The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-01-29

| would leave at the warehouse. Some
times | would leave moro than half the
load, but usually there would be orders
for the biggest half of the load. There
was a small room in the northwest corner
OF the warehouse. The largest amount l
ever saw IN that room was 10 boxes. The
| little room would hold more than 100
| boxes. l have seen as high as p boxes IN
the warehouse outside of the powder room.
/ could not say whether there was any
powder in the powder room at the time
saw the % boxes in the rest of the ware
/ house."
Robert Elliott testified as follows; II
was IN the employ of the Butte Hardware
company up to Dec. :. | had worked for
/ them for eight years, as warehouseman
part OF the time. We kept from one to
/ four boxes of powder in the warehouse
! over night. we never had n greater guam
/ tity than that on hand over night. | never
know the driver to bring i'll more powder
/ from the magazine than he had orders
/ for. We never anticipated orders for
/ powder. never knew of a car of powder
being unloaded at the warehouse. The
| powder was stored in the northeast end of
! the warehouse. | went into the Kenyon
! Connell warehouse occasionally for IRON.
! | never remember of having seen moro
| than five boxes OF powder there. The
/ Butte Hardware building was about Is
inches or two feet above the ground.
! When l left the employment of the Butte
| Hardware company l was discharged. i
| have not been offered a situation there. L
never knew of powder beng stored under
the floor of the warehouse"
| Ferdinand Grefig testified as follows:
| II saw the fire from the ity hotel, which
/ is about 12o yards west of the warehouses.
| saw the firemen come down. When l
| first saw the fire before the firemcn ar
| rived IL seemed to me to be in the build
ing between the two large warehouses.
| The Butte Hardware company's ware
lOISo CanOnt fire and first heavy
| explosion seemed TO come from the north
| east corner of that building. the little
| puff that preceded it seemed to come from
the Caplice warehouse. | could not see
| which building the firemen went to work
| on. The fire was in the building running
| north and south. did not see the second
explosion and did not visit the ruins until
| the next morning
| w. O. Thomas testified that he was in
| the employ of the Kenyon-Connell COM
| pany as assistant bookkeeper for about
| two and hali.years and was familiar with
| the customs ct the company. Whenever
| they received an order for powder which
| they could not fill at the warehouse he
said they sent out TO the magazine and
had a load brought in. lie thought that
| when they had an order for % or 30 boxes
| they had a full load brought in. IL was
| always the custom to bring in more than
the orders called for and leave the bal
ance at the warehouse, with possibly two
| had never seen more than four or five
| boxes at the warehouse. There might
| have been 10 or 10 boxes stored there. He
| had no business at the warehouse and
| visited il very seldom.
| William johnson testified that he had
been employed by both the Butte Hard
ware company and Kenyou-Conncll com
pany to unload cars. H. started down to
| the fire but the first heavy explosion oc-
Cured just as he reached the Northern
Pacific tracks and he turned around and
| went back home. He Duld not tell where
the expios on came from. He never unload.
ed powder al either OF The warehouses and
never saw any powder stored in either of
them. The witness said that he met John
Forbis on the street a few days ago, but
denied that he mad a talk with Mr.. Forbis
or any one else ABOUT tho explosion.
why did you stop when you reached
the Northern Pacific track?' asked
Juror Cullom.
"Bscause knew from the first explosion
that there must be something wrong
"And you did not care to go any nearer
to those warehouses;
mo. sir"
II don't blame YOU"
John Hendricks testified that he had
been in the employ of the henyon-Con-
nell company as tinsmith about three
years up to five months ago. He had seen
as high as 10 or II boxes of powder stored
IN their warehouse outside of the powder
room. He had seen this condition of
things two or three times. He never saw
more than four boxes of powder at the
store. lie testified that he had seen a ha
barrel of caps IN the yard back of the
store. Mr.. Hendricks said that he quit
the Kenyon-Connell company on friendly
terms and had no i'll feeling against
them.
Con Shehan, a 10-year-old boy, testified
as follows II live about three blocks
from the warehouses and was in bed wnen
l heard the alarm, but got up and dressed
and started TO the fir. When | saw
where the fire was | thought OF the pow
der aud went back home"
"How did YOU know that there was
powder there ~
II was around the warehouses on Satur-
day before the fire. Arthur Rivet and l
went down to get piece of steel for his
sled. We went to the henyon-Connell
warehouse first. but il was locked, and we
went into the Butte Hardware complny's
warehouse. While we were in there |
noticed three boxes of powder IN the
northwest corner near the door. We could
not get what we wanted there for less
than SIX bits, and we went back TO the
Kenyon warehouse which was open then.
While we were in the Kenyon warehouse
j noticed % boxes of powder piled up in
the southwest corner, next to the rail-
road track. There was so many boxes
that | counted them. | was in the Office
in the northeast corner, but did not notice
the powder room. | knew that the boxes
contained powder, because each had The
word powder on il in red letters. / was
familiar with the location of the ware
houses
Arthur Rivet, the Shehan boys compan-
ion. also got up out of bed TO run to the
fire. and he told the following story of It:
II walked down to within five or SIX feet
of the boilers that were lying north of the
Butte Hardware building AMI stopped
there. The firemen were then working
on the Kenyon-Connell building. which
was on fire; there was big blaze At the
north end of 1t. / think the first heavy
explosion came from the kenyon-Connell
building. Ii whirled me around and threw
me quite ways. | was all SCRATCHED up
and got two holes III my legs from flying
pieces of iron. ! ran TO the Garrison No.
tel, and then some men carried me home.
There was no fire IA the Butte Hardware
building before the first big explosion"
What do you know about there having
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