The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-01-16

BUTTE, Mont, Jan. 16.-At 9:55 o'clock
last night the fire department responded
to call from box ~, the call OF death to
nearly the entire department. The fire
was either In the store of Kenyon Connell
or the Butte Hardware Company's ware
house and both contained powder. There
was rumor that there was powder
in the buildings and this reached
the ears of the fremen as soon
as they reached the scene, out it was
dense, and after a moments hesitation
they began fighting the fire. At 10:0S
the men had barely started to work when
there was an explosion which shook
Butte to its very foundation. The pow
der in the warehouse blew mp, spreading
death and ruin to all who were near. All
but three of the firemen were killed.
1t us believed that In the
first explosion only three men
were killed. There were heroes
among the spectators, however, and as
soon as the stun Of the shock passed away
while some ran in terror others immedi-
ateiy began pulling the mutilated bodies
of the firemen and injured from the prox-
unity of the flames. From all over the city
people began moving toward the fire, and
the crowd lad greatly increased with
in five minutes. Just about that length
of time after the frs. explosion a second
explosion almost equal in volume to the
first heightened the terror all over the
city, and spread death and desolation
among scores Of citizens.
Parts Of bodies were hurled hundreds OF
feet away. A man near the Northern
Pacific tank was almost struck by the leg
and thigh OF human being, driven by
force Of dynamite from the fearful scene,
There were still heroes left to help pull
the shrieking, wounded and groaning.
There had been two explosions and there
might be more. There were rumors of
carloads OF powder in the
vicinity besides that stored In the
warehouses. Five minutes later a
third explosion did come, but
1t was mild one, and 1t is believed that
very few, II any, were injured by it. The
disaster had all occurred in Is minutes,
the most horrible quarter of an hour in
Butte's history. The scene after the ex-
plosions resembled a field of battle more
than anything else. The dead were strewn
everyw here, and the cries and groans @
the injured and dying presented a scei Q
altogether unearthly. Blood and brains
were spattered about. Here were legs and
arms; scattered around were pieces OF
flesh and eptrails.
II was sickeniug. Between the North
ern Pacific and the Great Mort hern depots,
space of 300 feet, the ground was liter
ally covered with parts OF human beings
and with the dead and injured. The scene
was one OF utter destruction. Houses in
the vicinity were badly wrecked as if
cyclone had struck them. One of the
rescuing CORPS gather 27 bodies in one
place. Eight were in another. Two and
three were in groups here and there. The
rescuers pulled some OF the bodies out
still quivering, the remnants of the human
beings still groaning while legs and arms
had been torn off. Shapeless trunks
quivered and died in the arms of the liv-
ing. The work OF rescue was prosecuted
in earnest.
Every vehicle in the city was brought
into service to carry away the scores OF
dead and the hundreds of injured. The
hospitals were filed. The spare rooms in
the hotels were taken and private houses
were thrown open where IL was necessary.
The hose wagon crew, Chief Cameron,
Assistant Chief Sloan, Sam Ash, Ed.
Sloan, Dave Moses, Dave Magee and Jack
Flannery were all supposed to have lost
their lives. Magee was the driver
and remained with the wagon
about forty yards away, while Flannery
was at the hydrant. The hook and ladder
was manned by George Fifer and Pete
Nolan of the regular department, and
William Orr a volunteer. Chief Cameron
directed the work on the building, and
while some of the firemen hauled line
OF hose along the others started in TO tear
off the iron covering OF the building so
that they could get AZ the flames. just as
they had succeeded in tearing off part
of the covering and secured an entrance
the first explosion came. A binding
sheet of flame forced the roof from its
fastenings and shot 100 feet into the air.
This was followed by second Of deadly
silence, and then came the awful roar,
carrying with it annihiation TO those
who closely surrounded the death trap
and destruction on every hand.
The sights in the undertaking estab-
lishmenIs this morning are something
awful. All are crowded with heaps OF
human flesh. Here was half n
head with mutilated trunk below IL
In another p ace an armless and Iegless
trunk with the face disBgured beyond
all possible recognition. Scarcely any of
the corpses were recognizable and the
complete roll OF dead will probably never
be known. There are IL dead at the But
ler undertaking rooms, 10 at the Mon
tsns and ~ at the Sherman.