Birmingham age-herald., 1895-01-17
In Which Thirty Tons of High
 Explosives Were Set Off,
GROWS IN ITS FATALITIES
Forty-Seven Dead Bodies Re- covered and More Expected.
 Great Indignation Prevails.

BUTTE, Mont, Jan. 16.-When the smoke caused by the successive explosions
 of giant powder at the hardware warehouse
 last night had cleared away the sight
 which presented itself to the survivors was sickening in the extreme. The ground
 for block around the scene of the acci-
 dent was strewn with qulvering flesh of
 dsmem bered men and horses, pinned
 down by fragments of the fire engines and
 burning brands from the demolished ware
 house.
 The warehouse is literally blown to
 pieces, and hole 75 feet deep was exca-
 vated in the ground by the force of the ex
 plosion. It is feared some bodies were
 thrown into this chasm by the force of the explosion and that they have been ere
 mated. Owing to the nature of the fire and
 it's dangerous locality the entire force was
 called out to prevent the spread of the
 flames to adjoining buildings. Three policemen who had been detailed
 to keep the crowd back were also killed. Many of the spectators were instantly killed and several hurled back some dis tance from the scene of the fire and rem dered unconscious by the force of the shock. Numerous persons living in the distant parts of the city have lost their power of hearing and speech from the fierce of the shock.
 The list of the dead will probably reach seventy five, and the damage to property will be more than S1 ,000, ,000.
 At o'clock this morning forty three
 dead bodies had been found and removed
 10 the morgue. Many of them were so
 shockingly burned and mutilated as to be
 totally unrecognizable. small boy whose name is not known was found dead In the street a block and a half from the scene of the explosion. One woman was killed in house half block away by an anvil thrown through the roof. Human heads, legs and arms were scat tered for several blocks from the scene of the greatest of the three explosions. It Is believed the complete list of the dead can- not be secured for several days. The first explosion was caused by nitro- elycerine stored in the private warehouses
 of the Kenyon Cornell Commercial com pany, which burned. The second came from car load of powder on the railroad
 track, and the third from the warehouse of the Butte Hardware company, which ad- joined that of the Kenyon Cornell com pany.
 At 10 o'clock this forenoon the known number of dead was forty seven. This list will undoubtedly be increased when
 the debris of the explosion is removed, as 1t is almost certain that bodies lie hidden in the ruins of the demolished warehouse. Of the dead thus far recovered twenty six have been identified, either wholly or partially. In some cases the ideEtif fcation
 has been by articles oi clothing or jewelry,
 the bodies being defaced and backened so as to render personal Identification inn possible. It is not i'm possible that in some cases mistakes have been made, but in gen.
 eral there is little doubt as to the indentity
 of the bodies.
 Some of the bodies, or portions of bodies, will never be identified, be cause of he irightful hanging they have undergone. Headless trunks without a vestige Of coth- ing adhering to them, dismembered limbs and pieces Of flesh are in some cases all
 that is left. The dead are now distributed among the various undertaking establish ments, but some time today or tomorrow all will be collected in one place so that Identification may be facilitated. No ar judgements have been made for the funeral, but it will be public affair, and union services will be held by the clergymen of of all denominations.
 The families of the firemen and police
 men who died in the performance of their duty will be taken care of by the city. Public su Inscriptions will be started for tn @ relief of others.
 There is the greatest popular indignation over the storage of nitro glycerine, giant
 powder and other explosives in the heart of the city, which is responsible for last nights horror. An investigation will be
 instituted to discover who is responsible,
 and if it is found that any public officials are to blame for the violation of tue city
 ordinances they will find this climate too
 warm for them. On the other hand, if the
 mercantile firms who owned the explosives are found to have violated the law deliber-
 ately they will suffer financially and other
 wise. The people are thoroughly aroused
 over the catastrophe and will make some one answer for it.
 From all that can be learn ed the total amount of explosives that went up in the
 three explos' ns was nearly thirty tons. There were twenty tons of giant powder alone that went up in the blast.