The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-01-30

less than car load lots. lie had heard
ihat about month ago a part of a car
load had been shipped in from Divide
where a portion of it had been unloaded
out he had no actual knowledge of the
occurrence. Mr.. Gemmell. he said, would
De the man to furnish information on this
point as he kept record of less than car
load lots.
Martin Kiey testified as follows: ~
| rode down 10 the fire with Chat Burns on
the hook and ladder truck. The fire was
In the henyon-Connell warehouse on
| which the firemen went to work. The
last l saw of E Idle Sloan he was trying to
break in the door at the north end with
| an axe. Jack Sloan was trying to chop a
hole in the west side of the northwest
! corner of the building. / was standing
pack OF the road watching the fire. George
tIfer and p. j. Noring took a ladder from
the truck and placed it against the north
wall OF the building. There was a little
pun which did no damage and a few
minutes afterwards the first heavy ex-
plosion came. At that time Fifer was
ABOUT half way up the ladder and
Norling was standing at the
foot of it. Chief Cameron was
| standing between the two warehouses
when last saw him. He had a long pole
In his hands and thought he was Just
getting ready to pull off the sheet iron COW
erlng. The explosion knocked me back
| almost to the pile of boilers and was I'M
conscious for several minutes. | am posi-
tive that the first puff was in the Kenyon
Connell warehouse. and the first heavy
explosion took place in the northwest cor
ner OF the same building. The Butte
Hardware building was intact before the
llrst big explosion and there was no fire
In II; The Caplice warehouse caught fire
Just before the first heavy explosion and
saw Chief Cameron order the men to
throw water on 1t. picked myself up
Just before the second explosion and
looked around. l could not see any of the
iiremen. L was looking straight at the
henyon-Connell building when the sec
ond heavy explosion took place and am
positive that 1t also came from that ware
house. l could not be mistaken about it,
That explosion rolled me back so or go
feet further. Two men then came along
ana carried me to the Garrison house. /
had bad cut on my head, and a lot of
cuts and bruises and my clothes were all
torn. don't know anything about the
third heavy explosion. The Kenyon-Con-
nell warehouse had a gable roof running
north and south.o
James A. Brainerd walked down Ohio
street TO the tire after the first heavy ex-
ploslon. lie testified as follows: II was
within about $50 or POO feet north of the
building when the second explosion oc-
CURED. l was helping to carry out an in
Jured man that we had met and when the
second explosion went off laid the man
down and ran up to the car repairers'
house, below the Northern Pacific tracks,
ana got IN an clubhouse. When | got
down to where l assisted in helping TO
carry out the injured man | saw that the
quite Hardware building was all burned
down except the framework. There was
lire IN there. The kenyon-ConnelI ware
house was also burning. but don't know
now much OF IT, or what portion was left
standing. | have tried several times |
since then TO recall how much of the |
hIIt Ia I'M xnr1a cta a, l..a
Der. think. however, that part of the |
north walt was standing.
II think that the second heavy explosion |
came from the northwest corner of the /
henyon-Connell warehouse. | did not
notice the condition of any of the build
lngs after the second explosion. | could |
not describe any of the debris that was
thrown around except a big bundle of
white waste which | noticed before the
second explosion. When the third explo-
sion occurred was helping to carry ou, a
man just below the Northern Pacific |
tracks and could not tell where it came
from. About week ago n man who
works for the Kenyon-Conneli company
asked me what knew about the explo-
sons and L also talked with Mr.. Forbis
about It,"
w. NJ. Tuohy, general agent for the
Northern Pacific, was asked to state the
shipments of powder into Butte over his
road since Dec. l. and was excused TO look
lp the records and secure an authentic
statement.
Carl Nickel went to the fire after the
1rst heavy explosion, and he gave the fol-
owing evidence: II went in past the
)ottllng works and walked up back of the
boilers. There man asked me 20 go in
With him and help carry out a friend of
MS who was not dead, and / went with
nm. noticed the hose wagon and the |
lead horses, and ] walked over to see if | |
Gould ind Dave Magee. | then realized |
What the explosion had been. l walked
IN down then and stopped beside the | ..
'ody of the colored boy between the hose
wagon and the northeast corner of the |
Butte Hardware building. At that time
he Butte Hardware company's ware. ,
ouse was just beginning to burn on the
asst side. The building was not de-
troyed. The kenyon-Connell building 4
vas all on fire and partly destroyed. / /,
vas STOPPING over the colored bows body 1
'hen the second heavy explosion oc- !
urred. 1t came from the Butte Hard
ARE company's warehouse. [ then ran
p past the boilers away from the fire, |
asslng Chief Leyden and several other
zen. had turned around and started to '
o back when tho third explosion went off
| seemed to come from a point farther I
est than the others. After that | went l
ack and helped carry out Tom Burns. |
aw some large IRON pipe and sheet iron
catered around prior to the second ex- g
Ben Tibbey, superintendent of the Par u
OF mine, testified that he had been min s
lG for 30 years and had been using giant u
owder since 1875. lie considered himself n
good judge of the explosive force of C
owder under certain conditions. He was &
! his residence on Upper Main street v
hen the first heavy explosion occurred L
nd his first thought was that somebody q
adj put some powder under his house and
Sploded it, The children we're awakened "
nd badly frightened, and there was SO "
luch excitement in the house that he did K
OF pay much attention TO tie second ex- y
Iosion. He would not express an opinion y
) to how much powder had gone off in q
lie lrst and second explosions, but said n
lat there must have been considerable e
it," He thought there must have been d
more than three or four boxes or any, o
ing of that kind" He had had s. pounds d
thawed powder explode i'm a drift in the
arrot mine and the force of the explosion
as noticed as being stronger than orli-
|