The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1896-01-09
LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE.
An Hxplosion Shook the Business
Center OF St Louis,
DAMAGED PROPERTY Or GREAT IlLul



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LOUIS Oans nas n"1io"iJ
escaped ne1ng the worst noiocaust tnAt
/ ever visited this city occurred shortly
/ before one o'clock Yesterday at ali
/ North Second street. But for the fact
that nearly all of the em,fsoves Of that
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snu 01oSs 1.s's-
| gone OUT 10 oinner or 70 taAe IN airing
| aiter paftakin8 OF tnelr noon iuncn-
cons, scores OF mangled dead and
charred remains would have fbeen
added to the comparatively few unfor-
! tunate victims of terrific explosion
| of either a boiler In the cellar or fire.
x,orlrs s+r,.ed i, +ha raa,. ~ tha lnild.
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ing na"ea' wn.cn was occupaeu ~ srs
/ Ancnor feanu1 10 anu 'ne
Grubbs Commission Co, IN whose GUS
tody the large stock OF fireworks was
| at the time.
| While it NAV never be known to
! which of the causes surmised the dis
/ aster was really due, the tremendous
| force expended in the rear, which
badly shattered all the buildings across
the alley, gives color to the fireworks
theory.
AS soon as the reverberating report
rolled away from the deadly center,
gathering crowds of men and boys
| were seen Fastening toward the spot
whence it proceeded. Once in Second
street the mad throngs involuntarily
stopped as the awfully confusing pic
ture of men and teams mixed up in
one apparently unextricable mass, only
| glimpses of which could be caught here
| and there though the enveloping pail
of smoke that rolled down the
street and mounted4far above the tops
| of the tallest buildings; and it re-
quired much nerve or an unusual
amount of curiosity to prompt the
comparatively few who ventured into
| that gloomy cloak of death. For
| springing as if by magic from some
unknown source came the rumor that
the shock had been caused by an ex-
| plosion of powder and that much more
remained to add its quota OF horror to
that already visible.
Long before reaching. the wrecked
building the crunching of shivered
/ glass underfoot and the occasional
| stumbling over the wreck of wagon
or a dead or wounded horse, told but
too plainly of the terrific force of the
concussion; for here it may be stated
i that throughout four city blocks the
| destruction OF window giass-much OF
it costly platc-was general, while IN
blocks more remote much damage OF
similar kind was done. Large slices
were also blown out OF walls OF old and
substantial buildings hundreds OF feet
removed from the actual explosion,
and in some cases partially Protected
by intervening houses.
Arrived on the scene at the Second
street side of the wreck, it was found
that the entire front of the four-story
building in which the accident oc-
Cured was razed to the pavement,
| while little tongues of fame were be-
ginning to shoot up from the debris
piled up on the first floor. Part OF the
second and third floors remained, and
upon these, exposed to plain view, was
piled up thousands OF bushels OF pea
nuts in sacks. ah
Almost instantly, and without any
apparent means of communication, the
1ameswere waited to the under side OF
the second floor, and in less time than it
takes to tell it the whole under side OF
the floor was sheet OF hame, which
quickly burned its way through and,
communicating with the floor above,
what was left of the structure was
4 zf n~~.o