The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-06-02
CRUSHED TO DEATH.
Particulars Of the Fatal Disaster as
Baltimore.
Not So had as First Reported, but
bad EROugh-SiX Killed and
Three Seriously Hurt
The Cause.

BALTIMORE June 2. The handsome cheat
stone front warehouse, 81 South Gay street,
occupied by William E. Hooper & Sons, pro
prietors of the cotton mills at Woodbcrry,
Nd, and used by them as a storage ware
house, collapsed with a crash at ? o'clock p.
m, burying Mortimer Lithicum. James
Kelly, James and Eddie Bowen (colored),
Kenneth McIaa, Gildea Hook, Beuja-
min Greenwood, Walter Cochran, Henry
Sound and James Martin in the ruins.
Linthicum, Kelly McLea, Hook, and the
two Bowens, father and son, were killed
Greenwood, Cochran and Martin were seri-
ously hurt, while the others escaped with but
slight injuries The escape of any of the
above was miracle. The entire four floors
fell to the cellar without a moments warn
ing The spectacle presented after the dis
aster was appalling. Only portion of the
front wall was left standing, while the entire
interior of the building was filed with
debris The second story front room of the
building was occupied as an Office by Long
& Dugdale, dealers in fertilizers When the
crash came Benjamin Greenwood, the book
keeper; Gildea Hook, shipping clerk, and
Kenneth McLea, travelling salesman of the
firm, were sitting in the office conversing
Greenwood saw the ceiling part in the
middle and called 10 the others to
run for their lives. The alarm was
needed instantly, but none succeeded in
escaping. Greenwood got as far as the front
window, when he was pinioned by falling
timber; only his head was visible.
The firemen, upon arriving at the scene,
went to work with a will to extricate the vic
hr ha hn
The dangerous condition of the wall left
standing made them proceed with great eau
ton. The first person gotten out was Walter
Cochran. His two hands were seen protrud
ing from the debris. The firemen cut away
among the falling timber and found the in
sensible body OF Cochran lying near the stair
way leading to the upper floor; his injuries
were not serious but painful The attention
of the flremen was then directed to young
Gree nwood, who was imprisoned at the win
dow. The sun was glowing down on his un-
covered head, and the heat and dust aggra
waited his terrible sufferings. Though a
heavy beam was across his back, and his
lower limbs were wegged fast by bricks,
mortar, and timber, he bore up heroically
for an hour or more, when his sufferings be-
came so intense that he cried out: "For
Gods sake take an ak and kill me. cannot
stand this agony any longer" This made
the fireman work more vigorously. Liquor
was poured down the poor fellows
throat and his head bathed with water This
appeared to revive him, and he directed the
fireman as to how to rescue him. Owing to
the fact that only three men could stand on
the window-sill and work at the task it was
not until after two hours hard work that
Greenwood was released from his perilou'
position, when he was removed to his home
He is seriously injured internally.
Nothing further coul be done from The
street toward rescuing the other victims
and it was found necessary to cut a hole
through the wall of the adjoining warehouse
When this was accomplished egress was hat
to the counting-room of Hooper's building
A fremen went through the hole and founC
Henry Sound, cashier for Hooper & Sons
imprisoned against the wall in the office
Upon seeing the fireman, Sound cried out
"For Gods sake, save me; the others arr
dead" He referred to Kelly and Lithicum
who were in the office when the wall fell
Sound was taken out and found to be only
slightly injured. A heavy cross beam formed
sort of barrier for the falling timber. After be
ing rescued he said he heard the piteou
groans of Lithicum and Kelly, and that tn
former at length said: "Good-by, Sound,
am going fast" After brief period bot
ceased to be heard, and he knew they wer
dead
The firemen found the mutilated bodies o
both clerks crushed behind the stove Thei
faces bore evidence of intense suffering. TIL
body of the colorsd boy, James Bowen, wa
found near the office door. The bodies O
Gildea Hook and Kenneth McLea have NO
yet been recovered. Young Greenwood say
neither uttered sound after the building
fell, and their deaths must have been il
Simultaneous. The body of the colored driver
Edward Bowen, can be seen in the debris, bu
it was impossible to recover it, owing to til
darkness compelling the firemen to ceas
work until morning Samuel johnson leo
ored) and q colored man named Moulto
are missing, and it is thought they also ar
buried in the building, as they were bot
seen inside few minutes before the di!
aster.
The escape of Mr.. Thodore Hooper, Jr
member of the firm, was II miraculous ont
He had a moment before left the center c
the warehouse and was going toward th
rear end when the sound of the falling wa
heard and he ran out of the building an
escaped with slight injuries.
The cause of the disaster is not defiuitel
known Some attribute it to the immens
quantity of cotton stored on the fifth story {
the warehouse, which forced out the fror
wall. Others say that it was caused by tn
explosion of the air-chamber of the hydrauli
elevator The loss is estimated at abou
s5O,00O which falls principally upon th
Deford estate, who own the builing. Hope
e. Sons loss will not amount to large sun
as their stock, which consisted mostly of col
ton, raw and manufactured, was not injured