Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-04-23

row over the pane of glass was in progress
when / went in l heard no explosion lust
before the building fell-heard no unusual
noise would estimate that there were about
twenty-five people in the saloon when the
building fell.
Frank A. Daroux, engineer Of steamer No.
l, sworn The alarm came in at 1915; was
at the fire about two minutes after the alarm
came in; am familiar with the Grand Army
Hall building helped to get tbs men out of
the building; got the engine started, and
than heard two distinct crashes, as if two
heavy bodies had fallen went to the build
ing, and assisted by officer jackson and 9TH
ers we got out six or seven men, some OF
whom got up and walked of. The first body
found was that of Hitzenberger the second
was that of an old manswho was afterward
learned to be Brelsford. The side walls ap-
peared to be unsafe, and Coroner Clark and
Chief Karcoer ordered US out; I went home
and changed my clothes and then went back
and found Oliver Jackson digging in the de.
bris for dog l assisted him, and then went
home and went to bed. Next morning we
found Lawrence Miller first; he
was under the floor, and it took
long time TO get him out
had to cut the roof first and then the floor
HOPPE was between the floor and the roof
! Rsdemacher was covered with mortar and
brick, and there did not appear to be any
timbers on the body; all the dead men were
nearer to the west side than to the east, ex.
cepting Brelsford, who was nearer the east
side, and the furthest one toward the rear.
| They all appeared as though the men were in
the act of going out of the room. Brelsford
appeared to have been trying to get under
the billiard table, and portion of the table
was on his head. l could walk under the
! floor, which reclined against the east wall, by
stopping little; the roof was broken in the
center in the fall; the debris was on top of
the roof, near the center heard no report,
| but heard Two sounds, as of two separate
bodies falling; it was about ten minutes sitter
we got stream On before the crash; the
crash sounded like two distinct bodies fall
l ing and not like an explosion: it may have
been ten minutes after the alarm before I
heard the reports.
John Miller, of Fritz & Miller, was sworn
for the purpose Of identifying the remains of
the victims
W. T. McFadden, of the Union House,
sworn: Thomas p. Bresford is the name of
the old man who was killed in the accident
Friday morning he cana TO the hotel in No
vember, 1881; judge he was about % or 80
has no relatives that l know of; he was o
machinist, employed in the railroad shops.
Officer Jackson, sworn: I.helped to exca-
vate the bodies from the debris we took out
say ten men alive; the bodies were all facing
toward the front Of the building; think
Daroux was mistaken about Miller having
been under the floor i; all that were alive were
taken out from the east side of the building;
the dead bodies were either all in the center
or on the west side; in my opinion the west
side went down first; there was about twenty
feet Of wall above the roof of the saloon
building; l heard some one say that the mu-
sicians rushed for their horns when the first
alarm came.
w. f. Knox, sworn Examined the wreck
the morning after the accident; saw G.. A. r.
Hall when building it was 3 cheap building,
with S-inch walls /; the buildings on both
sides of the saloon were built after the saloon;
the second story of the hall building was
built on top Of the frs.wall of the saloon
that wall fell and broke off just at that
point proper construction did not require the
| fire-wal to be torn down before being built
on the cement should be scraped off first, or
in case Of the wall falling it would break off
on that line the mortar was such as is used
| in cheap buildings; can't satisfy myself as to
the cause of the falling; it looks to me like
there must have been an explosion to force
the walls there were no anchors, and when
the wall fell it made clear break the joists
were 3x12 and were put in with view of
adding second story; the falling wall broke
the joists near the west side, and could not
| have been forced down unless they had been
| broken; il was not the kind OF O wall to
stick together in chunks when it fell; if
there had been an explosion the wall would
have been carried out together; it evidently
came out together if it were otherwise some
of the bricks would have been found in the
hall /; there were no anchors at ell in the wall
saw no evidence of an explosion saw no in
dications of water in the hall saw small
opening where the fire had burned through
the walls were built with straight Joints. 60
as not to interfere in settling with the adioin-
ing building there could have been 10 lar
by the number in the saloon compared with
the dancing which has taken place in the
/ hall if any jar would throw the wall down,
dancing in the second story would be more
] likely to do 1t than the movements in the sa-
loon nearer to the ground; colored brick
layer and a carpenter named Harris built
Grand Army Hall. It was noticed by me.
chanics at the time that the building was
cheap affair didn't consider the building
safe one; if it had been anchored az the
corners it would have been safer; it looks as
though there had been some conclusion or
explosion to throw the wall out, but
| what made it fall | can not saw
a disturbance in the saloon could not have
shaken the wall Of the hall building. The
saloon building was built twenty years ago.
and the hall building in 1865 or 1869; the
tirnbers in the saloon building were not
rotten, and the floor could not have been
broken through by the peopls ia the saloon.
n. Fisher sworn: There was a portion of
the property of the Knights of Homer Lodge
under the stage, and some of it was burned;
! was the last man to leave the building on
Thursday night, and it is my business to shut
up the room aud put out the light. l put it
| out that night The fame which had been
under the stage could not have entered from
the floor. There were no explosives in the
room, aud there was no sign of an explosion
having taken place. The only evidence that
there had been any water in the room was
that a little hay under the building was
damp, but the floor was not wet. l left
about one hour and half before the accident
There were % or 80 people there, but there
was no dancing. There could have been no
explosion OF sewer gas, for there is no wsysfor
it to get into the building am satisfied that
the gas was shut off that night.
J. J. KeegaD sworn: Saw the fire from my
room in the Metropolitan building. About
the time the fire was put out there was
fash Of light from the rear portion of Army
Hall, and Immediately after the wall fell.
The fire came out under the caves with
cracking sound, and was followed by dull
boom. This was about ten minutes after the
FIRE started. The alarm was not turned in
| very soon.
w. II. n. Wiley was sworp, and testified
| to having found that some CT the furniture OF
the Knights of Honor, which was under the
stage in the G. A. r. Hall, had been burned.
he was with Mr.. Fisher when the gas was
shut eff in the evening, and is positive that
il was turned off.
| w. +. Bsteman sworn: Have charge Of
Grand Army Hall; the upper portion has a
separate gas meter; the hsll is used on Mon
day evening by the Foresters, on Tuesday
evening by the Verein. Eintrscht, on Wednes-
day evening BY lodge of Chosen Friends
on Thursday evening by the Knights of
Honor, on Friday evening by lodge Of
Chosen Friends, on Saturday evening
by Sumner Post, G. A. R.. and on
Sunday evening by the Land League
there are three windows in the rear of the
hall the stage comes half way up the win
dows; the panes sra all intact heard alarm
80, and got up, but could see no IRE ); soon
heard crash I went down to the G. A. E
Hall and into the hslI which was full of