Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-03-18
DASHED TO DEATH.
A Score Of Firemen Crushed
and Mangled.
NINEDEAD TAKEN FROM THE RUINS


Collapse of the Roof of Burning Build
ing-The Men Plunged Into n Mass of
Crashing Timbers and Falling Bricks
Vigorous but Perilous Work Recovering
the Dead and Rescuing the Injured
Fifteen Persons Badly Hurt-Two
Women and Child Dreadfuiiy Burned
by GasoIine-Other Accidents.
INDIANAPOLIS, March ls.-Fire from a
furnace in the basement of the large book
publishing establishment of the Bowen-Mer-
rill company reached some paper Monday
carried by the elevator shaft to the fourth
story. The building, fine stone and iron
structure, fronting on Washington street,
was stored with books and stationery of all
kinds. This large stock was consumed and
the building wrecked. This loss of more
than $50, 900 on building and stock was fol-
lowed by the falling in of the roof, which
carried down more than twenty persons, in
Guiding those who were working on the vari-
Gus floors. The fire had been driven to a
corner between the ceiling Of the fourth
story and the cornice
Fatal Crash Occurs.
Parts Of the fire companies were ON the
roof working their way down TO the fire
Tie roof seemed sound and the walls sub
stantial, but suddenly the walls yielded.
A man threw up his arms and sank into the
seethng ruins below. Another man dropped,
and then the whole rear roof, with fifteen
men on it fell on TO the top floor where the
fire was raging. Four mon were on the
upper floor under the roof These were
crushed beneath the grinding timbers and
all the men hurled through the falling floor
beneath, which gave way beneath the weight
of the mass.
Twenty Men Buried Under the Debris.
One of the firemen on the top of the adj
joining building ran 20 the front of the build
ing and shouted to those below: "For Gods
sake, throw water into the upper windows.
Twenty men are buried there Immediately
ambulances were telephoned for. The scene
on the heap OF debris Immediately after the
collapse was pitiable and dreadful beyond all
power of description. The limbs of men here
and there were seen writing, while the
trunks To which they belonged were buried
from sight. A ladder lay across three men,
unl WIS Ntlkueu uONli bl lollS ol DIlCkS ana
timber. Another poor fellow, who was be-
young ali pain, lay close beside his fellows, q
shapeless and mangled mass. The ladder lay
across the stomach of one man, who was
screaming with agony; another man with
a broken arm aud twisted body lay next to
him.
willing Hands to the Rescue.
As fast rs willing hands could hurl away
the bricks the weight was removed but the
ladder was too firmly held TO yield. The
man with a broken arm was dragged free
and carried away. Under him, mute but
breathing, appeared the upturned face of a
poor fellow not seen before. The mortar
and dust were cleaned from his lips, but he
was buried so deeply that no immediate
help could come TO him. On all sides black
ened and bleeding faces, distorted with
agony or dreadful death, urged the crowd
which had scaled the heap to assist them, to
reiouble their efforts.
Difficult Work of Recovery.
The debris had fallen so that il lay with
| a valley-shaped surface, and this made the
available space for work very small There
was no place TO deposit the materials dug
from the bottom of the valley, except to
throw them upon the sides of the depression
from which they continually rolled down
toward the center again. All the work of
relief was thus carried on with great diff
| Guilty. One by one the men nearest the sur
face were extricated, but as the workers
went down farther they discovered new
victims and the horror steadily grew.
Great Peril of the Rescuers.
The forward part of the building still
stood high and burning fiercely, and threat
| ened every moment to fall down and bury
the brave rescuers, but they gave no heed to
| the peril On either side the walls lowered
and seemed ready to fall, but there was no
| time to think of them As fast as the men
at work became exhausted others stood
ready and anxious to fill their places so
there was not moment of delay in the la
Dor of relief Every moment was filled with
an awful suspense, for all were thinking of
the men who lay buried beneath them.
Names which men inquired after were
passed hurTiedly from lip TO lip, and people
| bent down to scan closely the blackened and
| Scared faces.
| Frantic Friends of the Victims.
Persons who had friends among the fire
men, or among citizens who were supposed to
have been in or near the fatal walls, be-
came frantic as time passed and they could
get no word AS the wounded were car
ried out of the ruins they were met with
embraces and tears of JOY, but when the
still, broken forms were borne away, mo-
tionless and limp, then it was when the full
sadness and horror of the calamity came
upon the waiting crowd. At II 80 p m.
twenty-five men had been taken from the
ruins, nine of whom were dead and the rest
more or less injured.