Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-04-03
a FEARFUL STORY.
Thirteen Men Killed and MANY Uni ured I'm
an Explosion-Deadly Work of Over
Heated Powdered Corn Dust-Terrible
Scenes-Canse of the Disaster

| A-Npiosioh-Deauty work of Over
| Heated Powdered Corn Dust-Terrible
| Scenes-Cause of the Disaster.
CHICAGO, March 2s.-Thirteen men
were killed and sixteen rightfully man
gled In an explosion last evening in the
annex of the big sugar refinery at the foot
OF Taylor street The building was
blown to pieces and great pile of
wreckage fell upon the deck of the
steamship William Chisholm. which
was anchored in the river near the re-
hnery. The explosion occurred in the
starch department of the annex, where
nearly fifty men were at work.
windows were broken for blocks
around, and several persons who
We're walking in Taylor street
9ere Frustrated. Flames sprang
from the ruins and engines and ambu-
iances hurried to the wreck. Truckmen
! who plunged into the ruins as soon as
the fire was extinguished drew black
ened body from a great heap of timbers.
Then the shreds of a body were found.
( The victim had been torn to pieces. One
arm ami both legs were gone and the
face was so frightfully mangled that
even the foreman, who escaped injury,
could not recognize it.
A terrific wind and sleet storm set in
/ just as the fremen reached the wreck
and ragged with such fury that a careful
/ search of the ruins was impossible.
/ The starch house was two-story
/ building that stood between the huge
refinery and the river. 1t was built
about nine months ago upon the spot
where similar structure had been torn
to pieces by an explosion during a storm
such as was raging last night. In one
corner of the room was E.. chamber used
for drying powdered corn starch, which
is as dangerous as powder. Early last
evening one of the laborerS about the
building saw that the thermometer
hanging upon the wall registered an alb
normal degree of heat. He ran to DIR.
Behr and warned him of the danger.
Then he tried to check the steam, and
DR.. Behr opened the door leading to the
drying-roOm, and with the assistance Of
some of the labOrerS, attempted to check
the steam which was pouring through
the pipes sending the temperature to
still more dangerous point. One of the
men suggested that the door of the dry
ing-rOom be closed, but the doctor re-
buked them for expressing their fears.
Five minutes later the explosion came.
a cloud of dust rose from the drying
kilns, followed by flash of fire, and
then came the conclusion which tore
the building to pieces. DR.. Behr was
blown through a door into the driveway
between the main buildings. Beside
him was Foreman Hubeldt, gasping for
breath and bleeding at the nose, and not
far away were two laborers who were
crying piteously for help. Others were
staggering helplessly through the smoke
and dust.
The flames ran over the ruins Ii Ike
flash and through the light the specta-
tors saw men and boys waving their
arms from the wreckage and struggling
desperately to fr0e themselves. Cour-
ageous acts were performed by hundreds
of spectators who dashed into the fire
and smoke and drew many of the wound
ed from the ruins. The injured, many
of them burned to the bone and all of
them screaming with pain, were borne
TO the third floor of the refinery. Hero
they lay in rows on the floor with sur
geOno bending over them. and women
and children, relatives of the men in
the wrecked building, pounding upon
the door and crying to be admitted.
At eleven o'clock last night the fire.
men had recovered six bodies. All
we're burned so terribly that they could
not be recognized. 1t was stated that
there were seven more in the ruins,
making the total number killed thir-
teen. Among those known to be killed
are:
Franz Graf. of South Union street.
- Tiedman. of 1914 DekOvan street. /
Louis Neltzschorst and Frank Bap-
list, both laborers, are badly burned and
mangled and will probably die Three /
others. Albert IIesse. Frank Hollis and /
Michael Hauer, are missing
As far as is known the wounded are: /
DR.. Arnold Behr, general superintend
ent of the refinery: face, hands and /
neck badly burned and supposed .
fracture of the skull.
Henry Hubeldt, boss of the starch /
house, probably fatally burned
John Smith. fatally burned.
Oscar Schoertz, face, neck and arm
burned.
Petrie Gerharpt, cut by flying brick. .
Bernard Dishelm, burned and bruised. .
Martin Stock. burned and bruised
William Eisengham, terribly mangled; .
may die. /
Thomas Holmes, probably fatally .
burned.
Joseph Fries. blown through window .
and slightly injured.
Frank Batesl, burned and bruised.
Toby Hellock, probably fatally
burned.
William IIellock, fatally burned.
Joseph Oswell, Michael Partel and .
Charles Hayden, slightly burned.
Night engineer. name unknown /
burned and bruised; will die.
Fireman, name unknown, blown to tho !
edge of the river; slightly injured. I
a fourtcen-year-old lad escaped from :
the first floor of the building as it was
crum bling. He was bleeding and groaE-
ing, but refused to give his name.
The property loss will amount to S1o,- /
coo. If the big eleven-story refinery .
had been destroyed the loss would have .
been 500, 900. There is no doubt that /
the disaster was caused by the rise in .
Temperature in the starch-house. This .
was the fault of the men who regulate +
the Heat and who were supposed tc /
watch the Thermometer constantly
Coiners of Bogus Money Captured
BUFFALO, \. V, March 21--For /