The record-union., 1892-06-06
AT OIL CITY.
Awful Destruction to Life and Prop
erty.


OIL CITY Pa.), June 5.-Never be-
fore in the history of Oil City and the oil
country has such disaster, excitement
and turmoil been seen as the city is now
witnessing. At 11:45 this morning the
city and country for miles around was
startled by two explosions, occurring al
most simultaneously.
Oil Creek was raging torrent, and
fully thousand people were watching
the waters. At 1880 a green fluid was
noticed on the water. This increased in
quantity and finally covered almost the
entire waters of the creek. The smell of
gas and oil was perceptible and the dan
ger of fire commented upon, and the
words were hardly uttered when for two
hundred yards on the stream mass of
flame shot heavenward.
The people stampeded like cattle and
started for the hills. Hardly had they
started when the explosions rent the air,
and the entire creek for hundreds of feet
seemed q seething mass of flame and
smoke. The panic-stricken crowd
shrieked madly in their efforts to escape.
Women and children were trampled un-
der foot and some severely bruised.
The engine on the Western New York
and Pennsylvania Railroad passed tank
of gasoline standing on a siding. The
tank was leaking, and as the engine
passed mass of flame shot into the air,
and the earth seemed to shake with an
awful tremor. 1t is supposed the engineer
and fireman were killed by the force of
the explosion.
In an instant the flames swept madly
over the entire upper part of the city,
which was flooded by the oily waters of
the creek, and men, women and children
who were moving from their homes were
caught by the deadly flames, and if not
burned to death outright were drowned
in the raging food.
At this writing seven ghastly bodies
have been taken from the food, and are
lying on the railroad track unrecognized.
It is impossible to give an estimate of the
number of lives lost For miles up the
creek on both sides everything is in ruins,
and hundreds of families rendered home
less. Very little, if any, property was
saved, and the sky for five miles around
is still black with smoke from the burn
ing dwellings and oil tanks.
When the explosions occurred people
were knocked down by the force of the
shocks, and every window within a
radius of two squares were broken. The
panic during the hight of the excitement
was something fearful, and it is remark
able that none were killed by horses and
the wild, frantic mob.
The water in Oil Creek is falling slowly
now, and there is hope that the worst is
over. In the upper part of town about a
hundred dwellings were destroyed by
fire, and owing to the depth of water the
fire department was helpless. This part
of the city is blockaded with lumber
sheds and the roofs of houses which were
blown down.
The sight from the hill-tops above the
town is awful and beyond description.
The loss to property is placed at from
three-quarters 70 q million dollars.
Up to last accounts from fifteen to
twenty bodies have been recovered and
identified. The Third Ward is as level as
a field.
Following is the list of dead as far as
identified: William Shafer, John Rein
bold, Charles Miller, Miss Minnie Rus
sell, Daniel Sullivan, James Holmes,
Mrs. VIM. Briggs and three daughters,
William Morgan, Oil City; Ed. Keating,
Mr.. Terwilliger, Mr.. Baker, Sheridan
Wick, John Rouch and son, Mr.. Eakin
and two sons, Mr.. and Mrs. Hawks and
daughter, Matthew Lyons, wife and two
children, John O'Leary and mother,
Frank Plank, James Haskins, William
White, John Steck, John Rambo,
Humphrey Stewart, William Stewart,
Harry Holmes, William Malone, Frank
Watson, W. L. Daughert.
There are fifteen bodies at the under
taking rooms of Britting, McCracken g.
Co.. twenty-five at the City Hall and a
number taken to their homes. Still a
number are missing.
Two sons of DR.. Hasenfritz were seri-
ously injured. Louis Hasenfritz was
badly burned and cannot live.
Nine tanks of the Imperial Refinery
Company, on Oil Creek, are now burn
ing.
1t is reported that Sam Yeader Of
Housewife saved about twenty-five peo-
pie located down the creek. He used a
boat during the high flood, and great
praise is due him.
1t was at A. NJ. that the horrors Of fire