Los Angeles herald., 1892-10-23
TRYING TO PLACE THE BLAME,
Inquiring Into Friday Nights
Awful Tragedy.
s ONE Serious Statements About Will
sons Actions at the Place.
More of the wounded Expected to Die.
The Coroner Commences the In
Observation-Disclosures of the
Dead-1he Testimony.


increased to elk by the decease Of Gill
bert Christian, the brave boy who
smiled in the face of death, to comfort
his grief-stricken father and mother.
Never in the history of Los Angeles
has it been go completely city of
mourning.
The full extent of the horrible and un-
expected accident by which four chill
dren and two men we're hurried into
eternity and many others wounded more
or less seriously, was not generally real
lied until yesterday morning, and dur
ing the day nothing else could be talked
about on the streets and in the homes OF
the city.
There was very general disposition
to wait until the investigation of the
cause of the accident by the coroner be-
fore finally fixing the blame, but upon
one point there was scarcely a dissent
ing opinion, and that is that w. II.
Wilson, who managed the fireworks dis
play for Columbus day, incurred an aw-
full responsibility when he signalled to
his poor assistant, Herman Cammert, to
fire off the fatal bombs in such close
proximity to the crowd. ..
There should not be great difficulty in
securing accurate details OF the accl-
dent, when it was witnessed by 30 many
people, and yesterday Coroner Weldon
was very busy. A cloud of witnesses
were found, who will throw the COM
pletest light upon the occurrence.
As the facts accumulate, those who
are investigating the tragedy are struck
with the comparatively small loss OF
life which resulted from the explosion,
in view of the large crowds in close
proximity to it. Why some should have
been struck down and others left is one
of those inscrutable mysteries which
cannot be explained.
Flying fragments of the deadly NOR
tars passed by some people who were
within three feet of the explosion, and
as 80 and 75 feet. A large fragment
nipping out a large portion of her
dress, but did not wound her or the
gentleman. Pieces of the broken pipe
hissed by the heads OF many within two
or three inches of them, and one piece
was picked up 100 feet from the explo-
sion. A fragment SKINNED across the
foot of P. w. Rose, young man stand
ing about 10 feet from the place OF ex-
plosion, tearing off the whole upper
part of his shoe, without otherwise in
juring him. There must have been 25
or 80 persons OF both sexes who were
slightly injured by flying pieces, and
who have not reported their injuries to
the police or Tie newspapers. The
escape of several hundred children and
men is little less than miraculoue.
THE DEAD AND WOUNDED.
The following is a revised and correct
list Of the dead and wounded up to a
late hour last night:
The following fve-named persons died
Friday night:
ALBERT FORD, aged IA years, resi-
dence No. 127 East Third street.
LOUIS ODEN, aged IA years, resi-
dence No. 239 East Fifth street.
Lillian RAPP, aged years, resi-
dence No. 1888 San Julian street.
ANTONIO RIGHETTI, aged Al years,
residence Monrovia.
VICTOR CASINO, aged 35 years,
residence Upper Main street.
GILBERT CHRISTIAN, aged IA, died
at receiving hospital at 9:lO yesterday
morning.
THE WOUNDED.
HERMANN CAMMERT, aged 10,
right calf badly lacerated, residence No.
1884 San Julian.
MIKE CULLEN, aged 18, compound
fracture of right forearm and cuts on
head and shoulder.
B. BUNKER, aged so, left knee shat
tered; residence, No. AL Beaudry ave-
nue..
H. J. LLOYD, jr., aged 20, left leg
lacerated; residence, No. 209 East First
EDWARD GRIFFITH, aged 10, left
foot shattered residence, No. 743 West
Washington street.
- WRIGHT, aged 45. scalp wound !;
residence, San Pedro street.
WALTER OSER, aged 95, severe cut
on left calf.
FREDA RAPP, aged A, three ribs
broken and injured internally.
CHARLES AUGUSTIN, aged 16, scalp
wound; residence, First street and Lake
Shore avenue.
EDWARD EDWARDS, Z years old,
residence at Buena Vista house. New
High street, near Bellevue avende, hit
in calf Of the leg, tearing out muscles;
not fatal.
Colored boy, name unknown, right leg
badly lacerated.
A boy living on Macy street, name
unknown, hit in the back of the head
and severely wounded.
CONDITION OF THE WOUNDED.
The receiving hospital was cleared Of
the wounded Yesterday morning, with
the exception OF Edward Griffith, whose
left foot is shattered. His case is re-
garded as almost hopeless, but he bears
his agony with the nerve of hero, and
all that skill can perform is being done
for the poor young fellow.
The death of little Gilbert Christian,
which occurred in the big cell at the
Jail at 8 10 O'Clock, was one of the most
touching scenes that have followed the
terrible tragedy. The little fellow was
conscious almost to the last, and fire.
quently, with q wan smile upon his
face, would tell his heart-broken mother
and father to be brave, that he would
rather die than live cripple. The
prief of the little party surrounding the
death bed was respected, and they were
left alone with their dead in the midst
of the grim surroundings of the Jail.
The remains were afterwards removed
to the morgue, where they were placed
with the other victims.
Hermann Cammert, Wilson's assist
ant, was removed to the county hospi-
tai, on Friday night, and he was in a
critical state Yesterday afternoon. Coro-