Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-05-25
FIFTEEN IN THE RUINS.
Twelve or More People Thought to
Have Been Killed at
Buffalo.

Buffalo, n. Y, May 21.-The four
story brick building, 8 and 10 Seneca
street. part of it forming portion of
the Brown bUilding recently vacated by
the Western Union Telegraph company,
collapsed today while large number of
men were at work in the building re-
modelling it.
Tie falling walls went down upon a
couple of smaller brick buildings adj
joining on the east side and practically
demolished them. Schnert's barber shop,
next door to the falling building, was
crushed as if it had been an egg shell.
1t was full Of BARRIERS and customers at
the time.
Quickly responding to an alarm force
of hremen went to work to clear away
the ruins. Their zeal was quickened by
hearing the agonized cry of men be-
meath the debris.
The walls on the west, north and south
sides stood nearly intact. The front
wall having fallen out gave the ruins
the appearance of hollow square.
portion of the building an immense piece
Of ceiling and floor seemed to hang above
the heads of the rescuing party.
The wall on the south had broken at
the top and a portion of it had been
carried away by the roof as it caved IN
This wall from the second story up to
what had been the third stood unsup-
ported and was regarded as the chief
danger to the rescuers and those still
beneath the ruins.
After twenty minutes hard work the
firemen reached and eXtricated one of
the victims, mangled and bleeding but
still alive. He was taken away in an
ambulance. Later directed by groans
proceeding from a mass Of beams, lath,
brick and plaster, the firemen reached
second sufferer. He was a young man.
Though he had been under ten feet of
debris he was able to stand when once
he was eXtricated. He is not dangerous
ly hurt.
He is Robert CASTER a steamftter,
who was in the cellar and heard the
first cracking warning of the impending
ruin. He looked up and saw the raft
ers and joist give way. He sprang quick
Nv into the part of the cellar that is un-
whole structure was about his ears. He
was tightly penned in, although he
could breathe easily.
He said there were two steamftters
and two helpers in the cellar and he
did not see them as the building fell.
as they were in another part of the Gel
lar
Up to noon only one of the dead had
been recovered. though it is believed
Mere are ten or twelve.
George Metz. the man who was first
discovered by the firemen. died on the
way to the hospital. Following is the
list of the injured as far as is now
known:
S. L. HAWKS a carpenter address I'M
known, married, severely bruised and cut
about the head mot seriously injured.
JAMES ADAMS, Il Chandler street, a
carpenter, severely bruised, cut and injured
internally: has wife and one child.
MICHAEL O'BRIEN, a carpenter, living
at 235 James street; his back is broken; Is
married man and has four children.
Miss Jennie Griffin. cashier III Jones'
barber shop, is buried beneath the ruins.
Hermann J. Schintzek, one of the
BARRIERS who escaped uninjured. said
he saw the walls and debris fall upon
her. Nothing has been heard of her and
the firemen are working hard at the
ruins to learn the truth Of the rumor.
Another body. that of a man, was re-
covered after several hours later by the
foreman. His name is not known.
Peter Straub, William Kuppinger and
Fullmier, workmen, were injured inter-
naly.
Straub Tullmier and I<upoinger were
workmen and were pinioned down, by
beams and bricks. The extent OF their
injuries is not known.
All Of Schnert's employees, except the
woman cashier, have been accounted
for. Seventy-fve men are working at
the pile of debris this afternoon.
An iron column has been found in the
debris which is so full of sand holes that
it can be crushed with little effort. The
district attorney has taken some of it
for use before the grand jury.
At the hospitals the surgeons say that
all the injured whose names are given
above will recover.
When the Western Union moved out
IL. 1,1f11 iah
old, delapidated structure of forty years
standing, their dynamos and engines
were taken out of the basement and con-
tractors were employed to remodel and
reconstruct it. This they attempted to
do by running braces under the floor
joist held up by piers, to bear the weight
of the superstructure while work pro-
crossed on the foundation walls. The
Immediate cause of the collapse was the
removal of part of the foundation walls.
There were but few tenants in the build
ing.