Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-08-24
DEAD BY THE SCORE
Frightful Loss of Life. in a Goth
am Building.
AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF CORPsEs.
Seventeen Bodies Dug Out of the Death
Trap and Seventy-Five Per-
sons Reported Missing.

Without a Moments Warning the Struc-
ture Tumbles Into Ruin, ImprisoninG
Large Number of Men, Women and
Children-Fire Instantly Breaks Ont to
Make Sure of the Observation-Disclosures
Hours Work Only Receivers Few OF
Those Believed to Have Been Caught.
NEW YORK, Aug. PA dreadful
catastrophe, fraught with great loss of
life occurred in this city shortly after the
noon hour Saturday. Men, women and
children, who, after a weeks weary toll,
were within but few minutes of their
usual Saturday half-holiday, met death
without word of warning by the fall of
Taylor's building, 6s and 30 Park place.
How many were killed is unknown at
this writing. Neither is it known what
was the cause of the accident. 1t may
have been an explosion, or the building
may have fallen because it was over
weighted, or by the vibration of the print
ing presses. The building was condepnea
thirteen years ago. Some persons said
that the boiler in the basement exploded.
The Wreck Was Complete.
Whatever it was, the wreck was COM
plete and the havoc awful. The whole
front wall of the building was torn out,
and dashed into a heap of ruins, which ex-
tended entirely across and partially
blocked the street. Following the crash
came an outburst of flame, and in ten
minutes all that was left of the building
was solid wall of fire The most terrible
loss of life occurred in the Peterson restau-
rant, which occupied the ground floor. 1t
was very popular little restaurant, and
was well Filed An eyewitness of the
disaster says that at rhe time of the ex-
plosion fully fifty persons were seated at
the tables. In addition to this number
there were the walters, the cooks, and the
proprietor and cashier, who, if the esti
mate of fifty customers is correct, would
swell the hist of the dead in the restaura Mt
alone to fiSsy-eight or sixty.
Every One IN the Building a Victim.
JHst exaetly At what moment the explo-
sion took place is unknown. 1t was prob
ably nearer twenty minutes past p O'Clock
than half past so that only those who
shut down the moment the hour for
knocking off work came and at once left
the building escaped. One thing alone is
certain and that is that every one of those
unfortunates who were in the building
when the awful crash came was either
crushed to death or buried alive. TIE
fire was one of the swiftest and fiercest
known in New York for many day. The
firemen with great difficulty held the
flames IN check and kept them from lick
ing up three or four of the surrounding
buildings.
The First Corpse Recovered.
At 2l5 O'Clock the first dead man was
taken out of the ruins. He was found TN
der pile of bricks and mortar about the
middle of the street. His face was bat
tered past recognition, and he had a bad
cut on the back of the left leg. The sec
ond body was brought out at 2:20 1t was
that of a man. Every stitch had been
burned away and the flesh was roasted
The third and fourth bodies. taken ont
were those of two boys named Haegney
and Gibbs. The fifth body to be taken
out was that of a young laborer. The
bodywas badly burned, and was found
lying face downward.