Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-05-08
WRECK AND RUIN.
The situation at the Scene Of tn
'NAinnaa oo11a Fire.

WRECK AND RUIN.
The situation at the Scene Of the
Minneapolis Fire.
MINNEAPOLIS, May 3.-The follow
ing is . general summary of the Stu
alton at the scene of the fire:
The great Washburn Touring mill,
in which the explosion occurred, is
wholly destroyed. Washburn mill
B is intact, except injury 10 the roof
from falling timbers. Thompson u
Hoyt, Bull, Newton u Co.'S, Touring
mills, the Washburn planning mill, and
the mill company's elevator, are all
flat with the ground. Across the
race of Petit, Robinson & Co.'S, flour
ing mills the walls are standing the
Zenith and Galaxy mills are more or
less in ruins. The loss in addition to
the mill interest, is about $75, 600; on
elevator 1000 on wheat, and about
1000 600 feet of dry lumber, in Petit,
Robinson Il Cos. yard. 1t is too ear
ly yet to revise the estimates on the
total money loss and insurance.
The loss to the buildings surround |
ing the mills, by the shock of the ex-
plosion is material. The round house |
of the Chicago, Milwaukee h St. Paul
railroad was blown down by the
force of the conclusion. There was
an insurance of 81, 500 on the building.
The total loss is now estimated at
100000, which may be increased
later, The search for the dead has
progressed all day as fast as the fire
could be extinguished, and the ruins
cooled. Up to eleven o'clock this
morning the black and unrecogniza-
BILE remains Of seven of the unfortu-
nate victims of the Washburn mill
had been recovered. These were
carefully covered, and carried to the
machine shops Of the Milwaukee D
st. Paul road and deposited on the
floor at the southern end of the build
ing while q crowd Of anxious rela-
tives were waiting to identify the
last appearance OF bodies, or what
remained in the shape of charred
bones or little heaps Of black ashes,
which emitted sickening odor, that
will never be forgotten by any one Of
the spectators. But one body bore
any semblance to the human form,
and even this was horribly distorted,
with the head, arms and legs burnt
to crisp or removed, and the trunk
partly eaten away by the action Of the
terrific heat. This is believed to be
that of John Boyer. Smaller frag-
ments of bodies were ranged in close
proximity to the larger trunk above
described, until seven were deposited
altogether, one Of which was brought
in an elevator bucket. Search was
industriously continued all through
the afternoon. The estimates of the
number of dead, based upon the
bodies recovered, those known to be
in the mill, and the inquiries for the
missing, place il at sixteen.
Later inquiry confirms the first the
DRY that the cause of the explosion
was the ignition of the infiammable
mill dust floating in the air and the
consequent generation and explosion
of inflammable gases. Reports of eve
witnesses 80 to the pc wer and sudden
ness of the explosion are almost in
credible, An instant after the first
flash and explosion all the buildings
were wrapped in flames, showing the
air all around to be full of inflamma-
BILE gas.
STORY OF AN EYEWITNESS.
A. P. Linn, at first supposed to be
lost, gives the following account of
his experience: He was looking d.
rectly at the Washburn mill at the
time, and says the entire roof of the
great building shot upward like q
rocket envelOped in smoke and flame.
The immense walls seemed to raise
from their very foundations, and es-
pecially Oh the northerly side of the
building quivercd between heaven
and earth, and then fell outward with
deafening crash, and the ruins were
instantly enveloped in flames. He
did not observe any further explo-
sion, but the Diamond Humboldt
mill and the Minneapolis planning
mill crumbled and fell to the ground
instantly, and, as he believes, from
the shock and conclusion Of the explo-
sion in the Washburn mill, and at the
very instant of the explosion, as APP
peared to him, the mill company's Ell
evator below the Washburn was COM
pletely wrapped in flames.
All the books of the mills are buried
in the ruins, but some may be found
intact. The proprietors all say they
will rebuild at once, in time for the
new crop. Governor Washburn, of
| Wisconsin, will arrive Tomorrow to
take measures relative to his proper
ty. The other mills in the city num-
Der six, all comparatively small, with
one hundred and thirty runs Of stone,
Some are injured, but will be speedi-
ly perfected for work.
MINNEAPOLIS, May 3.-The only
bodies identified are those of Jacob
Rhodes, John Boyer and Charles
WILDER.
THE VALUE OF THE MILLS,