Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-05-10

came exhausted and fell back into tht
fire behind, where his agonies Instant,
ended.
The five Touring mills involved in the
disaster were group which comprised
the heaviest concerns in the State
Chief among them were the two Wash.
burn mills, the property of ex-Gov. c. c.
Washburne, of Wisconsin. The one in
which the explosion occurred was the
largest Touring mill in the country and
the largest but one in the world. 1t was
built in 1870, included forty-one run
OF stone, and was worth 100000. II
IS now smoking mass of ruins with
its companions on the platform
The destruction is complete, so far as
the limits above named, and serious
within much wider bounds.
MINNEAPoLIs May 8.
The search for the dead has pro-
gressed all day as fast as the fire could
be extinguished and the ruins cooled.
Up to eleven o'clock this morning the
black and unrecognizable remains OF
seven of the unfortunate victims of the
Washburn mill had been recovered.
But one body bore any semblance to
the human form and even this was hor-
ribly distorted, with the head, arms
and legs burned to a crisp or removed
and the trunk partially eaten away by
the action of the terrific heat. This is
believed to be that of John Boyer.
Estimates of the number of the dead
based upon the bodies recovered and
| those known to have been in the mill,
and inquiries for the missing, place it
at sixteen, of which the following is a
list: Charles Henning, Augustus Smith,
Clark Webber, Fred Miller, William
Leslie, Cyrus Ewing, Ole SHE, Walter
Savage, Patrick Judd, Ed. Merrill, Har-
ry Hicks, f. w. Burbank, Charles KIM
BILE, John Z. Rosiennus and Peter HUI
Der. Smaller casualties, burns, bruises
and wounds are numerous, and further
developments may increase or decrease
that all the bodies win be recovered
from the ruins.
Later inquiry confirms the first theo-
ry that the cause of the explosion was
the ignition of inflammable mill dust
floating in the air and the consequent
generation of and expansion of infiam-
mable gases. Reports of eye-witnesses
as to the power and saddenness of the
explosion are almost incredible. An
instant after the first flash and explo-
sion all the buildings were wrapped in
flames, showing the air all around to
be full of infammable gases.
A. z. Lunn gives the following ac-
count of his experience: He was look
ing directly at the Washburn mill at
the time and says the entire roof of the
great building shot upward like a
rocket, enveloped in smoke and flame
The immense walls seemed to raise
from their very foundation, especially
on the northerly side of the buildings,
quivered between heaven and earth,
and fell outward with a deafening
crash, and the ruins were instantly en-
veloped in flames. He did not observe
any further explosion. but the Hum
boldt mill and the Minneapolis planning
mill crumbled and fell to the ground
instantly, and, as he believes, from the
shock and conclusion of the explosion
in the Washburn mill, and at the very
instant of the explosion, as it appeared
to him, the mill car elevator below the
Washburn was completely wrapped in
flames.
MINSEAPoLIs, May 4.
1uS HulnDeT VI uedu now reaches
eighteen, the names of Jacob Rhodes
and John Grandman being added to
those sent heretofore. The bodies of
eight have been recovered. Three of
the number were identified as Clark
Weaver, John Boyer and f. w. Bur-
bank. These and others were identified
by such articles as keys, knives, etc.
Another body is identified as that of
the boy Jacob Rhodes. 1t is he whose
tragic death was witnessed by the
crowd on the railroad track.
The latest revised list of losses and
insurance makes the total loss S824,-
100, and the total insurance S519, 300
Speculation continues rife as to the
origin of the explosion. The theory of
the fire originating in friction of the
dry stone communicating to the ex-
plosive gas generated from the mill
dust is generally received. Another
theory is that the building became su-
percharged with electricity thrown off
the shafts, and not neutralized by the
conductors, hence a discharge which
caused the destruction and communi-
Gated the fire.
MINNEAPOLIS May 5.
The only result of the search to-day
was the discovery of a body in the wa
ter of the canal, which was identified
as that of Patrick Judge,