Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-01-30
a TRIPLE DISASTER.
Double Gas Explosion and Fatal Runaway
at OhiO's Capital-NearIy . Dozen KILLED
and Others FrightfuIy Injured.

II
| ut OhiOs Capital-NearIy . Dozen Kills d
and Others FrightfuIly Injured.
| COLUMBUS, o., Jan. 25.-A few min
utes after five o'clock yesterday after
noon an alarm Of fire from the corner Of
Main and High streets called the fire de-
partment out and the news spread that
there had been natural gas explosion.
The sharpness of the day had brought
to the streets thousands Of shoppers and
promenaders and the crowd thoughtless-
ly rushed to the scene.
The explosion had occurred in the
! one story dwelling at the southwest cor
ner OF Wall and Noble alleys in the
middle of the square bounded by High,
Front, Main and Mound streets. Patrol
No. was on the scene, but no rope was
stretched and the people crowded by
hundreds into the narrow al
ley and pushed up close to the
house, as the cries of injured people
within could be plainly heard.
The city had recently been supplied
with natural gas and leading past the
! house occupied by Marriott and Bowers
was one of the mains. This had leaked
and the gas had found its way through
assures in the ground to the cellar and
becoming ignited in some unknown
manner exploded, wrecking the building
and filling the air with debris.
The house where the injured woman
lay was soon crowded with people, at
tracted by the accident, and it was soon
necessary to close the doors. that no
more might enter. Suddenly the air
was rent by tremendous explosion,
which made the earth quake and filled
the air with flying timbers, bricks
and debris of all kinds. Dark
ness ensued and then a death
like stiffness reigned for few
moments, broken by shrieks and death
groans. The house in which lay Mrs.
Marriott had been blown to atoms and
It's occupants buried beneath the wreck,
and hundreds of spectators who lined
the sidewalks were knocked violently
down by the shock
The people fled, shrieking, in all direc-
tions while the alley was instantly cov-
cred with mass of debris from which
the means of the buried came. A mo-
ment later trembling women tottered
and ran across the alleys and streets
shrieking, and men with foreheads and
shoulders drabbled with blood staggered
from among the debris.
Then to cap the climax, team of spir-
tied horses attached to one of the fire
department trucks became frenzied by
the explosion and dashed through the
crowd in the street carrying death in
their wake. They ran over and injured
scores of people. A little babe was
knocked out of its mothers arms and
falling beneath the wheels of the vehicle
was crushed to death.
AS soon as the maddened horses had
disappeared in the darkness many of the
spectators and firemen who had been
uninjUred turned their attention to dig
ging out the persons buried beneath the
ruins Of the house. Guided by the cries
and means of the mangled and dying,
men groped in the darkness pulling out
a dead body here and mangled yet
living form there and conveying them
to resting places.
1t required several hours toremove all
the dead from the ruins and it is not yet
known who or how many are the victims.
Following is the list of killed 80 far as
ascertained: Charles Becht, Mrs. John |
Marriott, an infant son of Charles Berry, |
James Seymour, colored boy; white !
man, name unknown; babe, parents
unknown.
The injured were: DR.. T. K. Wish
niger, badly and probably fatally burned
and bruised; Herman Baker, badly
burned: Daniel Cherry, burned pain
fully; Charles Woodruff, cut and bruised
Mrs. Fuller, burned and in
iured internally, probably fatally; Pat
rick Suiskie, cut on head; Aaron Beers,
cut on head and face; Benjamin
Morgan, gashes on head and inter
nal injuries; Charles Lowry, burned
and bruised; Albert Ticklider bruised
md cut; - Brady, burned and cut:
Edward Wiener, cut and burned: Wolf,
,ut and burned; Miss Belle Smith, badly
hurt: Mrs. Corn. badly burned; Peter
Marriott, terribly burned about the
shoulders and neck; Tom Doyle, hands
burned partially off; Emma Bowers,
fatally burned; Marshall Kill
horrible injuries on neck and
head; William Brady, probably fatally
William James, hands and
ace roasted, will die; Mrs. William
Iames, badly cut and bruised.
The explosion as near as can be ascer-
aimed resulted from an accumulation of
latural gas in the cellar of the house
ccupied by Michael Bowers and Mr..
Iarriott. No natural gas pipes were
yer put in the house, but the cause was
natural gas main in Noble alley which
eaked. The ground was frozen and the
as seeking its way out went by the
asiest way, and of course entered the
ellar. 1t has no scent, and its presence
ould not be detected. 1t saturated the
uildings.
Torpedo Boat Launched.
BRISTOL, K. l., Jan. 25.-.The first (
-nited States sea-going torpedo boat {
as successfully launched at 9:45 o'clock
morning from the ship yard I
the Herreshoff Manufacturing Com [
any. A bottle of champagne was