The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-05
An Unknown Number of Lodgers
Sleeping i'm One of the Buildings
Among Those Who Perished.
SEVERAL PEOPLE INJURED
MARKETMEN AND FISHERMEN
CAUGHT WHILE IN THE SALOON
Powder stored In the Structure
False Rumor About the Mafia.

1
| plosion occurred at the corner of Decatur
and Ursuline streets this morning about
o'clock The ship chambers store of
Charles j. Salathe and the adjoining saloon,
| the Fishermens Exchange, conducted by
| Charles Salathe, were completely demol-
| ished Fire broke out Immediately follow
| ing the explosion. 1t occurred in the ship
| chambers store, in which quantity OF
| powder and shot has always been kept on
| hand. The front and side walls of tie two
| buildings We're blown down, but the rear
partitions were left standing. showing that
| the explosion had occurred in the front
| part of the building. The number of dead
| is not known At least half dozen who
were sleeping in the two buildings at the
time are buried beneath the debris. and it
| is feared that they have been either
crushed to death or will be burned to a
| char before the firemen rescue them
At the hour of explosion the street in
| front was beginning to fill up with market
people. A number of wagons We're on De-
| catur street, and the sidewalks and the
markets small knots of men were getting
out their goods AM trading for their daily
supplies. Their trade was cut short by Il
| muffied sound that came from across the
st~eet, and as they nstinetively turned
expecting an explosion, the walls lifted AMI
| came down with crash on all sides. The
| force of the explosion was terrible. Drivers
were hurled from their vehicles and the
| the four winds.
| The explosion. as near as the market peo-
| pie could Judge. occurred about five min
| utes after 2 O'clock. 1t was in Salathes
! grocery and bar room, two-story build
| ing two doors from the corner. Salathe
| and his wife and one child are supposed
| to have been killed His bedroom was di-
i rectly over the powder. and he has not
| been seen since. One of his children
emerged from the ruins in his night clothes
| after the engines had been at work on the
flames about five minutes. to the surprise
| of everybody.
3:45 a. m.-Twelve people are known to be
| buried under the ruins of the two buildings
| that collapsed. The explosion was causee
| by powder stored in the grocery, which was
! blown to pieces. The French market was
| just being opened, and the men who sell
fish and other food were unloading their
| wagons. Some of them had gone into the
| saloon to drink, and the barkeeper, Felix
/ Rego. and five or six people who were
1 drinking there are under the debris. Splin>
| ters, bricks, pieces of timber and other ma
| terial were scattered on the market. dam.
4 aging that, and the windows in Sarrazin's
! tobacco factory, adjoining, were shattered.
| More than half dozen men on the streets
| were injured by falling particles. Emile
1 Boulet. the owner of the bar room, had
| stepped across the street for a moment
/ and was on the market when the explo-
| sion occurred, thus saving his own life
/ There were sleeping apartments over the
| bar room in which a number of people were
supposed to be resting for the night, as ii
| was sort of lodging house
The cause of the explosion is unknown
| The owner of the grocery store where it
| a large quantity of powder, which he sold
| to fishermen and hunters
Charles Salathe, the groceryman, is lost
/ in the ruins. together with his wife, a ten
months-old baby boy. three servants, a
/ clerk and an orphan boy. Two of the chit
| dren of the groceryman were saved One,
a little girl named Tillie, was found in the
/ debris in a different section of the ruins
from her brother Eddie Both the children
| were slightly scratched. They were nos
buried under the ruins, although they were
sleeping in different. parts of the building
| Eddie was in back room. while his moth,
er, father and the little one were sleeping
in room in front. No noise could be
| heard of the wounded under the debris,
| and the supposition is they are dead
At o'clock the estimated number of dead
was fifteen
Charles Reiss of Howard and Lafayette
wounded by flying simbers and vas carried
/ to the hospital in an ambulance. Tillie
| SaIathe was pulled out from between some
timbers by John Baggenris Desmonca I.a
Bean was injured on the head from flying
| timber. He was in the street at the time
| of the explosion
The frantic cries of excited women and
children and the shouts of the men who
surrounded the scene beggars description.