Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-12-12
AGAIN SHAKEN.
Terrific and Mysterious ExplO
.rm sion in Chicago.
HALsTED AND FULTON STREETS THE
SCENE OF THE DISASTER.

The Oatmeal SIill of David Oliver and Two
Other Smaller Buildings Completely De"
molished-Three Men KilIed-The Cause
of tue Explosion Believed to Have Been
Oatmeal Dust.
CHICAGO, Dec. IA terrific explosion
shattered the building occupied by David
Oliver as an oatmeal mill, at the corner of
Halsted and Fulton streets, shortly after
midnight Monday night
The building instantly took fire, and with
the saloon of Charles Murphy, adjoining,
was mass Of flames.
1t is learned that but four i;.en wel EN-.
ployeaain Eae 1ffE. Ole % thaa8 NJ sapAll
and the other three were probably buried hi
the ruins. They were: Erust Cooper j.
Schmidt and G. Milles The only min hand
known to nave escaped intermcnt in the
ruins is John Holmes, vino was blown out Of
a window. He was seriously injured and
was removed to the county hospital
On the northwest cornor oe Fulton and
Hnlsied streets stood tNo-stnry basenenh
and frame building occupied by Charles
Murphy as saloon and residence. Next
nolGh on Halsted stood the two story frame
wagon shop and yard house Of Jacob Press
The next five lots were occupied by the OH.
yer mill, three-story and hign basement
building facing the street, and raised to four
stories in the rear.
On Fulton street, next to Murphv's saloon,
stood another large building owned by Press,
the wagon manufacturer. All these baill
ings were totally demolished, and the people
in the corner saloon building, the ouly build
ing with the exception of the mill occupied
by human beings, had an exceedingly nar.
row escape from death.
How the Murphy people escaped without
harm is remarkable. There were in the
toruer building, asleep, Charles Murphy, she
proprietor of the saloon, his father George,
his brother James, his mother aud three
children Lizzie, Joe and George--aged zen,
eight and six, respectively. They had hartit
been awakened by the reooyt of the explo-
sion when there came n t3h that al most
turned the building over . It's side
Tho family who occupied the upper fioar
We're thrown violently against the wall as
brick and timber came crashius through the
roof, crushing it in and throwing the build
ing over so that it sianted at an angle of
forty-fve degrees. The entire roof iinnledl
ately took fire, and then commenced fear
full struggle on the part ef the family Ia
escape from the wreck Pinned down by
Erent beams and hemmed in on every site
by debris Of every sort, tllis was difficult
n Charles Marahy ssjxsa lis iitsIe by vii y
wqs sleeping beside bin ~ as M 1Fsil
plnAlnr sstna. NV into ssf Il flNg
blinded By the smoke, 20 see II be was safe
AS she saw her son and grandchild she
tainted, and Mr.. Murphy had TO carry both
his mother and son down stairs and, after
considerable difficulty, make his way to the
street The rest OF the family escaped with
a few bruises.
The wagon factory adjoining the saloon
was also destroyed by the first shock. No
person was in the wagon shop, as far rs can
be learned, when the explosion took place
The explosion was q terrific one, and shat.
tered windows for blocks on either side IC
was heard all over the West Sids and in the
business districts Of the south division
The buildings destroyed are Nos G5 to ~
Halsted street. A large drying kiln is stu
nted Immediately in the rear of the oatmeal
mill and several fires originated there but it
is not thought likely that the explosion
could have originated from that source. No
estimation has vet heen made of the damage
which, however, will be heavy.
John Holmes, the man who was blown
out of the window, was found about sixty
feet away from the mill. He was lying on a
pile Of brick with his face fearfully manglel
ami his body a sickening mass of burns and
bruises
Adjoining the mill ut the west was two
story frame building occupied by n Lawson.
The ground floor was used as u restaurant
while on the floor above lived the restaurant
keeper, his wife aud baby, the cook and
waiter. Tho explosion threw ali these peo-
pie out of bed, stunning them for several
seconds When they recovered sufficiently
to make mn effort to escape they went to the
back gtairway, but it had been blown down,
and they were obliged to stay in the econd
story of the building until the fremen took
them out on ladders. The restaurant was
wrecked. A large hole WAS blown in the
roof, every window in the building was shat.
tered, the chimney was toppled over, doors
forced from their hinges, and the plastering
shaken to dust.
the streets for block in every direction
were strewn with debris of every sort. There
was not n whole pane of glass in any build
ing within a quarter of IA mile of the mill
Lake street for block east ani west of
hGlsted street WAS sprinkled with the glass
Of demolished windows Here and there the
panels of door were blown out This was
one of the curious features of the accident.
The glass and woodwork were pushed out
instead Of smashed in, rs one would natur-
allY e<Dect them to be-