The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-10-28
INTERESTING EVENTS.


INTERESTING EVENTS. : 1880
Five Wenen Burned 70 DeasA. y
CINCINNATI. October -
A FIRE resulting in the loss Of I'VE lives %.
CURED about eleven O'Clock to-day In the
shoddy-factory of BENJAMIN Hay, corner Of
Second and Broadway. The IRE caught from
creased rags falling upon the bales, and before
the engines could be brought to the spot the
whole building, owing to the inf1ammable
| character of its contents, was in flames.
Twenty girls and women, under the super
vision Of Mary Foren, the forewOman of the
sorting department, were at work In the sort
ing ana storage rooms on. 1.-The third floor.
| These women knew nothing Of the presenceof
| the fire until one of them saw smoke coming
| through the cracks in the floors. She at
| once called Fire" and started for the stair
case In the storage-rOOm. Most Of the women
at this time were in the storage-roOm, only
eight then being in the sortfngsroom. The
fOrewoman ran to the door between the two
rooms and told them the building was on FIRE,
and to hurry out Two of the eight immedi-
atey followed her, but the other six. anxious
to save their clothing, stopped to take on their
working dresses and put on those they wore
going to and from work. The consequence
was when they returned to go down the stair
case in the stOrage-rOOm they found
the flames had cut them of in that
direction. Then turning toward the
drying-room, all there was found to be in
flames. Their only chance was the windows.
Only two of the six reached that point alive.
Two, afterward identified as Mrs. Rachel Dog
gett and Mrs. Catherine Jackson, were sufto-
Gated by the smoke, and fell almost at the
threshold of the door through which they had
in vain endeavored to escape. Two others,
Miss Margaret Welsh and Miss Curran, fell
not more than ten feet from the window
which Mrs. Eliza Barrack and Mrs. Mary Lyon
reached alive. No sooner were their agOn-
lied faces seen at the window than a cry
of horror went up from the thousands
attracted to the vicinity by the fire. A num-
Der of citizens hastily rolled under the window
number of bales Of rags, and called upon the
women to jump. Mrs. Barrack, after turning
her head and looking back at the flames rap
idly increasing in volume, stepped upon the
windOw-sill and leaped down the forty or fifty
feet, lighting on the bales and IN striking
broke her left ankle. She was Immediately
picked up and carried to neighboring store,
whence she was sent to the hospital.
Mrs. Lyon, after seeing the accident
which had befallen Mrs. Barrack, stood
still in the window-sill and, in response
to o cry from Officer Burke to "Jump, for
Gods sake,'' was heard to say something
which sounded like mo; no; l cannot"
Then, turning, she rushed back into the flames,
and was seen no more until her dead and
charred body was found lying near those Of
her companions.
The general opinion is that the unfortunate
victims are to blame for the terrible tragedy,
the statements of the forewomen, many fire
men and the girl, Annie Madden who first gave
the alarm on this floor, being to the effect that
they had ample time to escape after the alarm
was given.
A Terrible Explosion I'm Chicago.
AHORRIBLE accident occurred in Chicago
on the evening of the 18th in the Garden City
| Distillery of Simon Powell s. Sons, situated in
| triangular tract of land at the intersections
of Twenty-second and Morgan streets and
CanalpOrt avenue The following account of
| the disaster is condensed from the Tribune:
| At seven o'clock in tho evening persons with
in a mile or two of the distillery were startled
| by loud rafting sound, followed by the roar
| ing hiss of escaping steam. One might have
| OWNED from the noise that some large boiler
had exploded. Those in the immediate vicin-
| ity ut the time of the explosion saw q large
| tank thrown many feet upwards in the air, and
| were almost deafened by the noise. The
| engine-room, boilerroom and q large shaving
bin were completely demolished. The cook
| ing room was an institution uncommon in dis
tilleries. 1t contained only large tank, eight
| cen feet high and six feet in diameter, which
| was apparently strongly built of double plates
| of boiler iron. This was termed the cooker"
| By new process it was used for the purpose
Of Fastening as well as improving distillation.
1t was filled yesterday. and the contents, after
| being subjected to twenty pounds steam press
ure, was considered ready for the mash-tub up
stairs in an adjacent building. Along about
| seven O'Clock it became necessary to blow
| out the contents. The operation was being
conducted by Theodore G: kimmen. the fore tore.
the ruins of the building: John or Andy DAILY,
Joseph Horaka and wife and jacob Kakuska:
Also the following, who were wounded and
scalded: George Schaefer, Henry Fischer,
| Henry Zum Feide. While tine engineer was
| the roof and went almost straight up into the
| air, some say until it looked no larger than a
| aOurbarrel. The main portion of it landed
feet west and little to the north Of it's orig
| tnal location. A considerable portion, to-
| gether with one end of it, was buried deep
and cooking rooms were completely demoi-
ished. The force of the explosion may readily
be imagined when 1t IS stated that freight
| on the track. and the fimhers and framework
| torn into shreds as il by lightning. The tim
bers and masonry Of the demolished build
n ny, togetner WIN tne large shaving
were nine.stems and were thrSxvn i ;nty
| tangled heaps. The employees beneath the
roof were, of course. buried beneath the de-
nrls. Inc scene az the dlstillery an hour after
ho,v vas the fsrst fn"nd and was o corr;e I ;1t
the office. The body Of SANDY. the miller.
was next found, and was laid side BY side with
Daly, Botn D0dies were badly mangied and SO
norribly scalded that the skin and portions
OF the hesh peeled on at the touch. A large
crowd soon gathered. among whom were
wan fne os ana Of crying and De
Day wne was among those VINO vlSted the
scene, and when she saw the dead body of her
husband ner gr1er became INCONSISTENCIES and
i was with great difficulty that she was taken
from me room 10 prevent ner from throwing
herself PROSTATE upon the disfgured remains:
those VINO mad none to mourn for might well
nave mourned Ior those Two poor, hard-w0rk-
ing men,. Daily leaves wife and three young
children IN destitute clrcumstances, and some.
wnere ~ the CITY scotch Sandy left = wife and
-FOUR Cn1lOfe0 C0OOSan0S OF miles from their