Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-03-08
FRleHrFuL CRASH.


nearly completed Midland Hotel, corner OF
Seventh ard Walnut streets and Grand
avenue stopped for. the noon hour TO day
and the worlzmen had dropped their TOOLS
preparatory TO eating their midday meal. a
large section of the outer walls and the
roof came crashing Tn the basement withz
out preliminary warning OF any KIND ~
the time of the accident there were sixty
men at work In the building, scattered over
the different stories.
The first intlsaation OF the catastrophe was
a loud crack followed, without the space or
Il second intervening, by the dropping OF
bricks and pieces of thing and then roar
or debris that sounded, according 10 one OF
the workmen like a mighty ard steady
cataract.
The CONSERVATION was great. Some OF
the men, who were at work on the second
floor, did not wait to consider matters oot-
dashed across the tile floor and plunged
through the windows, taking glass, sash
and all in their flight Others smashed the
window sashes outward with the first
thing they could lay hands on, crawled
through and hanging by their hands
dropped 10 the ground below. .-
The portions OF the roof aud wall that fell
were on the middle and narrowest part OF
the hotel fronting on Seventh street and
connecting the Walnut street and Grand
avenue portions. Its rear walls formed the
north side of the glass rooted court.
The scene OF the wreck on the inside net
five minutes after the accident was almost.
indescrlbable. The court had been arched
over with a roof of glass and iron. The
glass was half an inch thick, and IS tech
nicaliy known as sliced" roofing. Hardly:a
square yard OF il was left in the huge iron
frames, many of which were bent and
twisted. Car loads of broken tile, terra
Gotta, iron, brick and glass Uttered the in
terror, and above all lowered choking,
white dust that slowly began to settle
downward.
In an incredibly short space OF time the
fire and police departments had taken pos
session Of the building and the injured men
were at once taken care OF. The foremen
Of the different gangs in the meantims had
been consulted and the fremen with hooks
and long handled shovels began vigorously
to clear away the debris in search Of the
missing people, of whom there were two or
three
Charles Burch, the foreman of the terra
Gotta gang, was at work on the second floor
when the accident occurred. Several OF
his men made their escape through win
hows, but Burch was not so fortunate.
When he heard the fall, for a moment he
imagined, like others, that it was the
bursting of a boiler, but he entertained
this idea for q second only. Burch
was standing near the north SIDE OF the
building right where the wall weakened
and a number OF bricks and mortar fell
upon HIM. His left leg was broken, and he
was unable to move. Sieve raj Of his fellow
workmen soon disco vered his predicament
and removed the debris from the lower
part of his body. He was at once removed
to the Office Of a physician at Seventh and
Main, where his wounds were attended to.
Peter Larson stair builder, work
ing on the second floor of the building.
When he heard the sound of falling brick he
ran rapidly towards window 10 make his
escape AS the brick and mortar fell
through from the third floor he rushed to-
ward it and was seen no more. 1t
whether or not he had been
crushed, and hasty search mas made Tor
him among the many groups of frightened
workmen or the outside, but he was not
found. A messenger was dispatched to his
boarding house at Eighth and Grand
avenue, but he had not returned.
At 2:30 O'Clock this afternoon Frank Edi-
son, a young carpenter employed on the
building, had not been found. He was On
the second floor when the walls caved and
was seen 40 more. Messengers were at
once dispatched to his home, 1923 East
Eighteenth street, and to the homes OF sew
eral of his friends in the city, but no one
had seen the young man.
The list of victims is as follows: Missing
wife at 142S East Eighteenth street.
Probably fatally injured-John o. Brien,
plumber, Of Chicago, fracture of the skull
and badly cut about the head and face;
Charles Burch, foreman Of the terra Gotta
workers, left leg broken two places. hip
joint dislocated, two RIBS broken, and pos
sible spinal injuries.
Seriously hurt-James Hunt, gravel
rooGer, two ribs broken. cut and bruised;
Thomas Sigman, gravel roofer. hand
crushed, shoulder blade broken and cut
and bruised about the shoulders and body;
Thomas Evans, terra Gotta worker, posi-
bic internal injuries.
The exact loss ON tho building can not at
present be estimated. Chief Hale, who
had investigated the damaged building
pretty thoroughly stated TO a reporter that
he supposed the loss to the hotel people
would amount to about $4,000
DEATH IN THE SEWER.
KANSAS CITY, Mo, March. L-Thomas
KeeIy and James Winn, two laborers, were
killed by the caving in Of the partially con-
structei sewer at independence and Pros
pect avenues shortly after three o'clock
yesterday afternoon. Keely was a widower
and leaves three small children. Winn was
a single man. Keely and Winn were work
ing together, utterly unconscious Of dam
ger, when the north side of the ex-
cavatlon, under the pavement, caved
in. Both men were knocked off their feet
and buried, VIM falling beneath Keely.
couple of other Iaborers saw the earth
slide and ran to the assistance of their COM
panions. Shovels were quickly procured,
and in a short time Kelly was reached
Enough OF the earth had been removed to
allow him to breathe, and he was beginning
TO talk to his rescuers, when a second cave
in, larger than the first, occurred. Keely
was buried under three feet OF
earth, and the men who were irving
10 save him narrowly escaped.
Tho excavation was so small that
only two men could work in it, and al
though they worked heroicaIly. 1t was fully
twenty minutes before Keely was reached
a second time. When he was taken out
and placed in a patrol wagon which had
nean snrn unrrad hfa Yr1l "a in