The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1888-03-02

men and children who had relatives on
board of the i'll fated Julia were waiting
and wringing their hands as they rushed
around the wharf. The men on the
wharf were anxious TO aid, but there
seemed TO be but little to do, as most of
the passengers were below decks at the
time Of the explosion and were either
killed outright or drowned when the
waters poured in IN them. 1t had been
customary for all the passengers to go
below the decks in the morning,
as il was cold and fOggy.
\ few who were on deck and were not
rendered insensible by the force Of the
shock were quickly assisted on shore by
the people on the wharf. To add
TO THE INTENSITY OF THE SCENE,
large watts of petroleum stored on the
wharf caught fire and the flames spread
rapidly. The fire companies were unable
TO accomplish anything as there was no
water. owing to the tide being out and
fifteen minutes after the explosion about
six hundred feet of the wharf, freight de-
pot and the telegraph office were burning.
When the tide came in they managed to
get a supply of water and at noon had the
fire under control. While the firemen
and others were trying to save the wharf
a large number of bOatmen were rowing
around the wreck, seeking to recover the
bodies. Soon after The explosion occur
red the steamer had burned to the waters
edge and sank to the bottom with a great
aumber of victims burned under the de-
bris in the cabin. 1t is believed that be-
tween thirty and forty lives were lost. Up
to a late hour this afternoon twelve bodies
had been recovered, two of which were
burned beyond recognition. The names
of the other ten victims
ARE AS FOLLOWS:
MELVIN HODGES.
JOSEPH FRAGAS.
WV. SAMAN.
OLEF NELSON.
ALFRED MADISON.
MICHAEL BRANLEY.
JOHN BREVIOC.
WIN. STARK.
EDWARD RULE, and a man named
Higgins.
The names of probably more than half
of the passengers who were on the steamer
at the time of the explosion are not
known, which makes it impossible to tell
how many sunk with the wreck, but at
least fifteen who are known to have been
on the steamer are still missing. Capt.
Gedge, of the Julia, was severely injured,
as were also Chas. Heath, the pilot, and
twelve or fifteen others. The record of
the Julia is a bad one and this is not the
first terrible accident on the steamer. In
September, 1866, the head of her boiler
blew out, instantly killing nine of her
crew and scalding the clerk and another
officer of the boat that they fingered for a
few days. The cause of the disaster to-
day is not known.
UNRECOGNIzABLE REMAINS.
At 4 o'clock p. m. the coroner decided
to hold an inquest over the bodies that
had been rescued for the purpose of iden-
tifying them. II was no easy task as all
the bodies were more or less disfigured.
For instance ia one corner of the shed lay
a mass of human remains so charred that
it was impossible to identify them except
by scraps of clothing ON the body. Near
by lay another body, the skull cleft in
twain and the hands blown off. The face
of still another body was a mass of flesh
on account Of burns. Legs were broken
in several places. When the jury sus-
pended their labors, however, thirteen
bodies had been identified. The most of
the passengers on the Inflated boat were
day laborers. Had il been an hour later
several of the heavy capitalists of San
Francisco would have been on the boat as
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