The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1895-01-25
H0RRIBLYMANG
NEARLY A HUNDRED PEOPLE
HURLED INTO ETERNITY
BY Powder Explosions During Fire
in Butte, Montana.

call Of death to nearly the entire de-
partment.
The fire was either in the store of
Kenyon Cornell, or the Butte Hard
ware Company's warehouse. There
was a rumor that there was powder in
the buildings, and this reached the
ears of the tiremen as soon as they ar
rived on the scene, but it was denied,
and, after a moments hesitation, they
began fighting fire.
The men had barely started to work
when there was an explosion which
shook Butte to its very foundations.
The powder in the warehouse blew mp,
spreading death and ruin to all who
were near. All but three of the fire.
men we're killed. 1t is believed that
in the first explosion only three fire
men were killed.
There were heroes among the spec
tators, however, and as soon as the
stun Of the shock passed away, while
some ran in terror, others Immediate
ly began pulling the mutilated bodies
of the fremen and the injured from
the proximity of the flames. From
all over the city people began moving
toward the fire and the crowd had
greatly increased within five minutes
just about that length of time after
the first 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 hum
dreds of feet away. A man near the
Northern Pacific water tank was al
most struck by the leg and thigh of
human being, driven by the force of
dynamite from. the fearful scene.
There were still heroes left to help
pull the shrieking wounded and the
grooming dying to distance, but the
people up town hesitated. There had
been two explosions and there might
be more. There were rumors of car
loads of powder in the vicinity, besides
that stored in the warehouses.
Five minutes later a third explosion
did come, but it was q mild one, and
it was believed that very few if any
were injured by it. The disaster had
all occurred in fifteen minutes, the
most horrible in the states history.
Like a Scene of Battle.
The terrible scene after the explo-
sion resembled a field of battle more
than anything else. The dead were
strewn everywhere and the groans of
the injured and dying, presented a
scene altogether unearthly. Blood and
brains were spattered about. Here
were legs and arms, scattered around
were pieces of flesh and entrails. 1t
was sickening.
Between the Northern Pacific and
the Great Northern depots, a space of
800 feet, the ground was literally COW
cred with parts of human beings and
with the dead and injured.
The scene was one of utter and alb
solute destruction. The houses in the
vicinity were as thoroughly wrecked as
if cyclone had passed through them.
One of the rescuing corps gathered
q dead bodies in one pile. 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 living.
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 filled.
The spare rooms in the hotels were
taken and private houses were thrown
open where it was necessary.
1t is estimated that rs to 100 per-
sons are already dead, and it is impos-
sible to get the names on account of
the mangle condition of the remains.
1t is likely that many will never be
identified. Investigation but adds to
the horrors of the terrible accident
The brilliant glare of the skies from
the flames of the burning buildings
passed away only to be succeeded by
the leaden gray Of early morning, thus
giving to the awful scene a fitting
canopy.
Who is Responsible?
There is the greatest popular indig-
nation over the storage Of nitro-glyc-
crime, giant powder and other explos-
ives in the heart of the city which is
responsible for the horror. An inves-
LEGATION will be institused to discover
who is responsible, and if it is found
that any public officials are to blame
for the violation Of the city ordinances
they will find the climate too warm for