Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-02-27
DEATHS HARVEST.

DEATHS HARVEST.
Mysterious Explosion Wrecks tho Park
Central Hotel In Hartford, Conn.-The
Ruins Take Fire-Escape Being Cut Off
from Thirty to Forty Lives Arc LOST
Many Persons Wounded.
HARTFORD, Conn.,, Feb 19.-Just before
dawn Monday morning the Park Central
Hotel, at High and Allyn streets, filed with
sleeping people, was shattered by force
not yet ascertained, and in the darkness
and ruin men, women and children
were crushed and manned and burned
by flames The people, awakened by
the great noise OF On explosion,
the crash of falling walls and timbers the
screams of women and of 1uen, hurried to
the scene and found upon the site of the
hotel huge pile of stone and brick and
splintered timbers, from which arose
white clouds OF steam, streaked and
blackened by wreathes Of smoke
that rapidly grew dark and blacker and
more dense. Then tongues of fame leaped
here and there from out the ruin and grew
holder and more strong until the ruin was
a roaring furnace The clamor of fire bells
added to the excitement, and soon
a throng of people rushed to the
ruins and, nerved by cries and means and
wild screams coming from the ruins,
strong arms began the work of res
cue. Streams OF water played upon the
flames, and steam for O time hid the ruins
from sight, but the daylight grew apace and
soon the helpers could see, behind the
ruin, the annex to the building, which had
housed the help Of the hostery and
which had been spared A portion
of the tier of rooms at the rear of the
main building had remained standing, but
the partitions had been torn away and
the rooms were open to the air. The floors
OF many of them, partly giving way had
tumbled out the occupants and furniture
upon the confused heap below The explo-
sion had demolished the staircase of this
annex, but the frightened employees were
safely taken out by the aerial ladder.
The magnitude Of the calamity can not
be realized, and in fact its extent is not
yet known. The register of the hotel is not
yet found, and Night Clerk Perry is buried
In the ruins But from the best estimates
that can be procured from the land
lord and others It is probable
that there were not far from fifty
people in the hotel proper OF these, per
haps five have escaped uninjured, leaving
forty five to be accounted for. Ten are In
the hospital, and up to II p. M sixteen dead
bodies have been. taken from the
ruins, leaving nineteen still missing.
But there may be several more than
this Mr.. Andrew F. Whiting, actuary
OF the Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance
Company; Rev. DR.. Lavallette Perrin, agent
OF the Memorial Hall Association, and wife.
and Edward Perry, the night clerk, are
known to be still in the ruins
The complete list of the bodies tax en- out
up to 1l:3O p. m. is as follows:
Dwight A. Buell., a jeweler at Hartford:
George Games, colored porter of the hotel; J..
George Enger. drug clerk of Hartford; John
w. Housman, traveller for the Revere Rubber
Company OF Boston, j. c. HILL OF Buffalo, N,
Y. supposed to be commercial traveller; Louis
II, Bronson, secretary OF the Hartford Stove
and Plumbing Company, his wife and child; ;
George ketchum, brother OF the landlord ;
Eddie Ketchum. aged II, son OF the landlord;
George W. Root. OF Brockport, N. Y, traveller
for White, Williams Co., Boston; A. II. Tlilot-
son, traveller for the Merr.ll Chem cal Com
pany OF C nc matt; Macmillan Galody, pro-
pr etor OF the Hartoforu Herold, and W .fe; Mrs
Andrew F. Whiting, her body was burned to
crisp. Two unknown persons are among the
dead.
The victims at the hospital are all doing
well, most of the injuries being superficial,
although all are suffering from chill and
exposure. They number ten.
AS soon as the ruins had cooled sufficient
ly to admit of exploration the work was be-
gun. The first person rescued was George
Gaines, the colored porter. He was badly
injured and died soon after being taken
out At about 7 o'clock Superintend-
emit Lawrence, of the street depart
ment, appeared upon the scene with a
large gang of laborers, and the search wac
prosecuted with renewed activity Helen
Leport, Of New Britain, and Jennie Decker,
OF KNOXVILLE, were soon rescued COMPARE
lively un1n ured and sent to the
hospital Jacob B. Turpin, colored
barber, was also taken out early in
the morning. Rachel Cramer jumped
from window, breaking her leg.
The recovery of the bodies was slow
owing to the immense accumulation of
debris but at nearly regular intervals one
or two bodies were found during the after
noon. When claimed by friends they were
delivered to undertakers The city has
provided caskets, etc. for the bodies not
yet claimed AS a rule the corpses bore but
slight marks Of fire, the victims dying
either from suffocation or bruising.
The catastrophe was devoid of the har-
rowing details, the hair breadth escapes and
the thrilling rescues usually attending such
disasters. One terrible crash, smoke, flames
embarrassing streams of water, and all was
over For this reason the community does
not feel tumultuous grief, but is horror
stricken. The disaster simply overwhelms
The ause of the disaster was undoubted-
ly the explosion of the boiler in the base
ment. This boiler, of l6-horse-power, was
built by the Pitkins, Of this city, in 1882
1t was inspected by an officer in the
Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and
Insurance Company last August and
was then pronounced all right No engi-
neer was on duty at the time of the explo-
sion, the custom being for the night engi-
neer to bank his fires at night and go to bed
He does not sleep in the hotel This engineer,
Alexander Thuer, was arrested Monday
afternoon on an Indictment charging man
slaughter, and is locked up at the police
station.
A New York drummer, whose home Is in
Portland, Me-, and who slept last night in
the annex of the hotel, part of which is
still standing, says he felt something
OF a shock and heard sound but
nothing like what should accompany
boiler explosion. He did not be-
neve there had been one and did not
even deem it advisable to get up, but the
next instant he heard piercing shrieks and