Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-02-26
SWALLOWED UP BY FIRE.
Horrible Death of Eleven Girls
 at Plymouth, Pa.
CHARRi.n BEYOND RECOGNITION

Death Comes During a Pleasant Afte'
 Dinner Chat-A Large Squib Factors
 Instantly Wrecked by Mysterious Ex.
 pIosions-Blackened Bodies and Bones.
 WILKEsBARRE, Pa-, Feb. 26.-Eleven girls, varying in age from 13 to 9 years, lost their lives in Gowell's squib factory at Plymouth yesterday afternoon. Powder sGuibS manufactured at this place for the use of miners. The squib is a sort of fuse which is inserted in the drilled hole in the coal. Girls ; are employed to make these squibs because their labor is cheaper and they can do the work more satisfactorily than men. Powelrs squibs are used in probably every mine in the United States and Canada, and some are ex- ported to the English collieries. When trade is good the factory employs about eighty girls. Lately, however, trade has been some what slack, and last week part of the ma chinery broke down, and the superintendent was compelled to lay off forty of the girls Yesterday morning all hands reported for work, but the machinery was not yet in order, and all were sent home with the excep- tion of about seventeen, who were retained to do some odd jobs. When the 12 o'clock whistle blew six of the girls who lived nea, by went to their homes for their midday meal. The remainder-eleven all told-ate their dinner in the factory. After all had dined the girls adjourned to an ante-room containing stove. Here they all sat and chatted
 Maggie Lynch said she had an invitation to a social in the evening; Charles Beatty had asked her to accompany him, and she said she guessed she would go. All the other girls urged her to do 90, saying she would have good time. What passed between 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 inten tion to go to the social. A few minutes before o'clock - almost starting up time - John Thomas, who resides near the factory, was sitting at a table eating his dinner, when vioent explosion shook the dishes from the table At first he thought it was an ex- plosion in the mines, but looking out of the window he saw the roof of the factory shoot ing up in the air, and when it fell back again the sides of the building were falling in Then fire enveloped the debris and in ten minutes time the structure was reduced to ashes.
 The spread of the flames was so rapid that it was impossible for any one to enter the wrecked building The miners from the Gay lard slope rushed to the burning building and heroically attempted to pull away the burn ing timbers so that they might enter and pos sibly save the lives of some of the imprisoned girls, but the flames had gained too much headway and the men were absolutely power less.
 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 material as sistance. When the fire finally died out fol want of material to feed upon the bodies of the unfortunate girls were dug from the debris. Their heads arms and legs were gone; nothing remained but their charred bodies, which were entirely unrecognizable, Miss Maggie Lynch's body being recognized only by it's large size
 Thousands of persons had gathered about the wrecked building, and the piteous cries | of the relatives of tine dead girls was heart l rending. All of the bones that could be | found were placed in blankets and taken tc l Undertaken Williams establishment, where the relatives gathered and vainly endeavored l to recognize the charred remains. The l following is complete list of those
 who lost their lives: Katie Jones'
 aged 20; Maggie Lynch, 21; Hattie
 Jones, 16; Gladis Reese, 15; Mary Walters IL, IhaSSie 1slCushIus, l' 1uaIy Ann Lake, 1d
 Ruth Powell, 20; Esther Powell Ia sister oi
 Ruth), %; Charlotte Humphries, r; Jane
 Ann Humas, IT. The only person who was
 in the building at the time of the explosion 1 who remains to tell the story is Foreman
 Reese, and he is fatally burned.
 He says he was standing by a stove wher
 the first explosion was heard. He rushed te 1 the door to notify the girls, when several ex l plosions occurred, and be 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 known
 Mir. Powell says there was but small quan
 tity of powder in the building, magazine
 near by being used as a storage house. On,
 theory is that box of squibs became ignitet
 from spontaneous combustion, and exploded