The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-05-05
And a Five Story Block is
Blown Up.
SIX PEOPLE ARE DEAD
And Eighteen Others Are More
or Less Injured.
IA Large Section of Cincinnati
Shaken Up.

and Fifth, was blown to the ground by
an explosion Of gasoline. Six people
were killed and eighteen injured
The shock was so terrific that it was
felt all over the city, and not one brick
upon another is left in the front and
rear walls of the building while the
adjacent buildings are badly damaged
and the glass in the windows in the
/ Gibson house and the large johnson
building across the street are all br0k-
en- out.
Glass was broken out of the street
cars that were passing at the time
and one of the cars was badly wrecked.
All the horses in the immediate neigh
borhood broke from their fastenings
and ran away. The explosion took
/ place four doors from the intersection
l Of Fifth and Walnut streets, where
! the postohice is located on one side and
} Fountain Square on the other. No
/ part of the city is crowded more at
/ that time Of the evening, and there
! were soon many thousands OF people
about Fountain Square and the space
/ around the government building, while
Walnut street was completely block
! AIDED. There were at first reports about
( fire works being stored in the building
/ and also about dynamite and ammu-
/ milton, so that there We're several
I stampedes in the immense crowds on
/ the reports about explosions being likely
/ to follow. Several people were slightly
/ hurt IN these stampedes. The ground
/ floor of 432 Walnut street was occu-
I pied by Adolph Drachs for a saloon.
/ He owned that part of the building and
/ the other part was owned by NJ Gold
/ smith, and the first floor of this build
/ ing at 430 Walnut was also occupied
I as a saloon, run by Louis Fey.
The dust and dirt continued flying
I for a long time so densely that the
/ work Of rescuing the victims proceeded
with great difficulty.
The saloons were said to be quite
( full Of people. one Of the barkeepers,
who was not on duty at the time and
| escaped, lived in one Of the upper
floors, was filed with grief because he
4 knew that his wife and four children
We're in the ruins. One of his children
was recovered dead soon after the ex-
plosion.
1t could not be definitely learned for
4 some time what caused the explosion
/ but it was finally ascertained that the
saloons in the building had put in their
own electric plants for incandescent
lights and had just secured q gasoline
| engine with which to run the dynamo.
I The plant got out of fix and there was
a flash which communicated to the
gasoline and caused the explosion.
The sudden collapse of the large
4 building smothered everything in the
/ cellar. SO that there was no fire.
Mr. John j. James of the Salt Lake
/ City Herald was leaving the Gibson
| house at the time of the explosion and
with his heavy grip. was blown into
the doorway of an adjoining store. He
/ recovered sufficiently to take the train
I tonight Tor St. Louis, on his way west.
Noland David, a travelling man for
/ the Columbus Carriage company was
/ walking along the street at the time
of the explosion. and was blown under
a street car and killed.
Cal Grim a well known detective in
this city who worked up the evidence
! against Jackson and Walling for the
/ murder of Pearl Bryan is among those
known to have been in Drach's saloon
at the time and now among the vic
Tins of the ruins
The family of Adolph Drachs suffered
! most severely. Drachs and his wife
are mum bered among the dead, his g.
| year-oId daughter is dead and his g.
| year-o1d boy is believed to be dying
Nolan David. a travelling man for the
Columbia Carriage company Of Ham
ilton, o. and two others, unidentified,
complete the list of those known TO be
dead
Among the injured were Sid Johnson,
barkeeper for Louis Fey, arm broken.
Billy Cook, waterWOrks emplOye, arm
broken.
Barbara Huttleson. leg broken.
Harry Harwick, waterworks en-
plOye, cut on the head
Fred Healy arm and shoulder.
Motorman Stomel.
Joseph Sprague, porter
1 Conductor Pollard.
- Fisher.
Huron.
William Lauth-
William Loheide.
H. E. HunWick bookkeeper.
S. S. Wells, clerk
w. d. Cresdey, paper hanger.
willard e. Cook, clerk
J. D Ward, race horse man of To-
ledo, 0.
Among the missing who are believed
to be in the ruins are:
r. A Fricke of Norwood: Joseph
WoOlener. barkeeper; Louis Fey. wife
and baby. also two servant girls In the
families Of Fey and Draehs.
A most touching scene occurred when
Fireman John Mccarthy found his
brother pinioned under a heavy beam
and begging the men above to kill him.
Mccarthy said there We're three other
men near him and they were alive
Herman Nolte. 1r., was sitting by
: barber pole in an adjoining building
! when struck by some debris and suf-
fered 2. broken leg and other injuries.
MI Drachs being among the victims
I it is probable that ID viii never be
He had just been down in the base
ment experimenting with the gasoline
engine and had poured a barrel Of gas
1 oL1ne into the tank