sonsibilitica. 4 fow dnyB ago
| 1t WAS tho lost Atlantic; yesterday It was tho
Dixon diHantor to-day 1t comos nearer homo,
! and, although not 30 terrible in extont It is
| scarcely losB narrowing in its character. Tliis
timo 1t ism explosion, by which four human
/ beings aro almost instantly blown into eternity,
! scaldod, manglol and burned. At about 10
minutos,past o'clock yostorday afternoon per-
aonB int vicinity Of Halsted street and Archer
avenuo'Eero startled by n heavy craBh md con-
| otBaton, US though mammoth pioco Of ordnance
| had boon fired. Tile noiso was hoard for many
blocks around, and pooplo stopped and looked in
ovory' direction, curious to know tho cause Of tho
| loud report. A cloud OF smoke and dust ariain9
near the intornoction Of Archer avenuo md Salt
strcot afforded.an Indication to tho anxious and
curious, md in few momontB q large crowd had
gathered In tllat locality. It was found tlat an
explosion Ind takon place in the paoking-houBo
OF bchcnnemann d Co., situntod on Halt street,
just north Of Archor ayonuo. Wild rumors woro
current to tho effect that d boiler Ind exploded,
and
THAT FIFTEEN MEN WERE KILLED.
buch was'n telegram sent to tho Central Polico
Station Immediately following an alarm Of fro
struck from Box 70, on tho corner Of Halstel
atroes and Archor avenue. In answer to tho
summons tho Ifre-ongines rushed to tho spot,
only to hnt! that thor services were Of no avail
for tho extinguishmont of famos. Tho danage
| had nll been dono boforo they arrived. Learning
what had happened, tho firemen placed an engine
III position, and began to plny upon tho broken
mass OF timbors. from which small clouds Of
stoam wero rising, nndcr the humane impression
TINT the cold water might alleviate the Bufroring8
OF sono scalded wretch buried beneath tho
ruins. They woro roughly ordered to stop by
one of tile propriotors Of tho packing-houae, and
did so, after having satisfied themselves that
| they could accomplish no further good by
! deluElng tho premises with water.
uORn1D SPECTACLE
grooscd the oyoa OF thoge who first arrived on
the scouo. Across tho street, fully 200 feot from
the spot whero the explosion occurred, lay tho
scnldod, bleeding, mangled body Of n boy about
u years Of ago, hia clothing saturated, and his
head and face scorched with liquid greaso.
There was Just heart-bont left in tho littlo
fellow as thoy knelt down by his aido; quivor
| aud . gasp, mud hia agony Ind ouaod. Close by
stood horse and wsagon within foot Of which
circular in shape, md aboit feot III diameter,
md close BY tls heavy picco of cast-iron, ro-
nembling tho door to tho firoplace Of q boiler.
Tho first WAS tho top OF
| A HUGE nEHDER1Na-TANK.
and tho second was the cap to tho manhole Of
tho tank, through which the material for rolor-
ing s inserted. Investigation showed that it
was not a boiler, but ono Of four iron talow
could hayo been moro frightful In It's roaults.
The rear portion of the packing-honso was o
total ruin. The main or front wing was Of
brick, facing salt atreot,. and this was unin-
wooden shed, two stories high, in which tho
renlering-tnnks wore situated. Thoro had beon
four OF thom iii tho tank roon standing In row,
their average dimensions boing Il feet In height
Il Ill
Of heavy boier-iron ono-fourtl of m inch thick,
the plates being nleltod together aB firmly as
those in any stoam boiler. In shape and con-
struction they wero much tho samo as the rem
ing establisl1nont in Chicago. The purpose
tloy servo is to rondor'into tallow all those por-
tions OF tho slaughtered cattle md aheop which
contain any fat. Tho tallow is Expressed by
drawn off into watts to be partially cooled bofore
barreling.
| At OTHER rAcK1sa-1ousEg
tho rcndo ring ia carried on In tho morning, all
once, 30 that tho work for tho day Is generally
finished by 10 o'clock in tho forenoon, and then
the tanks aro cleaned ont in roatness for the
next day. At schnnomann's aditforcnt PRACTICE
lioYod by many Of tho men engaged about tho
premises, was tho terrible catastrophe of yoster-
day, Tho boilor contained 9. full head Of steam,
though but . ono tank Mas in nso and it is sup-
charge OF steam III tho ono tank.
THE LIST OF KILLED,
ing to hia autea t,,. in t tito 1, 1s,ngino-roo;n
tandor, Freaoro filior was overseeing @ 'h, ths,
procoss OF making tallow out Of tho soothing
mass Of ment and bono and fat which tho ea.,l-
dron contained. Martin suBacr, youth Of
tho business Office, was engaged In marking
homo barrels for shipment. August Holtonbacli,
o little Goraan boy Of 12, was hanging about
tlo tank-room, With nothing to occupy him.
stray beof's liyor or heart and bring 1t homo,
aud, though le had twice boon ordered to leaye,
ho persisted In remaining. Matthew fagin had
qataaf; tho ;fg on;g0fEoom roo onooe whore 10 had
cooiiug-room on, the lower floor: Without
IN nstant's warning tho tank exploded, killing
four persons outright and scaldlg two. others,
air about fifty foot, oyor tho main building. and
across tho street. Tho bodies Of Fink, Miller,
and Buasor wore found Under the ruins Of tho
and all horribly ecalaod and mangled. Fink
lived at No, 10 Leslie streot, With his wlfo and
two children. I1o was man about 88 yoars Of
sobog i9dustroas reliaSe Bic en competent
where wife and 1elght ohildron aro loft wholly
unproyiaed for. sussor lived with his parents,
on Murray street, and the boy !Ielton-
| oacn with !1b motneF, at NO. W itathes
street, Matthew Fagi1, who WAS ecaldod with
hot fat about the head, and had bis arm injured
by o flying brick, lives at No. I'll hlain street,
Ills injuries aro mot serious. William, sohuso,
who was Rso sca!dod slightly with grease, lives
at No. 1902 Canalport avenue.
IT HAPPENED MOST s1Eno1FuILy
that tho explosion occurred at time when
operations in tho .pecking-honao had boon al-
most wholly h,,spcndcd Tho butchers had fu-
ished their work, and nearly all had loft. About
ono hundred men aro ordinarily employed about
tho placo, and nbout thirty wero there at tho
tIn,p Of tho accidont, but they waro,
with tho exceptions noted, at soma, dis
tanco from tito tnn1s-roonls. -Four hours
oarlior, tho explosion would have haye boon Rt-
tended with frightful loHB Of life. Drs. Lee mud
IIassort, whose offices woro noer BY, were
promptly on tho spot, nnd ronlered all possible