Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1895-01-25
BLAST OF DEATH.
Awful Explosion Of Giant Pow.
der at Butte.
SLAIN BY THE SCORE,
seventy.five Killed and One
Hundred Injured.

Entire Fire Department, Including
Men, Horses and Machines, Wiped
Out Of Existence -Explosive Was
Stored In a Warehouse, Contrary to
Law, and the Victims Were Un.'
warned-A All the Glass In the City
Demolished and the Property Loss
Will Reach Enormous Figures.
During the progress of n fire ut the
Kenyon-Corncll Hardware Company's
warehouse in Butte, Mont, Tuesday;
Gight u terrific explosion occurred, as q
result of which it is estimated that sew
%eDty-ive persons have lost their lives.
When the smoke had cleared away the,
terrified survivors were sickened at the
sight of the ground for n block around the
scene of the explosion strewn with the
Nuivering and d~ismcmbered flesh of men
and horses, pinned down by fragments
OF the fire engines and burning brands
IRON the demolished warehouse Upon
the site of the warehouse there was a
aghastly hole filed with debris, blazing in
hundreds of places, with here and there
the fragments of an unfortunate fireman.
The noise of the explosion broke all the
glass in the city INT caused the houses to
rock SO violently that the residents were
stricken with fear. They did not know
from what quarter the disaster had come,
iand as the explosion had almost destroyed
the burning warehouse there was little
to mark the scene of terrible destruction.
tIhe news spread like wildfire, however.
ana hundreds were soon around the spOt.
Second and Third Explosions,
After the first explosion hundreds Of
people hastened to the scene and this ac-
counts for the great loss of life. While
ithey were cndeavoring to render assist
lance to the injured the second explosion
occurred, moving down the crowds Of
men, women and children, as with II
sickle of death. The survivors were has
!tening from the scene when n third ex-
tplosion occurred, adding to the list of
victims, as many of the terror-stricken
people, fleeing from the scene of destruc-
ton, were moved down by the fying de.
'bris.
1t was speedily learned that the entire
fire department, including the chief, men,
horses and all the machines, had been
utterly swept out of existence. Owing
to the nature of the fire and its dangerous
locality the entire force was called out to
prevent a spread of the flames to adj
Joining warehouses and oil of the men
were ut work. Three policemen were
detailed to keep the spectators back, and
they were also killed. Many of the spec
tators were instantly killed and several
were hurled bnck rods from the scene of
the fire and rendered unconscious by the
force of the shock. Dozens of men were
found rods away from the warehouse
bruised, bleeding and unconscious. and
Il number of them will not recover.
Tho fire started in the Royal Milling
Company's warehouse and spread to the
Aenyon-Cornell warehouse in which was
stored a carload of giant powder. The
first explosion vas the most terrific and
killed every fireman in the immediate
vicinity save two belonging at the Central
station. One of these was standing be-
hind the hose cart horses md the other
was Mt q water hydrant some distance
away.
1t is estimated that about 100 addi-
tional persons We're injured, several of
whom died after being taken to the hos
pitfalls. III list of dead will possibly.
reach seventy-five, and the damage done
to property will be more than 100000.
In all three car loads of powder exploded,
one of which was stored in the Butte
Hardware C%ompany's warehouse, which
adjoined The enyon-Cor warehouse.
Every Fireman Killed.
The firemen who had escaped the first
explosion Immediately rallied and We're
beginning another attack when n second
explosion, more violent than the first,
took place. The people in the vicinity
were moved down as with n great scythe,
and the streets for half q block around
looked like a great battle field. Debris
was thrown high in the air, coming down
half a mile away. Many people on the
streets in the enter of the city were thus
injured.
A few of the remaining fremen were
gathering themselves together and at
tempting to escape to a place of safety
when the third and last explosion occur
red. This, too, killed and injured many
people. There were several cars of the
powder and all of them exploded. The
whole heavens were lighted up and the.
city shook as if IN earthquake was in
progress.
Immediately after the first explosion
the entire hospital corps and police force
were summoned, and many of the detach-
ments of these companies are among the
killed and injured in the subsequent ex-i
plosions.
The giant powder, which was for use
in blasting in the mines, was stored in
the warehouse contrary to law, and the
firemen had no warning Of its presence.
After the first explosion it was supposed
that there had been a single car of the
explosive, but the subsequent horrors de-
veloped the fact that there were several
cars stored in the warehouse sheds.
Sixteen bodies were taken out of one
spot. clinging together, as if welded by
the hand of cruel death, and SO MANNED
and %disfgured as to be totally unrecog-
nizable.
Handel was a s~tupendous egotist.!
When the musical correctness Of a pas
sage he had written was doubted he