Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-01-17

headquarters cannot definitely estimate
the total loss, but it will reach at least
half million.
lFrom the Evening" Wisconsin, january H.
During last night crowds of people
visited the corner of Broadway and
Michigan Street to view the ruins of the
Newhall House. The tall shafts of the
shattered walls loomed up in awful
grandeur in a cold, cherries atmos-
phere heavily freighted, the greater
part of the time, with skurrying snow
flakes. The air was thick and heavy
and the night gloomy, an exceedingly
appropriate night to follow such an APP
palling calamity. This morning by
daybreak crowds began to blockade
both Michigan Street and Broadway
in the vicinity of the ruins. The
work of removing the
sIOULDERING MASS OF RUBBISH
has been in progress since quite an early
| hour. The crowd has been kept back
from the space occupied by the work
men by eleven policemen, in charge of
| Chief Wason and Lieut.. Jansen. 4
force of one hundred and twenty-five
men are engaged in the work of clearing
away the debris piece by piece So that
| efficient service may be done the men are
| divided into gangs under the ward fore
men, and the whole is supervised by
| Captain O'Connor. The fremen did
not cease pouring into the pyre streams
of water clear and cold, until late last
night The mass is still sizzling and
smoking. Chief Lippert, AS
sistant Black and Foreman Rie-
mer had their men at work with a
large quantity of heavy rope and tackle,
pulling down the jagged walls, which in
three instances lowered for hundred
feet skyward and quivered with the
| breeze, placing the workmen in i'm.
minent danger of being crushed to
death. Several exciting scenes ensued,
| but the walls were dOWned with a rever-
| berating crash, without the slightest in
| jury to single soul. When the bricks
fell they covered the ropes so densely as
to require the combined efforts of
hundred men, with the advantage of
leverage, to dislodge them, and then
only with great exertion Citizens free.
" gave aid and volunteers for anything
were forthcoming at the slightest APP
peal.
SEARCdlNG tOR N1CIlMS.
They are hunting for two poor girls
| at the southeast corner there" was the
murmur which ran through the crowd
at about 1870 o'clock, and all eyes were
turned in that locality. A WISCONSIN,
reporter forced his way to the corner,
and found such to be the case. Some
one had said he witnessed two poor
! things jump at that corner just as the
wall came down. But owing to the mass
of refuse being much heavier there, the
work proceeded slowly. Detective Han
nifin said: "Most of the bodies are In
the northwest and southeast portions of
the ruins. Here they focked and were
crushed down by the falling roof. Some
of them no doubt are not burned
at all, or much, simply suffocated
and crushed beneath the preponderance
Of falling tlmbers." Chief Lippert was
sought and found in the midst of the
ruins. There must be dozens of bodies
In here" he said, pointing to a space
| between four walls. This was a yard
which was surrounded by those walls,
and into this pit the unfortunates leaped
in scores. But it will take long time
to get at them with this force of men,
| although there are 140 at work.
At least 500 more men should
be put to work and they should be tear
ing out this stuff from the west side, in
| the alley there. All the timbers are
| burning below, and if it wasn't for that
all this mass would freeze and then it
would be next to impossible to
get it out. a WISCONSIN re-
porter delved among the seething
SMOKING MASS OF BRICKS,
timbers and charred scraps. Here and
there, where the density was not so pro-
nounced, the smoke would issue from
the small assures, curling up through
the air in graceful turns, and proving
the assertions that heated furnace
ragged below. Like a miniature world,
rough and smooth, rolling and full of
ravines, the mass presented plenty for
deep meditation. There mound COW
cred with CLASSY facing of ice and at
another place a broken pile of frozen
| bricks. Here stood the vault. here