Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1891-08-27
DIGGING FOR DEAD.
Battered Human Forms Taken Out
of the Ruins in New York.
Forty-Two Godies So Far Recovered
A Close Estimate Makes Ninety
the Total Number of Victims.
CHASTITY SCENES.

New YORK, Aug. 20. Prom midnight
until the city awolxe 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 real
lied The bodies that were recovered
during that time and the horrible pos
sibilities that Turk in the mis-
shapen shadowy vision of human
forms crushed and iammed amid
the bulk of machinery and weighty
timbers, assured the police and fire.
men that the worst evidence is
yet to come. The greater number of
the unfortunate victims will be
found underneath the debris yet
to be removed. No such mangled re-
mains of humanity have been re-
covered during the search as the spec
linens shown during the night Bodies
were mutilated beyond all recogni-
ton and fearful to look upon: even
firemen turned away weakened by the
sight Twenty bodies have been iden-
titled, and there are eighteen unidenti-
fed at the morgue, and four bodies are
in sight in the ruins. thus making
forty-two so far revealed.
Clerk Mandelbaum, of the coroner's
Office, who has made careful investi-
cation, said at IL o'clock that there
were not less than twenty persons
buried under Peterson's restaurant.
The back wall which is still standing,
grows more threatening. The firemen
fear that when the ironwork is removed
the wall may fall in. 1t was in almost
a tottering condition at noon, and the
worEmen were keeping a sharp lookout.
Before noon Capt. Eal1ins said that if
the wall did not fall the work of remov-
ing the presses would be so far advanced
that the bodies beneath the side
walk, if there were any, could be east
~ reached. lie thought there were
fifty corpses in the cellars. That would
make a total of ninety. This estimate
NAV 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, especially as it may
happen that persons living out of
town, who have not been reported
missing, may have been in the restau-
rant
Superintendent Brady, of the depart
ment of buildings, stated 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 en- explosion of naphtha, or
some other explosive matter. He was
satisfied that the upper floors of the
building were overweighted, and had
direct evidence to that effect.
Acting District Attorney Cummings
Bedford appointed Assistant District
Attorney Robert Townsend to act as
counsel TO Coroner Daniel lIanly in the
conduct of the inquest over the victims
of the disaster Mr. Bedford said
his office desired a thorough in
vestigation before the coroner in
order to ascertain if some one
is not amenable to the criminal laws
for the loss of life. If the liability
could be fixed he believed the crime
would come under section 1913, sub
division third, of the penal code, and
that the crime would be manslaughter
in the second degree. The penal code
says that homicide is manslaughter
in the second degree when
committed without a design to effect
death Subdivision third, of section
1893, says that death caused by any act.
procurement or culpable negligence of
any person is mans aughter in the Sec
ODd daoraa