Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-01-23
SCORES WERE KILLED.
Powder Warehouse at Butte,
M ont, Blows Up.
The Entire Fire Department Wiped Out Of
Existence.

Butte, Mont, Jan. 16.-At 9:55 O'Clock
last night the fire department responded
to a call from box ~. the call of death
to nearly the entire department. The fire
was either in the Kenyon Cornell or the
Butte Hardware company's warehouse,
and both contained powder There was
rumor that there was powder in the build
ing, but this was denied, and after
moments hesitation they began fighting
the fire.
The men had barely started to work
when, at 1905, there was an explosion
which shook Butte to its very foundation
The powder in the warehouse blew up,
spreading death and ruin to all who were
near. All but three of the hremen were
killed. 1t is believed that in the first
explosion only three fremen were killed.
There were heroes among the spectators,
however, and as soon as the stun Of the
shock passed away, while some ran IL
terror, others Immediately began pairing
the mutilated bodies Of the fremen and
the injured from the proximity Of the
flames.
From all over the city people began
moving toward the fire and the crowd
had greatly increased within five min
utes. Juet about that length of time
after the first explosion a second ex-
plosion, almost equal in volume to the
first, heightened the terror all over the
city and spread death and desolation at
the disastrous scene In this explosion
scores of citizens we're killed and injured.
Parts of bodies were hurled scores of feet
away. A man near the Northern Pacific
water tank was almost struck by the
leg and thigh of human being, driven by
the force of dynamite from the fearful
scene. There were still heroes left to
help pull the shrieking wounded and the
grooming dying to a distance, but peo-
pie uptown hesitated. There had been
two explosions and there might be more.
There were reports of carloads of pow
der IN the vicinity besides that stored in
the warehouses.
A third explosion did come five minutes
later, but it was mild one, and it is
believed that very few, if any, were in
jured in it. 1t had all occurred in ff-
teen minutes, the most horrible quarter
of an hour in Butte's history. The hor
rible awfulness of the scene after the
explosions were beyond description
Words could give no idea of it. 1t pre-
sented more the appearance of a field
Of battle than anything else. The dead
were strewn everywhere and the cries
and groans of the injured and dying pre-
sented scene altogether unearthly.
Blood and brains were spattered about.
Here were legs and arms, scattered
around, and there were pieces of flesh
and entrails. 1t was sickening.A
Between the Northern Pacific and
Great Northern ,depots, a space of 300
feet, the ground was literally covered
with parts of human beings and with
the dead and injured. The scene was one
of utter and absolute destruction The
houses in the vicinity were as thoroughly
wrecked as if a cyclone had passed
through them. One of the rescuing
corps gathered twenty-seven dead bodies
in one pile. eight were in another, two
and three in other piles. The rescuers
pulled some of the bodies out still quiz
erlng, the remnants of the human beings
still grooming while legs and arms had
been torn off. Shapeless trunks quivered
and died in the arms of the living
The work of rescue was prosecuted in
earnest. Every vehicle in the city was
brought into service to carry away the
scores of dead and the hundreds of in
jured The hospitals were filed. The
spare rooms in the hotels were taken and
private houses were thrown open where
it was necessary. The hose wagon crew
was composed of Chief Cameron, Assist
ant Chief Sloan, Sam Ash, Ed Sloan.
Dave Moses, Dave MCGEE and Jack Elan
merry. MCGEE was the driver, and re-
manned with the wagon about forty yards
away, while Flannery was at the hydrant
The hook and ladder was manned by
George Fifer and Pete Nolan of the regu-
lar paid department and William Orr, one
of the volunteers. Chief Cameron direct
ed the attack on the building and while
some of the hremen hauled a line of hose
along, the others started in to tear off the
iron covering of the building so that they
could get at the flames. Just they had
succeeded in tearing off a part of the COW
ering, and secured an entrance, the first
explosion came. A binding sheet of
flame forced the roof from its fastenngs
and shot hundreds of feet into the air.
followed by a second of deadly silence
and then came the awful roar carrying
with it humiliation to those who closely
surrounded the death trap and destruction
on every hand.
The dead who have been identified are:
J. B. MILLER, attorney, Salmon City, Ida.
J. D. CAMERON, fire marshal.
GEORGE FIFER, fireman.
JACK SLOAN fireman.
WILLIAM MCGEE, fireman.
G. E. TRACEY.
G. w. ENGLISTER.
FRED KROMBACK.
ALBERT GODDARD.
j. ]. ENRIQHT.
j. J. McHALE.
ROBBINS.
COUZAQUE.
MIKE MEAD.
WILL SMITH.
GEORGE WELTON.
JACK CHARLES.
1t is Impossible to obtain anything like
complete list of dead tonight. The loss
of life is variously estimated at from fifty
to seventy-fve, and the wounded will prob
ably exceed $50.
REVOLT IN HAWAII.