The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1896-05-28
A DREADFUL CRASH.


sudden Cola pse Of = building Undergoing
Repairs-IArge Numbers buried In tho
Ruins The Bodies of Two of the Nic-
tinls Taken Out Dead aud Great Many
seriously Injured Many Miraculous RS
cspes-
RvFFALo. y. u. May ai.--A section
Of the >eneca-street front 81 Browns
building collapsed NJ 9:s0 this MORN
ing. bury.ng a score Of persons IA the
ruins. George Metz. barber. anu
Jennie Smith. cashier in the barber
shop are dead; William l.. straub, a
contractor. i known TO be in the
ruins. and a dozen Others are more or
less in jurcd. one of whom will proba-
bly, die.
Browns building stood on the cor
ncr ~ Main and Seneca streets, aal
for years the Western Union Iele graph
Co had occupied the ground hoor
as a business Office anda ~ the fourth
door a. an operating room.
The building was filed with Offices,
many OF which were occupied. and on
the ground floor on both Main and
seneca streets were stores occupied by
merchants.
The Western Union left the building
few weeks ago and the owners OF the
block began the work Of remodeling
and strengthening il. On the Seneca
street side. worSmen were engaged IN
putting in place new columns and
beams and new foundations for them.
Nos. and 10 seneca street We're
unoccuped, the principal alterations
being made 1t that point. No. II was
occupied as barber shop By George
Seinert. and No. IL BY James Cleggs
jewelry store and Thomas Jones news
stand The offices in the floors above
were nearly all tenanted. and alto
gether there were probably fifty peo-
pie ia the collapsed section. The
walls fell with crash. taking down
roof and ceiling with them.
Here aud there could be seen people
who had not been caught in the fall
ing debris rushing to places Of safety.
The outer wall fell into the street,
burying those who had not time to
escape.
The fire department was called and,
with the police and workmen who
came rushing to the falling building,
the work Of rescue was begun. some
OF the people who had been in the
building were saved almost miracu-
.ously. having been penned in by The
falling windows and sill. They We're
taken out a. soon as possible.
In the seinert barber shop were nine
BARRIERS, the girl cashier and some GUS
toners. When the crash came all
ru.hcd to the front door. but the fall
ing bricks drove them back. Those
in front rushed To the alley. only 10
be me. by the falling rear walls. where
Met. was buried and killed. The 9TH
ers croucAed in a corner .: the shop
until the avalanche ceased, Haen they
made their escape
The experience of the occupants OF
No. - was somewhat similar 10 those
in the barber shop, but az escaped
without injury.
In Nos. and 10 were probably
twenty worhmen. including steam fit-
tiers. iron workers, carpenters and
pla~tercrs. and it was here that the
crash was greatest. Nearly all OF the
men were caught in the falling walls
and aoors and buried in the ruins.
The tenants on the upper floors had
many narrow escapes. but 50 far as
known. all Of them succeeded in max
ing their escape.
The search for the missing began
and the ruins were worked over in the
hope Of finding the bodies 81 Contrac-
tor Straub and Jennie Griffith. who
were known to be soncw here among
the mass Of wreckage shortly before
6o'cloek the body Of Miss Griffith was
found and removed - the morgue.
straub's body has not been found