The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-01-29
INTEREST BEGINS TOLAG
Nearly all Of the Testimony Has Been
Given
THE JURY VIEWS THE SCENE
II Is Expected the Coroner's Jury
VIII Complete Its Labors In the
Explosion investigation some
Time This Weak.

BUTTE, Jan. 2s.-The investigation into
the disaster which has gwen the vicinity
OF the Montana Central depot n blood
stained history was resumed this morn
ing. In the enforced absence of both Mr..
Wines and Mr. Cotter, the examination
of witnesses was conducted by Assistant
County Attorney Mattison. There was
a very noticeable decrease in the number
of spec tators, which is probably due to
the general belief that about all of the
direct testimony is in.
John Caddy. tho young man who testi-
fled on Saturday, and afterwards accom-
panied the jury to the magazines, was the
first witness called. He said that he had
located the two powder magazines which
he had seen empty last November. Oae
of them is the second or third one across
the creek and is still empty. The other
warehouse is next to thus one and has n
sign bearing the name of W. NJ. Jack. 1t
Is now locked up with one lock and
bears evidence of being occupied. Caddy
was examined closely as to the exact po-
stIon in which he was standing when the
second heavy explosion occurred. Juror
Blaine asked that Caddy be allowed to ac-
company the jury to the scene of the dis
aster this afternoon, and that no material
for a distance of 200 yards north of the
wrecked warehouses be removed in the
meantime. 1t was also decided to have
Charles circuit and w. 5. Watson, the two
warehousemen, accompany the jury and
take testimony at the scene. A deputy
sheriff was sent down to the ruins to see
that nothing was remove d.
John Nadeau testified that some time
early in January he had hauled 10 boxes
of powder from the kenyon-Connell ware
house to the Gagnon mine. The powder
was piled up on the platform outside, and
he hauled 1t away about 5 o'clock in the
afternoon.
w. II. Rennish, manager for the Ken
yon-Connell company. testified as follows:
II do not know how much powder we had
at our warehouse on the night of Jan. 10
and have no means of finding out. l do
know, however, that on that day we
shipped 20 boxes out of town and one of
the drivers had to go out to the magazine
after it. / don't know how much more he
brought in. don't remember whether it
was l who te!ephoned the order for this
powder or one of the boys"
"How would you ascertain how much
powder you had on hand at any tims?"
Il would telephone the warehouse man
who kept record of the powder transac-
hiOhS uiA NiS supply tue magazine.
kept record of some hardware supplies
and some sizes of iron, but did not keep n
record of the powder. When a carload of
powder is received for our own use give
orders to have 1t hauled to the m lgazine.
When orders are received while n car is
being unloaded it is the custom of the
drivers to fill them from the car instead
of driving away out to the magazine. |
don't know anything about powder hav-
ing been taken direct to the warehouse
from car. We could trace all of the
credit sales of powder, but as we kept no
record of the cash sales it would be inn
possible to state definitely just how much
powder we had on hand at any given day.
i do not know what company occupies
the old w. NJ. Jack magazine. / would
recognize the Kenyon magazine by a now
roof and door sill which we're put in some
weeks ago."
what do you know about the removal
of powder from your store on the night of
the explosions ?'
1--WE had about two and half boxes in
the store that night. l put one box of it
on a wagon which was removing about 10
cases of powder from the basement of the
Tuttle building. One of the other men
put the other box and a half in the wagon.
l moved the powder out of our store at
the request of other powder men, who
feared that the discovery of powder in
any of the uptown stores might precpi-
tate riot. thought that the suggestion
was a good one, but if / had it to do over
again | would not have moved tho DOW
der. didn't know the exact number of
pounds of powder which we wero allowed
to keep inside of the city limits under the
law. | supposed that it was about two or
three boxes"
Harry L. Doering, who has charge of
the machinery department of the Kenyon
Ionnell company, testified that he had no
knowledge of the powder transactions of
the company and no idea how much DOW
der was stored III the lower warehouse on
the night of Jan. Is. lie had not been in
that warehouse for six or seven months
previous to the explosion. He testified as
follows: Il witnessed the three cxplo-
sions from Mr.. Young's residence
wanted to go down To the scene after the
first one, but my wife objected. After the
third explosion went out to the corner of
Main and Granite to inquire into the af-
far, and a man told me that there was
another car of powder to 90 off. | said if
that's the case, excuse me- and | went
back and got my wife and we went up to
her sisters house. north of the Gagnon
mine. If had had horse and wagon
would have driven toward Silver Bow"
ut has been reported that you said,
after the first explosion, that there was
enough powder down there to blow the
town down; is that so?''
mo, sir; | said that there was enough
powder at the magazines to blow the town
into smlthereens. 1 didn't know how
much powder there was at the ware
houses"
George ". Phillips, foreman for Irvine
q Byther, the draymen, corroborated the
testimony given by George Peery, one OF
their teamsters, on Friday reiat.ve TO the
removal of powder from the futile build
ing and the Kenyon-ConnelI store on the
night of the explosion. He did not know
wha, price had been charged for the work.
lie believed that NJ. c. Harris & Co. oc-
cupy the old W. NJ. Jack magazine.
Peter Larson of No. 33S East Platinum:
street was recalled and testified that a
rlbblch"ad was thrown through his kiicl-
Ell by the second heavy explosion. He
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