Birmingham age-herald., 1895-08-20

the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad.
 Fred Hubbold of Lisbon, Ia., guest.
 r. ]. McKlosl<ey of Longmont, Col, guest.
 Will Richards of Denver, elevator boy.
 Unknown woman.
 Unknown child, years old.
 The only means of identifying the body of the woman is by a gold band ring, with the initials "H. B. engraved there on. Among those who are missing and supposed to be still in the ruins are:
 Peter Gumrey, owner of the hotel and superintendent of construction at the state capitol.
 Gen. Charles Adams of Denver.
 James Murphy, prominent demo- cratic politician of Omaha.
 E. W. Edwards, butcher, of Denver.
 w J. Blake.
 N. J, Cdrson.
 r. French county treasurer of Gilpin county Colorado.
 Mrs. C. R. Wolfe.
 Grace Wolfe, years old, of Lincoln, Neb
 B.I Lmch of Blackhawk t..
 Unknown woman.
 Three unknown chamber maids.
 The injured are:
 M. E. LetsOn.
 Joseph Munal
 Alex E. Irwin.
 Fred Coleman.
 Nathan Burgess.
 Bud Hopkins.
 The latest information regarding the catastrophe is that a 17-year-Old boy, El- mer Pierce, who was temporarily placed in charge of the boiler, was responsible for the explosion. With the boiler at al most white heat he let cold water in, ~causing an immediate explosion. He es- capped uninjured and tonight was pelnS hunted by angry people.
 nth n. hastily summoned rescue corps and po- Hcemen remained near the scene to wit ness the recovery of the horribly burned bodies.
 M. E. Letson, who was the first live man taken from the ruins, slept on the third floor and when found was encased in a conical mass of mortar and brick that barely allowed freedom of move ment Chief Roberts of the fire depart ment first discovered him and rapidly began the removal of tons of material that seemed to rest directly upon his body In heart-rending appeals he begged for something to end. his life. The rescuers worked with a will and in two hours had succeeded in removing enough plaster and bricks from the ap- parently lifeless body to allow his re- moval His lower limbs were crushed, but he will survive his terrible ordeal
 About 10 o'clock a. m. a womans hand protruded from pile of building mate rial As space was cleared around it, and when the form was recovered, it was discovered she was dead. Lying beside the body was a corpse of a child.
 The firemen kept bravely at work, su perintended by Mayor McMurray and Police Commissioners Hogle, Church and Wilson. In the afternoon women volun- teers came with refreshments for the workers.
 At a. m. the body of an unknown man was recovered and taken to the morgue l was thought to be that of T. J. McCloskey. Half an hour later the re- mains of Conductor Burt were discov- cred.
 Earlier in the morning were found the bodies of MT and Mrs. R. c. Greiner clasped in an embrace of death amid tons of debris. They had undoubtedly were clear and their limbs in repose. The left arm of MT. Grener was thrown across his wife's face, his fore finger raised like danger signal
 Excitement in the city tonight is at a high pitch. Throngs of people crowded police headquarters and the morgue to search for missing friends
 Ropes were stretched around the scene of the disaster, but the extra police failed to keep back the excited friends of miss ing people, and thousands of curious by islanders.
  corning the cause of the accident, but Coroner Martin is firmly convinced that 1t was caused as stated.
 About o'clock this evening a severe wind storm came upon the city, and the work was extremely hazardous with the weakened walls To add to the confusion and dismal scene, rain began falling in torrents, and what few workers were not drenched by the streams of the fire en- zines were wet by the cold rains.
 At o'clock the rain had ceased falling, but clouds of Stifiing smoke continued to arise from the mass of wreckage, and more engines were called. Their services were not needed, however, as the wind died away.
 The boy who was in charge of the boiler at the time of the accident had attended a picnic during the day and was under the influence of liquor when he went on duty, as several reliable people have testified. How he ever managed to turn the injector ccck and escape without in jury is q mystery. The boilers are said to have been in excellent condition.
 The terrible destruction wrought by the explosion is evidenced everywhere within three blocks of the scene. Stores in the neigh borhood have their fronts demolished or windows damaged. Along Larimer street in the rear of the build ing there is not a whole plate glass for block, and Lawrence street in front of the hotel shows the same effect of the eX- plosion. An estimate of the financial loss is difficult, as the insurance papers were lost in the fire, but the loss will hardly exceed $75,000. The hotel was worth about $25,000 and furnishings $10,000. IIv- erything was destroyed.
 The building was a five-story one, erected in 1888 by MT. Gunrey. The main block, which adjoins was also heavily