The Portland daily press., 1877-12-22
THE NEW YORK HORROR,
Thrilling Accounts by gEye.Wit-
neSSes.
The Cause of the Disaster not vet
Known.

d
minutes before the explosion, and there is no
doubt that the disaster was owing to his care
lessness. About fifty men were at work clear
ing away the ruins, and large crowds are in the
vicinity.
Greenfield 8, Sons lose $4,000; Meighs
Brothers. $4,000; S. D. Babcock, $50, 900;
Hopkins, $4,000; D. D. Tompkins & Co.,
$4,000; A. Rich g. Co., $4,000; estate of
G. w. WEIGH, $4,000; A. & w. Little, $11,-
600; W. h. 81: Rogers, $4,000; J. Daniels,
Jr., $l0,0OO;, Martin Sands, $4,000. These
with smaller losses aggregate a total loss of
$39S, 800, with an insurance of about 100000.
Ernest Greenfield, the senior partner, was
standing at his desk talking with friend, and
he describes his first sensation as rain of fire
upon his bald head. following Immediately
rpon the explosion. He does not know how
be escaped, and he has not the remotest idea Of
how the explosion could have occurred, and
insists that the boilers could not have ex-
ploded. The engineer, he says, was a sober,
capable man. and had been in their employ
mept three years.
Nelson Greenfield was standing near his
father, and says his first sensation was of a
falling of the ceiling and a shower of fire
upon his head. He, as well as his father aud
brother, states that the shock came from
above.
Mr.. Monica, customer, also says the shock
and a shower Of flames came from above the
store floor.
f. 81. Galpin, of the New York Decorative
Company, was the third person to reach the
scene. He describes the conclusion as terrific,
and his first thought was that the fire cracker
mandatory had blown up. He saw a great
ball of fire shoot up into the air, twice as large
as mans head, and OF dazzling brightness.
1t seemed to shoot out of the second story of
the candy mandatory. 1t rose 200 feet and
then fell and was dashed to pieces in the
middle of the street. Mr.. Galpin describes
the sight as one of the strangest he ever be-
held. A small cloud of light smoke followed
the balls course, then a small flame of fire
burst out of the west side of the building. He
assisted three men out from under the heap of
brick on the sidewalk, and saw young girl
who stood inside the building on the east SIDE
She stood as if paralyzed with fear. Her hair
stood out almost straight from her head, and
was covered with some white substance like
-four. She wrung her hands, but made no
move to get out. He rushed to her, and seiz-
ing her by the shoulder told her to come with
him. She hung back and said, ''For Gods
sake, help the girls behind me-there are lots
of them" He rushed into the building again,
and after going about 20 feet through the smoke
he came upon about nine of the shop girls
These were all in a group dumbfounded and
immovable from terror. He began to push
them towards the street. saying, go out go
out" Other persons came to help and they got
them all safely out. The last two tainted and
had to be carried out. He counted II who
jumped or climbed out of the bnilding. Twen-
ty minutes after he reached the scene the en-
tire front of the factory was one broad sheet of
flame.
of fire rising in the air, and it went up several
hundred feet as it seemed to him, tefore it
dropped, 1t was followed by a thick trail of
smoke. When Queckburner got to the scene
about fifty persons, including two or three po-
licemen had collected. and several men and
boys could bs seen through the flames and
smoke in the upper part Of the building. max
ing efforts to escape, the crowd looking on with
out making an attempt to rescue them. The
flames made but little Roadway for about half
minute after the explosion; then they seemed
Queckburner to burst out all over. Some per-
sons in the crowd shouted out to the men and
boys on the top floor to jump. One man jump
ed and fell into an area. A ladder was placed
against the building, and one boy came down it
with the aid of Queckturner. but the other boys
did not move. He was almost enveloped in
fire.
Another eyewitness says he saw amid the
smoke and flames number of women, young
and old. They were shrieklng for help,-I
shall never forget the heart-rending cries CT
these poor girls. From one of the upper VIM
nows several jamped dowo, and others failed
in the attempt. One young girl in blue dress
jumped in the flames from the third story, and
another, who seemed not to be over thirteen,
held out her hands beseechingly for help She
attempted to jump but her dress caught and
she fell back"
Henry Hamilton was one Of the first to reach
the spot after the explosion. By the aid of
several persons ladder was raised to the third
story, and be seized little boy lying on the
floor and brought him down. He endeavored
to enter second time, but the smoke was too
dense. He could plaioly see when he first en-
tered about 20 men rushing madly around the
rooms, looking for some path of safety. T he
stairways were choked with debris aud the
windows afforded no means of escape. Some
of the men were burned and lay on the floor
moaning piteously. When assistance arrived
there was no way of getting into the third
story.
Captain Munroe, with a dozen fremen had
an exceedingly narrow escape from being car
ried to the street by the falling of the walls and
roof, and says that 40 women and men were
saved by his fremen by meaus of ladders
raised to the awnings. Another fireman says
they passed down about 60 people over the lad
ders.
Henry G. Stacy, driver of an express wagon,
says:
was signing for goods which my boy was
carrying out to the wagon. There were about
rs persons in the store. Suddenly 1 heard rum
bling noise, and at the same moment the whole
front part of store fell out on the street. Every
body stood paralyzed for a moment. but the
ceiling beginning to fall we all rushed for the
street. Meanwhile bricks and iron were fall
ing on top of the big pile already 10 the street.
saw several fall about me and others got
knocked down. 1 don't see how 1 got down,
and think several were buried under the fall
ing material. My cartwas completely covered, but
the horses seemed all right. | unhitched them,
and had not gone more than 20 feet when one
tumbled down dead. returned to the stable
with the other. My boy did not get hurt much
but somehow he got his shoe knocked off. At
first did not think l was much hurt. but now
feel IN hurt pretty bad inside. When the
explosion took place it raised me and everybody
saw about two feet high, and it seemed to me
something fell on the building. The sound fell
like dead thud.
The windows in front of several buildings,
from College Place to Greenwich street, were
shattered by the explosion, and large iron
corDice was blown across the street, crushing
in the front of the crockery establishment Of
Thompson q Lyon, demolishing the pavement
in front. Doors, windows and pavement in
many places are shattered to atoms. A police
sergeant while carrying away body to an am
6ulance,, stumbled over telegraph wire and
fractured his leg.
Up to two this morning, II persons mora or
less injured, were at Chambers street hospital,
nine of whom were afterwards removed to the
New York hospital and their homes. The
eight remaining at the former hospital are Sc
riously burned about the body, face arms and
hips but their injuries are not considered fatal.
The bodies of a man named William 81. Brad
ley, and OF newsboy named Bennett, were
found this morning.
Marshal Sheldon said today that he was un-
able at present to form any theory of the orr
gin of the disaster, owing to the conflicting &C
counts of the explosion. Until the boiler was
unearthed it would be impossible even to know
that it had exploded.
The wife of Engineer Hertzhaer says her hus-
band had been afraid the boiler would explode
during the past week, and that he had told
Greenfield of its dangerous condition, but the
latter told him to get along with it until Sun
day, as they were pressed with business. And
also that yesterday morning Hertzhaer told her
when going to the factory, that he never ex-
pected to see her again.
The record of fatalities now stand killed,
26 missing and AZ wounded. A gentleman con-
nected with the Bible house in Barclay street,
says the cries of those inside the building were
frightful, but the fire spread SO rapidly that
they continued but very few moments.
According to the records of the boiler inspec-
tors the two boilers of Greenfield & Son were
examined in November, 1876. Both were loco
motive boilers, and they were tested to 1O5
pounds pressure, and allowed 20 pounds. En-
gineer Phillip Hertzhaer was last examined
on the 18th of this month, and he was regard
ed as competent and his reputation was good as
D boiler inspector. He visited the ruins today
and found both boilers intact The sidewalk
under which the boilers were situated was not
torn up or destroyed. One boiler was found
balf full OF water and the other nearly full.
The inspector said this afternoon that one of
The tanks filled with material for making candy
must have exploded and broke. All lamps in
The building were lighted with kerosene, and
this added to the rapidity with which the flames
spread.