The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-01-23
GETTING AT THE FACTS
Evidence BEFORE The COrOner'S Jury
Yesterday.
AS TO THE POWDER ON HAND
There Was a Great Deal Of Very
Interesting Testimony Con-
corning the stock In the
Warehouses.

BUTTE, Jan. 22.-The investigation to
determine the responsibility for the terri
bly, fatal explosions of a week ago to-
night was resumed at 10 o'clock this fore
noon, and w. X. Kenyon was recalled to
furnish some information which he could
not give yesterday, and which he was
given time to secure. He stated that his
company kept no stock books, and he was
therefore unable to state how much pow
der was stored in the warehouse on Tues
day night.
"Is your business conducted in such a
way that you are positively unable to state
how much powder there was in the ware
house on Tuesday night ?'' asked Mr.. Cot
ter.
"The only record we might have on that
point is the warehouseman's books" .
"Would it be possible for powder to be
consigned to you under some other
name?"
mo, don't think it would"
what time did you get to your retail
store on Tuesday night?''
about two or three hours after the ex-
plosion."
Had anything been removed"
Yes; l understood that two boxes of
powder had been removed. Personally
don't know anything about it.''
Mr.. Kenyon stated that there was no
oil or other explosives. or pipe or iron
wheelbarrows, stored in the warehouse.
r. J. WATSON.
r. j. Watson, manager of the Butte
Hardware company, was then recalled to
testify to some matters which he had been
asked to look up yesterday afternoon.
lie testified as follows:
"Our last CONSIGNMENT of r,ovIor nom
ssting of 4S0 boxes, was received on Dec.
4, 1894. On Jan. l we had 81 boxes at
the magazine and as near as / can ascer-
tain we sold 56 boxes between Jan | and
Jan Is. / took an invoice yesterday and
found that we had 279 boxes at the
magazine, including four cases of an in
ferior powder which were not included in
the inventory taken Jan. l. Between
Jan. 10 and yesterday we probably sold 10
boxes: some was shipped TO Silver Star
and some was sold to different leasers."
Then" said Mr.. Wines, "if you had
341 or 34j boxes on Jan. and you say
that you sold 90 boxes up to the 18th,
which would leave 2S5 or 289 on hand, and
you had 275 or 279 when you invoIced
yesterday and had sold 10 boxes between
the 18th and yesterday you could not have
had a pound of powder in your warehouse
on Tuesday night if your calculation is
correct?'
II don't see how we could"
Then if it we're shown that 10 boxes of
UNEMPLOYED Judson powder had been
picked up on the scene of the explosion
after the disaster it would show that you
were wrong in your calculations, would it
not2 ~
Yes; might have made a mistake of
that quantity"
You are certainly mathematician
enough to count boxes, are you not?'
Yes, but the rows might have been I'M
even AMI | might have made a mistake of
few boxes"
"Then supposing that 10 boxes of unex-
ploded powder of the kind handled by you
had been picked up it would show that you
were wrong to that extent, would it ?''
II don't believe that l could possibly
have made a mistake of over 10 boxes. 1t
is possible that mistake might have
been made in taking the invoice at the
magazine on Jan. l."
IF it should develop that on the day of
the explosion your magazine doors were
open and the magazine empty where
would the powder have been?'
II would say that it had been taken
away, but l know that 1t was there on
Jan. and yesterday"
''As general manager of your COM
pany, with full access to the books, &C.
counts and invoices, would it be possible
for you to tell US how much powder you
had in bond on Jan. 10 and where it was
stored?'
ut would only be close approxima-
ton, but will find out as nearly as pos
sible. We had half box of powder at
the store on Jan. 10 and | don't know of
any having been removed from there"
Mr.. Watson stated that his firm had
iron wheelbarrows, bellows and bar iron
stored in the warehouse which was de-
stroyed, but no scrapers, sheet brass or
rabble heads. He believed that there
were some scrapers belonging to the Bee
Hive stored in the small building east of
the Kenyon-Connell warehouse. He said
that he went to the scene on Tuesday |
night after the second explosion. At the
conclusion of his testimony he was tenn. |
porarily excused.
j. E. DAWSON.
j. Z. Dawson, the Great Northern gen. |
eral agent, testified relative to the char |
acter of goods delivered TO the Kenyon |
Connell and Butte Hardware companies.
He said that since Dec. 10 the Great North
ern road had delivered a car of iron, one
OF handles and one of candles to the Ken
-Connell company. He gave the num-
bers OF the cars, and gave the modus OPP
erandl of transferring cars from the Mon
tana Union to his road. He did not
believe that car or part of a car of pow
der of any kind or description had over
been delivered to either the Kenyon-Con-
nell or Butte Hardware companies ware
houses. Cars containing powder, he said,
were all labeled in large letters. The ma
jor was excused temporarily to secure
more detailed information relative to the
disposition of all cars consigned 10 either
of the two hardware companies.
WILLIAM GEMMELL.
William Gemmell, joint freight and
ticAet agent for the Northern Pacific.
Union Pacific and Montana Union. |
proved a very important witness and, he
gave a graphic description of the fire and |
the EXPLOSIONS. he said that when |
fire. ght trains arrived the conductor