St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-06-29
AND HEARTRENDING
TRAGEDY OCCURS ON THE
WEST SIDE
WHILE DIGGING IN THE SAND
TWO LITTLE GIRLS ARE BURIED
UNDER FIFTEEN TONS of
FALLING EARTH
WE'RE LOST IN THE AFTERNOON
And Discovered by Accident at
Midnight-Frantic Grief OF
Their Mothers.

Lost for hours and dead and man.
gled almost beyond recognition when
found! Two winsome little maidens.
Alice Puffe. aged eight, and wee
Annie Kraeger, but five years of
age, wandered from their homes on
the West side early yesterday after
noon, and the clock was striking the
hour of midnight when their lifeleSS
little bodies were restored to the
arms of their agonized mothers.
They had been buried alive beneath
fifteen tons of sand and massive
rock, which had become dislodged
while they were at play at the foot
of the high bluff on South Robert
street, near Ruby.
The scene at midnight was SOL
emn and heart-breaking one. BY
the dim light of lantern two po-
licemen and a crowd of neighbors
with spades brought to the surface
of the sand pile the mangled bodies
of the children and carefully laid
them side by side on the cold. damp
earth. And by the side of the cruel
ly bruised bodies knelt two heart
broken mothers, whose grief seemed
too great for mortal to bear. The
men removed their hats and stood
with bowed heads until the sorrow
of the mothers had been partially
alleviated by the flow of motherly
tears. Then tepderly the corpses OF
the children were removed to their
homes and kind friends led the
mothers away.
1t was the most heartrending trag-
edy enacted in this city in years.
Early yesterday afternoon these lit
tie ones, who were great playmateS
and chums, caught up their small
baskets and miniature spades and
set off for the bluff hard in search
of white sand with which to decorate
their little play yards. They had
been to the high bluff oftentimes
before, and their mothers felt no
anxiety when they kissed the little
ones good-by. Chatting away mer-
rily they ascended the hill and soon
were digging away earnestly while
they enlivened their employment
with childish conversation and
laughter. One or two neighbors who
CHANGED to pass that way exchanged
greetings with the children, and that
was the last seen of them alive.
When the hours passed by and Alice
and Annie did not return, the moth
ers became anxious.
At the supper hour no tidings had
been received from the lost children
and simultaneously the mothers ex-
changed visits in search of their wan
dering little ones. The Puffe family
lives at 80 Concord street. and the
Kraegers at SO Concord. Mrs. Puffe
had not seen the children since
o'clock, and Mrs. Kraeger had last seen
them half an hour later. Both ladies
grew very solicitous as their babies
had not been In the habit of remaining
away from home so long. A search
through the immediate neighborhood
revealed nothing. Ed Puffe. the father
of little Alice, then joined in the search
and for blocks around the vicinity was
carefully gone over. At o'clock no
trace of the children had been found
and word was sent to Ducas street
police station. Officers Malmquist and
Ringwald were at once detailed to look
up the children and after an hours
search without result, they became con-
vinced that something was wrong.
walking up the hill leading to the bluff,
officer Malmquist discovered that
, large quantity of fresh earth had
fallen from the bluff and instantly 1t
flashed through his mind that the
children were buried beneath. de
quietly impaired his ideas to his
brother officer, and in company they
examined the vicinity with the aid OF
their lantern.
When they found the imprint of lit
tie shoes their suspicious were con-
firmed and they were still further con-
yinced when one of the baskets was
found at the edge of the fallen earth.
The mothers of the little girls, who
had been following in the wake Of the
searching party, at once OWNED that
something was wrong when they saw
the officers engaged in a whispered
conversation. They hurried up and
the grave expressions on the faces of
the officers frightened them Their
instinct told them that harm had be-
fall en- their children and they wept
aloud while the officers called for
spades.
The work of digging away the sand
was commenced at once with the light
from a smoky lantern to aid the dig
gers. They went about their work
carefully, and when about three feet
in the pile, the hem OF a garment was
discovered. 1t was the dress Of little
Alice Puffe. Reaching down in the
loose earth, officer RIngwald brought
to light the dead and mangIed body of
Alice. The little ones neck had been
broken and her face was cruelty bruised
by the fragments of rock and solid
earth. Only few feet away and about
as far down, was found the body of
Annie Kraeger. She too had been bad
ly bruised and mangled AS the bodies
of the little girls were brought to light,
the agonized mothers filled the night
with their cries of sorrow. 1t was
most pathetic and the strong men who
had spent the night in ceaseless search
| for the little ones, felt their eyes fill
with tears while they gazed on the
grief-stricken mothers and the silent
little forms of their loved ones. AS
soon as advisable the mothers We're
taken from the side of their dead chill
dren, and led to their h mes while the
men followed with the remains of the
babies.
That part of the bluff which caved
In had been undermined by the daily
digging of many children at its base.
Resides it is a bluff of soft sandstone
and the recent heavy rains had helped
to loosen it above. A section or the
bluff weighing fully fifteen or twenty
tons fell upon the children.
Coroner Whicomb was summoned
and decided to hold an inquest today,