The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-12-22
Names of the Wounded and
of the Missing.
CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION.
The Warning Story Of the
Dead Engineer.
LOSS OF PROPERTY AND INSURANCE.


where 1t broke OF in yesterdays HERALD. Just
soon as they could be dispensed with tho engines
from tho uptown districts relieved from duty
and sent to their houses by the Chief Engineer. 4
sufficient force Of men aud machines lett with
Engineer Rowe ut tho sccne of the disaster to cool
the RUNS and render them 1t for men to work
There wcro steamers and hook and ladder
company in active operation about three o'clock In
the morning, and with these seventy-6ve labor
crs were employed In making preparations Tor
searching for the bodies. The streets were
deserted by people at this hour, and the clear
silvery moon shed pale, ghostly light upon the
dark, smoking pile of rubbish which represented the
property and buildings owned and occupied by
many merchants few hours before The dark forms
Of the nremen stood out IN bold relief against tho
pile and they seemed Salamanderlikc, to walk with
impunty through fire. For at this time, not
withstanding the inccssant Hoods of showered
for upon ruins, they burned Gcrccly below
and every now and then bright jets of flame leapcd
through the interstices the top and sides OF the
mound.
BARCLAY Strict CLEARED
The engineer set tho aoorers to work removing tho
fragments Of brick and iron in Barclay street immo.
diaey opposite the site Of the conlagration, for IL
was almost impossible for the dremen even to ap-
proach tho ruins foot in upright position
the hugo of broken columns cornices. joiss,
from side to side, from College place No so
Barclay street. Tho efforts OF tho hired men were
very feeble indeed, aud the captains and
officers could muse nut little OF their energy
into them. The south sido OF tho street
partially cleared by quarter to three A. ~, and
the sidewalk opposite and directly in front Green
fields attacked by tho The engineer was
TO break through tho rubbish quickly as
possible TO ascertain whether anybody had been
burned and buried or not. Tho prevailing impression
at this time was that number of young girls had
been destroyed by the explosion and lay beneath tho
debris fronting Barclay street. All stories
ana ad been poured the the frcnen
and officers By persons who. usual claim 10 know
that two or three hundred employees were In the
building at the time OF the explosion The first efforts
Of the sad seekers had been directed to tho
removal OF the stun from tho express wagon and
horse. supposed to havo been overwhelmed BY the
falling bricks OF Grecnfcld's store when passing at
the moment tho latter foil But it until nearly
three O'Clock the morning that the street all
clear enough to permit the Grcmcn their alton
tion solely 10 the ruins and what lay beneath Them.
The desire get the cellar under the side
walk, where the boilers said 10 havo exploded
and TO find, possible the engineer any evidence
that might tend to shed light upon the OF
explosion Tho workmen, under tho direction of
Captain Farlow, of engine No II. tore away the
bricks and fragments of the broken building IN front
of the doorway where II was surmiscd that some
body might have been stricken down while coming
out OF or going into tho store couple of workmen
wero trying 10 raise piece OF stone coping lying
nthwart tho curb, and had succeeded in doing SO
when they found TO their horror that Immediately
beneath it was the body of human being. A shout,
hall OF amazement aud half OF warning notified the
people around that had been discovered. The
lremen ana all hands crowded about the little heap
of dirt, and Tor minute or Two paused to speculate
on what half .dden and half disclosed beneath
A lantern being brought the captain OF engine Ne IL
parting the group OF gapers, called OF his TO
clear away tho covering and disclose the tragedy.
Tnc duh rays Of the lamp showed that the
corpse that OF whose head had
Decn crushed into misshapen mass, and
whose clothes were torn and soilcd so that their
quality could determined. The poor
mangcd remains taken up gently and born
tho street TO the platform IN front OF Mr. Mon
tague's store and then examined Tor Identification
pocgetbook bearing the name OF william II. Bradley
OF No. Ito Ecklord street, Brooklyn, aud a couple OF
cards, with other things, led 10 tho belief that the
body that OF Mr. Bradley, calker Of the above
address, Brooklyn. The nremcn arranged the body
respectfully and covered 1t with a tarpauiin. Notll-
cation Of the discovery conveyed 10 THO twenty
OF Tue presence OF many moro victims beneath the
debris the aborers resumed their work.
SECOND DISCOVERY.
IL was no easy Tor the iired ana exhausted fire.
TO toll among the beams and trcacherous stuf
on which there very little iootnold for them. And
TO add the difficulty OF the situation. the
declined artificial light was shed the toilers.
Not calcium night, about winch there had
been much talk the fore part OF tho
night was 10 DO had. the men were com.
PEELED to grope their way over tie ruin, ana
the risk Of slipping into treachcrous nolcs
stumbling over topping or unsteady fragment OF
masonry woodwork. fne laborers mad Likewise to
content themselves with carry ing the stun
away as their hands would hold They did not even
have barrow. For theso reasons the progress Of
crcctng entrance into the store toward 1t
on the sidewalk very SLOW indeed. Nevertheless
: second body was uncarhcd shortly after The lrst
Dne and was found 10 be that Of a little newsboy
named Willie Bennett, Of No. liz Hancock av-
snue Jersey City. AT this time somebody suggested
mat tho Coroner should DO Moulded and a permit
obtained IRON him Tor The removal Of the remains To
The Morgue. An officer was therefore, despatched 20
Coroner wonmans house about hall-pasl tour 10 the
morning. aud that cnic.a down Barclay street
in groat hurry. where the DEAD bodies?n Ito
exclaimed shortly alter hts arrival. ana being
shown Tue two sui things undcr tho tarpauin Oh the
sidewalk ne wanted 70 Know why he had been routed
out OF hts Ded with SUCH cock and bull story. liz
then related how the ofncer, who had called AZ his
house N great state Of excitement, informed him
that the Aremen had struck place the runs where
many bodies were buried, thirteen OF when had A.
ready been taken and were Laid upon the sidewalk
The officers name aad number were not dvulgcd BY
the Coroner, who Simply contcnted himself with
ing TO Commissioner Brennan for The dead wagon,
which that Official had promised should DO on hand
whenever needed. Despite this promise. however no
wagon camc until broad daylight
THE CROWD RgAssgxBLNG.
With the coming Of daylight every down
town brought rs usual quota OF persons gong to
work. ana these invariably found time to snatch
minute or SO to gaze upon the runs so earfuy and
mystcriousy associated with death ana destruction.