St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-01-22

arrive as soon as the news spread. 1t
was at this time al o'clock when a
great crowd was watching the rapid de-
struction of the railroad company's
property that the elimination of the
horrible affair occurred. Two OF the
tank cars were left uninjured by the en-
CINE. The heat of burning oil all around
them generated from their contents
gas, the pressure OF which became too
great for the huge iron casks 10 with
stand. simultaneously and with fear
full force they exploded. throwing
pieces of their iron sides far out into the
adjacent fields. and showerlng upon the
assembled crowd of sightseers a
Mass OF Flaming Liquid.
For just one second after the noise of
the explosion there was no sound save
the whiSh of the Seething oil as it was
forced through the air. Then there
arose a confusion of agOnizing appeals
for help and cries Of terror to which no
tongue nor pen can do justice. For
several minutes the panic was indie
sCribable. Those touched by the blaz-
ing oil CROPPED about wildly, seeking in
vain for relief from their torture.
Almost without exception the injured
were burned about the face, and had
their eye-sight temporarily, If not
permanently, destroyed. Those who
were uninjured were so terror-strick en
as to be unable to assist their less
fortunate companions for some time.
Gradually the horror Of the holocaust
gave way to realization of the neceS-
sity for quick relief for the wounded.
Hastily improvised filters were formed
of doors and shutters from neighborlng
fat1C nrly nOr
ried the dead and injured TO Wann,
where they were placed in the depot
until relief train could be brought to
the scene. Word was dispatched to
Alton by fast courier (the heat from
the burning oil had melted all the tele-
graph wIreS), and, while a train was
being made up and sent for the
wounded, preparations were made for
their reception at st. Joseph's hospital.
When the train bearing the dead and
wounded reached Alton, little after
noon,
Almost Another Panic
ensued. Great crowds had gathered at
the stopping place of the train-a point
some distance from the station and but
a short distance from the hospital.
Many of these had loved ones among
the victims of the burning Oil, and as
fast as the bodies were taken out Of the
train, sobbing wives, mothers and
daughters, in their attempts to catch a
sight of the features, would snatch
frantically at the covering, and, finding
that which they dreaded to see, would
throw themselves on the bodyin agony
of grief. Finally all the dead and
wounded were taken care of and the
crowd dispersed or gathered into little
knots and discussed the horrible affair.
The financial loss to the railroad COM
pany will be very large. The engine
and tender, the four coaches. the seven
tank cars and considerable section of
track are totally ruined, nothing re-
manning but mass OF twisted iron and
a few charred pieces of wood. Two
small dwellings which stood near the
track were also burned with all their
contents. 1t was impossible 10 save
anything: water would have had but
little effect, even had there been water
obtainable, which there was not. Esti-
mates of this loss vary from $4,000 to
$15O.O0O. The total will probably aggre-
gate Sl25,0O0. A track has been con-
Structed at one side of the ruins, and
trains on both the Alton and Big Four
are running regularly tonight.