The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1893-07-14
MHN j AhT MIDUINU
Suspicion That Several Beside Worlds
Fair Firemen Lost Life at
the Fire.
Three Corpses Found In Different
Part of the Building-One
Lineman.
One Hundred Persons at the Cold
Storage Building Looking For
Missing Friends.

The most interesting exhibit at the
worlds fair grounds is one not sched-
uled in the official guide book. It is
the ruins of the cold storage structure
destroyed by fire. and 10000 people
crowded around the debris eagerly
watching the search for dead bodies.
Early in the morning three more dead
bodies were recovered from the ruins,
but they were so much charred and dis
figured as to make recognition abso-
lutely impossible. One thing seems
quite evident, however, and that's that
the bodies recovered are
Not Those of Firemen.
The locality in which they were found
seems to preclude this possibility. All
the fremen who lost their lives were
huddled in one place-in the dreadful
fretrap at the top of the shaft. and as
they fell victims, one by one, to the
flames, their bodies naturally fell some-
where within the small circlesurround-
ing the smokestack. The bodies just
recovered were evidently not the re-
mains of any who jumped or fell from
the shaft, because they were found at a
somewhat remote distance from this
point and under a mass of steam pipe
and machinery that must have fallen
from above On one of the bodies was
found leather belt, to which was
attached pair of steel pinchers, thus
practically proving the remains to be
those of a lineman.
Color to the apprehension.
The discovery gave fresh color to the
fearful apprehension that the fremen
were by no means the only ones who
fell victims to the flames, and the public
at once became disposed to doubt the
declarations made by the supervising
fremen that all employees and visitors
were out of the building before the con-
fagration had reached dangerous
stage. The total of dead bodies recov-
cred at this time reaches is. though the
search in the ruins was thus far very
slight owing to the heat and confusion.
There seemed no doubt the death list
was still decidedly incomplete
The Columbian guards who were on
duty at the scene of the disaster have
constantly maintained that several
worlds fair visitors and electricity men
and other workmen were caught in the
flames, and the unexpected discovery of
the bodies under the ruins, and the fact
that one is undoubtedly that of line
man gives credence to their declara-
tions. Certain it is there were numer-
GUS visitors and workmen in the build
ing at the time the fire broke
out, and the statements of the
Columbian guards that many of them
were caught in the flames was received
so seriously that it was decided that q
minute examination foot by foot of the
pyramid of ruins and debris would be
made before the day is out. The Elec-
trio Light company had number of
men in the lower part of the building
stringing wires at the time the fire
broke out and several of these are miss
ing.
Four Columbian guards were unac-
counted for and their companions are
naturally very solicitous as to their
fate.
Many Are Missing.
The worlds fair officials claim that
they are not responsible for this, de-
tending themselves by the assertion
that as the cold storage warehouse was
a concession and constructed as a
private enterprise or exhibit, the
worlds fair authorities should not be
held accountable for the loss of life.
At least 100 persons who have
missed friends or relatives are
around the ruins seeking to identify
bodies discovered. In numerous in-
stances the parties sought were visitors
to the fair, but as their friends were
usually uncertain as to whether the miss
ing even visited the cold storage build
ing, it was thought probable that sew
eral Of these will turn up all right.
DIDN'T KNOW IT.