The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-08-26
RECOVERED FROMTHE RUINS
Fifty-Two Dead Bodies Taken Out of the
Wrecked Building at New York.
Number of Victims Now Placed at Ninety
Nearly All Those Now Recovered So Man.
gled They Cannot Be Identified.

NEW YORK, Aug. &.-From midnight un-
til the city awoke to its business life the
scenes witnessed by the watchers at the
fatal fire on Park place proved that the
worst fears as to the extent of the awful
catastrophe were to be fully realized. The
bodies that were recovered during that
time and the horrible possibilities that
Turk in the misshapen shsdowy vision of
human forms crushed and jammed amid
the bulk of machinery and weIghty tim
bers, assured the police and firemen that
the worst evidence is yet to come-that the
greatest number of the unfortunate vic
tins will be found underneath the debris
yet to be removed. No such mangled re-
mains of humanity have been recovered
during the search as the specimens shown
during the n~ight-bodies mutilated beyond
all recognition and SO fearful to look
upon that even the firemen turned away,
weakened by the sight. The Italians, for
the first time since they were employed,
did good work in gathering up the CHASTITY
remains of the victims. Foreman Farley,
of truck No. ID, had charge of the work last
night, and although the men had to strug-
gle against great difficulties, remarkable
progress was made.
The body of Frederick w. Trippe, pro-
pklclOK u tuo uIuR StOI6 AZ INC. 20 f6Tk
place. was found at 9:l5 o'clock. 1t was SO
badly mangled and burned that 1t was at
first impossible to tell whether it was that
OF a man or a woman. Finally friends of
MIR. Trlppe recognized q diamond ring on his
finger and a gold watch with the initials
IF. w. T." on it that was found beside the
body. The body of William b. Ellis, of the
firm of Ellis & Mcdonald. No. IS Park
place. was taken out of the ruins ct IL
o'clock. 1t was burned and mangled al
most ont of resemblance to humanity, and
the clothing was also unrecognizable. In
a pocket was found q pocket-book contain
ing various papers bearing the name of
William III. Ellis. which served to show
years old. w. Il. Mcdonald. Mr.. Ellis's
partner, is missing, and is supposed to be
among the dead.
At 10 O'clock only three of the twelve
printing presses had been removed. The
foreman decided that it was impossible to
get the great iron machinery out entire, so
he set his men to work to break them mp
with sledge-hammers. This change in the
plan will probably result in mucn quicker
work In removing the debris. Still, = Will
take probably forty-eIght hours to reach
the cellars and sub-cellars. where it is sup
posed most of the dead are. At about 1890
o'clock the workmen removed timbers
the site of No. 20 Park place, the other at
| No. "a. The former was believed to be that
| of a woman. These could not be taken out,
on account of the pressure of heavy ma
chinery, without doing violence to the
bodies, so that efforts of the laborers were
directed during the remainder of the morn
ing to the task of hauling away the heavy
distractions. At 10:45 o'clock a derby hat
was pulled out from a network of beams.
| Beneath il two OF three bodies were seen.
The work, placed in the hands of con-
tractors, was pushed forward tonight with
results. At 2 A. NJ. tonight, ffty-two
| bodies had been taken from the ruins in
4 DoyE nloan AZ that hnnr fhfvtu ntnht
TALLY. Those identified to-day were:
Leonard Cole, aged forty-five. Brooklyn;
John Gibbs, four years. New York; Sarah
Michael Slattery. ffty-five years, New
York; A. b. Peterson, twenty-One years,
New York; George Lowe. fifteen years,
Brooklyn; Gustav Zieckler. Hoboken;
Jacob II. Eiderich. New York: Charles
Breitner. fifteen years, New York; Frank
Hach. thirty-three years, New York; Abra-
ham DeichOpki, seven years, New York;
Gustav Steiner. twenty-six years. New York;
John steinke, forty-two years. Jersey City:
lyn; Otto Faiser. twenty-fOur years. New
York. Eleven bodies are still at the
morgue unidentified. Of the identified
twenty-one have been taken from the
mOrgue by their friends.
Clerk Mandelbaum, of the coroner's
office. who has made o careful iDvestiga-
ton, said at IL o'clock that there We're not
less than twenty persons buried under
Peterson's restaurant. The back wall,
which is still standing, grows more threat
ening. The firemen fear that when
the Iron-wOrk is removed the wall
may fall in. 1t was in almost a tottering
condition st noon, and the workmen were
keeping a sharp lookout. Before noon
Captain Eakins said he thought there
were fifty corpses in the cellars.
That would make a total of
ninety. This estimate may be above
or below the right number. but considering
the number of missing of whom nothing
has been heard. the list of killed is not
likely to fall far below ninety, as it may
happen that persons living out of town
who have not been reported miss
ing may have been in the restaurant.
superintendent Brady. of the department
of buildings. stated this afternoon that he
visited the scene of the Park-place disaster.
and from what he could learn he was of
the opinion that the catastrophe was caused
by an explosion of naphtha or some other
explosive matter. He was satisfied that
the upper floors of the building were over
weighted. and had direct evidence to that
effect.