The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-05
TEN-YEAR-OLD GAS MAINS.
First Explosion May Have Jared
Them IOOae.

First Explosion May Have Jared
Them Loose.
Frank Hoffman, superintendent Of the
natural gas company, was one of the active
men about the ruins. He declares that there
was nothing the matter with the gas and
had a force of men early at work closing
up the mains.
]. r. Dokes who lives in Broad Ripple
and works for Hoffman, says that he helped
lay the connecting mains for the grocery
and drug store about ten years ago, and
that since then they have never been re-
newed He says that after mains have laid
in the ground for many years they be-
come very rusty and are liable to leak.
However, he did not believe that the gas
was the direct cause of the explosion, hold
ing to a theory that an explosion of chem
icals in the drug store had Jared the mains
and caused the escape of gas that resulted
in the grocery explosion. The two buildings
had separate service connections One Pc
culiar thing about the explosions is that no
one seems to have detected the Odor of eS-
Gaping gas, and yet It seems almost i'm
possible that such terrific explosions should
result from few chemicals usually found
in country drug stores
j. c. MorgaSOn, eX-marShal, says that
there was considerable powder and coal oil
in the grocery, but this is denied by Henry
Gresh. Columbus Wright says that Gresh
told him that there was only three pounds
of powder in the grocery. The oil tank was
taken out before the explosion.
Late in the afternoon, under the spur OF
speech to the crowd, some twenty-five men
took shovels and went over the ruins
thoroughly in the belief that another body
might be found. Nothing, however. but a
few charred bones that were thought to be
human were found, but some doubt as to
their character arose when II was learned
that there was a meat shop in the rear Of
the grocery and that the bones might
possibly be soup bones.
Arrival of Fire Apparatus.
Rumors of the disaster were received in
Indianapolis soon after and hundreds OF
people hurried to the suburb. Some drove
to the scene, others rode on bicycles and
many went on the street cars. Captain
Quigley, of the police force. and Detective
Kinney, Sheriff Shufeton and ex-Sheriff
Womack were among the first to reach the
suburb and did much toward rescuing the
imprisoned men. Within two hours the
buildings were burned down to the founda-
ton, but 1t was some hours later before
the fire was out In the afternoon a crowd
of perhaps three hundred men and boys
stood about the ruins of the grocery store,
watching the searchers for bodies Be
tween the Foundation walls was a black
mass of charred wood still smoking and
occasionally breaking into flame Men with
long poles, armed with hooks, probed in
the cOdlS.
After the Indianapolis fire department.
began throwing water men armed with
picks advanced into the partially cooled
spots and with grave faces carefully
brushed charred wood and ashes aside,
alert for the first vestage of clothing or
other objects that would show the pres
ence of a body. Smoke arose around them.
In few moments their faces became red
and almost blistered from the heat of the
smodering mass under their feet and they
We're almost suffocated by the foul nau-
seating odor of burning human flesh, and
were CO -npelled to withdraw and give
place to others. Around the edges of the
pitlike place the curious crowds looked on.
While this gruesoDe search was going on,
men and boys were digging in the other
ruins carefully turning over every article
with sticks in hopes of finding something
valuable One boy found a clay pipe in
the drug store ruins and was satisfied.
Another showed with pride the bent re-
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