The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-04-15
Crush Several WOrkmen Employed In
Braeing Them Up-The Guilty
Contractor Makes His
Escape.
Great Excitement Around the
Debris Several Of the Wound
ed Taken Out
FALL OF TENEMENT BUILDINGS.
a Half Hundred WOrkmsn Were Brace
ing Them Up at the Time-Great
Exei5emont-Many Taken
TO the Hospital.

tenements, on the south side OF West Sixty
second street, between Tenth and Eleventh
avenues, that had recently bsen put under
roof, fell this afternoon while efforts ere
being made to brace them up, that the
yielding foundation might be made secure.
The wreck wss complete, not stick
remained standing, not a timber re-
msined whole in the entire row. Half
a hundred workmsn were at work in or
about the buildings at the time. At least
thirteen of them were injured, none fatally.
1t was said soon after the accident ths.
twenty persons were baried il the ruins,
bat up tc late hour nobody had
beea found. The exctemont about
The place was SO gTest that il Was dif-
fcUlt to obtain any reliable information
as to who might have been lost, but the
gangs of vorkmen engaged in searching for
remains found no clue to any object of their
search. The most superficial examination OF
the debris showed the cause OF the disaster
10 be wreiched workmanship and poor ma
teriAl. The mortar contsined little or no
sand, but loan or mud instead, and
was wholly unit for USE This aud
the fact that the building had been erected
during the cold weather OF wet aud frozsn
bricks were directly the cause OF the COL
lapse. The builder, Charles a. Buddensick,
who was responsible, left the neighborhood
ID q carriage Immediately after the disaster
and drove to bis residence, in East Seventy
seventh street. Where he went from there
nobody could learn. The police, who ar
rested the master bricklsyer, Charles
Frank, eculd rot find the builder
BGddepsick has been for years
III trouble with the authorities on
account Of the skin" buildings he has put
Up. The 'idencs given by Frank and
Charles S1sger, another bricklsyer, is very
damaging to MI. Buddensick. The erection
OF the building had been going on since last
December, during sn the cold weather. Ths
fourth story walls showed weakness in
sudden thsv before the fifth story was
Tesched, and had to be taken down.
Workmen were forbidden to carry
hcne scraps Of timber left By the
carpenters. By the builders order they
were to be used in filing the walls to save
bricks, which were sometimes put in BY
aTmiuls. When a good tbaw set in, the
walls began 70 weaken, and steps were taken
TO brace them up from both ends, so that
they would stick together until the roofs
could be put on and the end walls b1iIt.
They stood for week or two without 80
far SIS could be sscertained, exciting the
curiosity Of the building department. The
besvy warm rain of yesterday morning com.
ple;ed the work begun by the thaw. This
morning il was seen the three houses
st the west end we're about to fall.
The founoa ion bad b1lged noticeably
and the walls were shsky. Bnildsr
Bsddensick's attention was called to the fact,
and lie set men 10 work upon the walls and
eighteen carpenters we're st work on this
when the crash came. There were roofers,
painters, fathers and plumbers. numbering.
perhaps, thirty, at work about the premises
al the .ime. Fifty men bad been laid of,
as some material had not arrived. About
3.I5 p n. a shout o. warning went up
that brought pale faces to many windows.
The end building toward Eleventh avenue
was seen to totter and then fall with thun-
deTous noise. Both foundations and SIDE
walls had fallen out. and the body OF
the house, deprived of its support, fell
to the cellar. Tie building adjoining 1t,
having nothing to lean upon, fell next.
Then tbs whole row followed, like a line OF
card houses. A continuous rosr followed
that seemed to last many minutes. as one
after the other Of the tall buildings went
down. Workmen In buildings for blocks
around, and reopie living on the streets for
half mile about we're startled by ths noise
and shock and in very short time the To-
ealitY Of the wrecks was packed
with excited people. whose threats OF venge-
sDce on the reckless builder filed the air.
When the heavy clouds OF dust had cleared
away, the people looked upon q heap of
broken bricks and timbsrs, piled only few
feet above the level of the street, men
with broken limbs and bruised faces were
struggling out from under the wreck, and
dragging themselves painfully away. Shrieks
ard groens we're heard from one or two
places, and to these spots the people rushed
Firenen and sll available ambulances were
Summoned. People from all paris Of the city
fccked there. The Roosevelt Hospital an
balances were first on the ground, and car-
ried away niRe OF the wounded. C0mmis-
sioner Brennan, of the Charities Depart
ment, undertook to direct the
work Of rescue, and Building In
spector D. Oench, OF the Fire
Commissioners did work in the same direo-
ton. -Four heck and ladder companies and
the crews of three engine companies set TO
work to remove the debris A large gang of
workmen was pressed into service and In
fifteen minutes the labor of rescue was well
under wEy. Night had set in before the ef-
forts were relaxed ct ell. One or two Of
the workmsn thought they heard 9
cry for help, but no person was
found at either time. Near o. clock Fire
Chief Rec yes thought he heard groans under
the heap st the rear OF the second building.
Gangs went to work front and rear. At 7:30
hole lsrge enough for fireman and two
others 10 grope their way to the cellar was