Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-02-26
Their Dreadful Doom.
Awful Fate Of a Party of Work
ing Girls.
PITILEss FURY OF THE FIRE FIENo
Eleven Young Women Caught in His
Terrible Embrace Without Pos
sibility of Succor

anu Nothing Lett Except CnrecOgntEabie
and CHASTITY Heaps OF Roasted Flesh
Horrible Result of an Explosion In q
"squib" Factory--One Male Victim
Notwithstanding Details of the Disaster
and Names of the Dead.
WILKEsBARRE, Pa, Feb 26-Eleven girls,
varying in age from Is 60 - years lost their
lives in Powell's Squib factory at Plymouth
yesterday afternoon. Powder sauibs are
manufactured at this place for tue use of
miners. The squib is sort Of fuse, which
is inserted in the drilled hole in the coal.
Girls are employed to make these squibs, be-
cause their labor is chea per, and they can do
the work more satisfactorily than men.
Powell's squibs are used in probably every
mine in the United States and Canada and
soma are exported to the English collieries.
When trade is good the factory employs
about eighty girls Lately, however, trade
has been somewhat slack, and last week part
of the machinery broke down, and the super
intendent was compelled to lay off forty Of
the girls.
Yesterday morning all hands reported for
work, but the machinery was not yet in Or
der, and all were sent home with the excep-
ton of about seventeen, who remained to do
some odd jobs When the IL o'clock whistle
blew, six of the girls who lived near by went
to their homes for their midday meal; the re-
mainder-eleven all told-ate their dinner at
the factory After all had dined the girls
adjourned TO an anteroom containing a
stove. Here they all sat and cbatted on va
rious topics. Maggie Lynch said she had an
invitation to social last evening Charles
Beatley had asked het to ACCOMPANY him,
and she said she guessed she would go All
the other girls urged her to do so, say ing she
would have good time What passed be-
tween the girls after this is not known
There the story stops short. Alice REESE who
carried dinner for two of the workers left for
her home after Miss Lynch had told of her
intention to 60 to the social
A few minutes before | O'Clock almost
starting up time, John Thomas who resides
near the factory, was sitting at table eating
his dinner, when a violent explosion shook
the dishes from the tabls At first he thought
1t was an explosion in the mines but looking
out of the window he saw the roof of the fac
tory shooting up in the air, and when it fell
back again the sides OF the building were fall
ing in. Then fire developed the debris, and in
ten minutes time the structure was reduced to
ashes. The speed of the flames was so rapid
that it was impossible for any one to enter
the wrecked building. The miners from the
Gaylord slope rushed to the burning building
and heroically attempted to pull away the
burning timbers so that they might enter and
possibly save the lives of some of the impris
IL l-,,r 81 IL
much Roadway, and the men were absolutely
powerless. When the firemen arrived they
found that their hose WAS not long enough to
reach the fire from the nearest water supply.
SO that they were also unable TO render ma
terial assistance.
When the fire finally died out for want of
material to feed upon, the bodies of the un-
fortunate girls were dug from the debris
Their heads, arms and legs were gone:
nothing remained but their charIed bodies
which were entirely unrecoSnizable, Miss
Maggie Lyuch's body being recognized only
by its large size. Thousands of persons had
gathered about the wrecked building, and
the piteous cries of the relatives of the dead
girls was heartrendIng All of the bones
that could be found were placed in blankets
and taken to Undertaken Williams estab-
isbment, where the relatives gathered and
vainly endeavored to recognize the charred
remains
The following is a complete list of those
who lost their lives: Katie Jones, aged 10;
Maggie Lynch, 81; Hattie Jones, TO; GLADYS
Reese, -; Mary Walters, II; Maggie Rich
ards Il; Mary Ann Lake, II; Ruth Powell,
20; Esther Powell Ia sister of Ruth, q;
Charlotte Humphreys, Il: Jane Ann HUI
mas, II
The only person in the building at the time
Of the explosion who remains to tell the story
Is Foreman Reese, and he is fatally burned.
He says he was standing by stove when
the first explosion was heard He rushed to
the door to notify the girls when several ex-
plosions occurred, and he next found himself
in the cellar. He managed to crawl out into
the open air, but is so terribly burned that he
can live but a short time
The cause of the explosion is not yet
known. Mr.. Powell says there was but
small quantity of powder in the building, a
magazine near by being used as storage
house. One theory is that box of squibs
became ignited from spontaneous combustion
and exploded.