Evening journal., 1893-02-28
BURIED UNDER BRICKS.
Two Families Entombed in a
Walls Collapse.
EIGHT KILLED, MANY INJURED,


Sleeping Inmates of Two Fragile Frame
Houses smothered In the Wreck of
Their Dwellings at Chicago This Morn
ing-rwo Miraculous Escapes-Exoite-
ment at the Rescue.
CHICAGO, Feb, 2s-By the falling of
the walls of John York's burned dry good
store at Halsted and Ninteenth streets.
at 1870 o'clock this morning, seven and
perhaps eight people we're instantly
killed and four others seriously injured.
The killed are: John Smith, 40 years
old; Dollie Smith, aged 10 years; Baby
Smith, 8 years; Hattie Smith, years;
Paulina Rautch, 10 years; F. Kuntz, As
years; Mrs Mary Kuntz, 40 years. In
jured +. Kuntz, Jr., Patrol Sergeant
Loughran, Mrs. Amelia Smith probably
fatal Police officer William Smith.
Missing ----- Joseph bartender, aged
% years.
The catastrophe was caused by the
collapsing before the high wind of the
walls of the burned York building These
had been standing since fire which last
wint er destroyed the store and contents
At this time the walls were soaked with
water which, however, coated them with
ice and held them together It was
feared that change of temperature
would weaken the walls by thawing out
the ice which held them together and
last night these fears were realized.
Houses and Inmates Buried.
Yesterdays warmth and rain melt ed
the ice and last nights wind shook the
tottering walls until they fell with
crash burying two houses with their
sleeping inmates The houses destroyed
were the saloon of John Smith at 7G1
! Halsted street and the jewelry store of
A. Kuntz at 763 Halsted street Both
were frame structures and both were
occupied on the second stories by the
families of the owners Of the places Of
business below.
Miraculous Escapes.
That all in the buildings were not
killed seems almost a miracle but while
two were taken out alive one of them
Mrs. Amelia Smith, wife of the saloon
keeper can scarcely survive the day.
The other one to escape was Fred. Kuntz.
son Of the jeweler, aged 81 years He
with his bed was carried through
the floor to the basement
door was thrown across the
bed and, supported against the wall
served to guard the occupant of the bed
from injury by the falling debris
Young kuntz was but slightly injured.
The Work OF Rescue.
The work of rescuing the imprisoned
people, aside from the great danger tC
the firemen, was attended with mucl
difficulty. 1t was unknown in what por
tion of the buildings the missing fami
lies had been sleeping and the fremen
who were on the spot almost before the
sound of the crash had died away, wer,
without any guide in their work sav,
their own instinct. Disregarding tn,
smoke and the licking tongues of fam,
that appeared here and there amid thl
debris, they dug along the base of tn,
York wall, at a point which appeared t,
be about the centre of the Kunt
store.
Their search was finally rewarded by
e shout from beneath the bricks AM
( broken timbers. They dug steadil
. on but could not locate the voice. A
last, however, came the cry: Here am
and at the same instant hand wa
thrust through to the open air. 1t was tn
hand of young Kuntz. His rescue wa
. then but matter of a few minutes
4 After being rescued he told the fremei
!. where his father and mother had bee
q sleeping and was then removed to tn
county hospital.
4 The fate of Smiths bartender, who's
n full name is unknown, is a mystery. II
! occupied a room on the second story bu
!, as his bed, when found in the ruins
showed no trace of having been occupie
it is thought he may not have bee
p at home at the time of the cata'
trophe. Superintendent of Streets Burk
put $50 men at work on the ruins earl
u this morning.
q The work of excavating is difiicu
owing to the heat and smoke that sti
rises from the debris 1t is absolute
impossible that any Of these buried
= | the debris can be alive