The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-01-29
HORROR upon HORROR.
Columbus, o., the Scene of O
Frightful Disaster.
Two Dwellings, Blown to Atoms In
Quick Succession by Exploding
t Natural Gas.
Hundreds of Spectators Knocked Down
by the Shock--A Team of Horses
~ Dashes Into the Crowd and
Injuries Many People.

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Six Persons Killed Outright and More
Than q Score Terribly Wounded - A
Scene which Beggars Description.
CoLUMBUs, o., Jan. 25.-There was q
scene Of death and destruction In this
city last night whose horrible features
and sickening details are surpassed or y
by the Johnstown flood. Never in the
history Of Ohio has such dreadful dis
aster occurred as that which sent thrills
Of horror through the thousands who
witnessed 1t. A, double explosion oc.
curred and 1t dealt out death with dual
| force.
A few minutes after five o'clock an
alarm Of fire sounded, calling out the
entire department. The streets were
thronged With thousands Of toilers who
were returning to their homes from
workshops and factories and quickly
spread the news that frightful calam-
ity had hsppened.in the southern par I
Of the city. The streets leading TO that
section were soon crowded with people
going TO gthe scene. Their presence
/. there heaped horror upon horror, as will
be seen later on,
An explosion had occurred at the
double residence OF Messrs. Michael
Bowers and John Marriott, at the corner
Of Wall and Noble alleys. The cause Of
the calamity was an accumulation Of
natural gas in the cellar Of the house
referred to. The city has recently been
supplied with natural gas, and leading
past the house occupied by Marriott and
Bowers Is one of the mains through
which the commodity is furnished to the
public. The pipes had leaked and the
explosive fuel had found its way through
assures and the ground TO the cellar
which was the seat OF the horror. 1t be-
came ignited in some unknown manner
and exploded with terrific force, wreck
ing the building and filling the air with
debris. Mrs. Marriott was blown out OF
the house and man named Goulding,
who was standing near the structure,
was blown across the street.
Mrs. Marriott was carried across the
street and intothe residence Of William
James. a. atbools-kseper for the book firm
OF Clock & Beck. DR.. Wissinger, a
prominent physician, was called to at
tend her injuries. The house where the
injured lay was soon crowded with peo-
pie attracted by the accident, and 1t was
soon necessary TO close the doors that no
more might enter. Little knew those
scores OF spectators huddled around the
sufferer that they were standing in a
death trap, which was then on the verge
OF carrying them into eternity.
. Suddenly the air was rent by tre-
earth quake and filled the air with fly
kinds. Darkness ensued and then q
death-lil1e stiffness reigned for few
moments. 1t was broken by shrieks and
d. ath groans. The house In which lay
Mrs. Marriott had been blown TO atoms
and its occupants buried beneath the
wreck.
Hundreds OF spectators who lined the
sidewalks were knocked violently down
by the shock and laid powerless. Then
TO cap the climax team OF spirited
horses attached to one Of the fire de-
partment ladder trucks became frenzied
by the explosion and dashed away into
the crowd, carrying death in their wake.
They ran over and injured scores Of peo-
pie. A beautiful little babe was knocked
from its mothers arms and falling be-
meath the merciless wheels OF the We.
hicle was crushed to death.
As soon as the maddened steeds had
disappeared in the darkness, many OF
the spectators and fremen who had
boen uninjured by either Of the horrors,
turned their attention to the digging
out OF the persons buried beneath the
ruins OF the house. Guided by the cries
and means OF the mangled and dying,
men CROPPED in the darkness, pulling out
dead body here, mangled, yet living
form there and conveying them to rest
ing places. Groups OF men, women and
children gathered around the PROSTATE
forms and blood-curdling shrieks made
the awful scene more revolving, as
friends recognized friends injured or
dead; parents found their mutilated
children and vice versa. 1t required
several hours to remove all the dead and
injured from the ruins and 1t Is not yet
known exactly who or how many are
the victims. Following Is the list OF
killed and wounded sofaras sascertained:
KILLED.
Charles Becht.
Mrs. John Marriott.
An infant son OF Charles Berry.
James Seymour, colored boy.
An unknown white man.
An unknown babe.
INJURED.
DR.. 7. X. Wissinger, badly and prob
ably fatally burned and bruised.
:, Herman Baker, badly burned
Daniel Cherry, burned painfully.
Charles Woodruff, cut and bruised So
riously. ~
Mrs. Fully, burned and injured inter
nally, probably fatally.
Benjamin Morgan, gashes on head and
internal injuries.
Charles Lowry, burned and bruised.
Albert Ticklider, bruised and cut.