Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-08-24
DEALT DEATH AROUND.
AN EXPLOSION AT A FIRE KILLS
FOURTEEN PEOPLE.

Deadly Accidents.
NEENAH, Wis, Aug 4-By an explosion |
in Writings paper mill early yesterday |
morning fourteen persons We're killed and |
number of others more or less seriously in |
ured. The disaster, which was one of the |
most terrible that ever occurred in this part |
of the country, has produced the greatest |
excitement among the people, and unbound |
ed sympathy for the sufferers and the |
friends of the killed. The particulars are as
follows: Writings paper mill, which is sit
uated on the island which lies in the Fox
river between Menasha and Neenab, was dis |
covered to be on fire about II 30 Wednesday
night. In response to the ringing of the fire
bells about 800 people congregated to witness
the eonflagration Efforts to extinguish the
fire We're unavailing. and in three quarters
of an hour the entire structure was envel-
oped in flames. At this juncture a terrible
explosion occurred, and for a moment the air
was filled with flying bricks, timber, pieces
of machinery and human beings. For
a second every one was paralyzad
with terror, and instinctivelv started to seek
safety in flight; then, realizing that the dan
ger was over and called to a sense of their
duty by the heart-rending cries of the in
jured, they set energetically about extricat-
ing the killed and MANNED from the debris
The scene was most sickening, for the dead
most of them, We're distigured almost beyond
recognition, and the wounded were horribly
mutilated in some instances. By the light of
torches the entire vicinity was quickly ex-
plored and fourteen dead and fifteen or
twenty wounded were discovered As soon
as possible the Injured were taken into the
houses near by or to their homes and medi
cal assistance summoned The bodies of the
dead were taken TO the city hail. one of the
| rooms OF which was temporarily trans
| formed into a morsue for their reception.
A full list of the dead is as follows: John
Mohr cooper, unmarried, head almost
blown off; Gilbert Mericle, skull broken,
| leaves wife and five children; Michael
Muntner, head blown off and arms broken,
leaves wife and six children; f. Sandover
skull, legs and arms broken. top of head torn
off, lerves a wife and on, child; John Weber,
skull broken, top of head gone, leaves a wife
and four children; Louis Resch, both legs
smashed, top of head gone, leaves a wife and
three children; William Bublize, Jr,
struck in breast; Jacob Vetter, skull
smashed, leaves wife and five
children; John Hoffman, skull broken and
legs gone, part of his body was found in
crotch of tree leaves a wife and three chill
dren; H. kneke, mangied terribly, leaves a
wife and two children; Dick Schiller, badly
mangled, single; j. Eul mangled, single;
Joseph Bruergin. skull crushed, single; s.
| Liebhauser, skull broken and face torn of,
single
Those who received such injuries as will
probably end in death are as follows: Thomas
Jourdain, hip crushed by being hit by bear
ing of rotary; Myron Fisher, one leg and
foot broken and internal injuries; Carl Schif-
fer, arm broken; August Heckner, head
badly injured; Willis krause, leg broken;
John Schmitzer, side injured; Michael Zemo-
loski, bruised badly
A number of women and children who
were standing south of the mill received
slight injuries by being hit with flying debris
from the explosion,
One of the most heartrending scenes was
! this: Among the most active searchers for
| bodies were two young men They found a
body beneath some debris which required
considerable time and effort to remove.
When at last the body was drawn out one OF
the young men recognized it as that of his
t own brother. Richard Schiller, one of the
killed, was TO have been married in few
weeks to Miss Landgraf, an estimable Young
5 lady of this city. She had her bridal trous
> seau all in readiness for the marriage She
| is nearly crazad with grief None of the ill.,
jured-are reported dead so far.
Drivers OF ambulances which were taking
3 dead bodies away from the scene wert
5 stopped every few rods by people who vert
: anxious to know if they contained any Of
, their friends or relatives Every one who
4 had any relatives missing was anxious t.
find out If they were safe One of the besi
l. known citizens who WAS injured was Thoma
Y Jourdaln Of Menasha He has been a resi-
s dent there about thirty years, and has helC
o many public offices, among them chief o.
d police and street commissioner Dr. Griffin
+ who attended him, said that Mr. Jourdain'
e injuries, although very bad might not prov,
d fatal MIR, Whiting, the owner of the mill
:, drove to the scene of the explosion, but at tn
n sight of the dead bodies became sick and hac
4 to be taken home A curious incident wa
g the killing of SIX barrel coopers who wer,
standing in group talking to each other
n and they were all employed in the same shop
i that of the Menasha Woodenware company
|
d the shop.
9 The explosion WAS of a large bleach of re
tary. which was an iron cylinder twenty
four feet long and seven and one-half feet i
10 diameter and weighing about six tons
VI was used in cleansing the rags used in paper
: making and was kept rotating when filled
with three tons or more rags, water and Gel
~ tain strong chemicals 1t is believed tina
Is the action of intense heat upon these chen
d icals caused the explosion. 1t is not know
just how the mill caught fire in the fir.
70 place, but the superstition is that spar
Is from the engine caused it. At all events til
70 fire started in the engine room. The o.
l. pIosion blew the huge piece of iron throug
10 the mill in a southeasterly direction over tt
d top of the paper mill Office, striking fir
D. about $50 feet from the mill on the railros
t. track, and then taking another jump an
,r landing in a potato patch about $50 fet
Y from where it struck first, or distance
" 200 feet from where it was stationed in ii
e mill
:, OF the crowd of spectators watching ii
lie fire when the explosion occurred, about thirt
d stood near tramway close to the railros
IN track, in the very spot where the rotary fir
landed, and it was there where most we
killed and badly wounded. Close to the mi
stands the wooden Office, or what remains
in it. One corner of this was struck by the f
to ing rotary and completely knocked OFF Aft
e. smashing the Office the flying rotary strut
II. the side-tracks of the Northwestern and Ce
rs trail roads, $50 feet distant where maj
spectators had congregated to watch the fir
1T Without warning the immense mass Of ire