The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-08
Sickening Scenes Witnessed in
the Debris of the Journal
Building.
THE BOILER WAS BLOWN IN TWO
Low Water and Carelessness on the
Part of the Engineer Caused
the Disaster.

DETROIT, MICH, Nov. THE work of
recovering the bodies of the victims of the
Journal boiler explosion continued all day
to-day. By tomorrow morning all the
debris will have been explored and the last
of the bodies recovered. Up to 6 O'Clock
this morning eighteen bodies had been
taken out of the ruins, nearly all of them
frightfully burned. AS the workers got
into that portion Of the debris into which
fire had not crept, the condition of the
corpses recovered was found to be better.
Death had come to the victims OF the dis
aster so suddenly that many of them were
found in the very attitude in which they
were at the moment of the explosion.
Fourteen corpses were taken out of the
ruins between o'clock this morning and
8 o'clock this evening. They were: Jen-
ME Noubouer, Catherine Hitler, Bertha
Weld busch, Katie Leonard, John Koeber,
Rosa Morgan, John Breitenbecher, Ernest
Parkins, Emma Lichtenberg, - Weld
busch, Rose Bretz, Lue Fritz, John Fran
els Derby and Joseph Bradley.
Up to O'Clock this evening every body
taken from the ruins had been identified
by friends and relatives. One body re-
covered from the ruins to-day was that of
a young woman, sitting bolt upright in a
chair as she had been when the explosion
took place. She had been suffocated.
At o'clock the first body of the after
Moons find was taken out of the ruins.
Friends OF the missing formed a circle
about the scorched figure of a girl, from
which one foot was missing, but there was
no one to speak her name. A silver watch
was secured with gold chain and charm /;
also dress pin with garnet setting a few
moments later a gentleman entered and
identified tie articles as those of his
daughter. Emma Lichtenberg. A few min
utes before o'clock the ghastliest find of
the day was made. 1t was the trunk of
woman. The body was bloody and the
arms and feet burned Off The head was
seen at some little distance from the trunk,
completely severed by falling timber. 1t
was hard work getting out these awful re-
mains for they were pinned down by tim
bers, and the men had TO saw away the
wood bit by bit. Fred Weidbusch looked
only nj the red underskirt and corset and
declared it was one of his two daughters
Annie or Lizzie, he could not tell which
one, as they dressed alike.
when the other one is found I will
know them by measuring their skirts" he
said, as he returned to the scene of horror
to look for the body of his other dead
child, the third of the trio of Weidbusch
girls-two sisters and cousin-who met
their death there.
About o'clock three bodies were found
together under the debris in the alley in
the rear of the Journal building. There
were two men and a girl in the group.
The girl lay wedged between the other two
corpses. She was Lue Fritz, an appren-
tice in the machine-shop of the Rogers
Typograph Supply Company. In her
hand she still held the small bit of ma
chinery with which she was working. On
either side of her were Bradley and Derby
the carpenters who were caught while
making some alterations to the building
About 6 o'clock the body of George Hitler
who operated the book-bindery, was taken
out.
At this point the work of recovery had
to be stopped to permit of the snoring oi
walls that threatened the safety of the
workers. Thirty-three of thirty nine miss.
ing had been recovered. The list of the
dead, with two or three exceptions, is ex
actly as sent out by The United Press last
night. Nelson la Croix, Journal press
man counted among the missing, turn:
out to have been home sick in bed at the
time of the disaster and Lizzie Taylor wa.
confounded with Lizzie Weidbusch.
The cause of the fatality was developed
to-day when a piece of one of the boilers
was uncovered by the wreckers TIL,
boiler had been torn in two in the middle
tubes, rivets and plates parting as cleanly
as if they had been cut with coldchisel
A piece of this boiler had evidently beer
driven in each direction by the force of tht
explosion. The portion found disclosed tt
the expert engineers who examined it a.
once that the cause of the explosion wa.
low water.
This throws the responsibility upon tn,
engineer and the owners of the building
the former of whom had been repeatedly
warned that he was too careless by neigh
boring engineers, while the owners of th'
property had been given atleast one forma
notice that he was negligent
One of the undertakers who distinguished
himself yesterday by fighting for corpse
again gained unpleasant notoriety to-day
The fight for bodies did not cease at thu
scene of the ruins. The human fiend'
hovered over the city waiting for the las
spark of life to leave the unfortunate
sufferers, and were ready TO grasp the
mangled remains. Tne undertaken who
started yesterdays fight was at the emerg
ency hospital when Lizzie Tapley breathec
her last, and with vulturous greed assumed
charge.
The idea of his having charge was too
terrible for the friends of the young lady
and they protested, yet the undertake.
refused to'giye up the remains. The fam
lily protested TO Coroner Butler, and he a.
once made the undertaken turn the body
over to the family undertaken.
Following is the complete list of the
dead recovered: George G. Hitler, mar
ried, two children; John Francis Derby
carpenter, married, two children; JOSEPH