The herald., 1897-09-05
BLACKENED
SKELETONS
All That Now Remains of
Six Men
A PILE OF WHITE ASHES
All That Is Left of a Whole
City Block
GAS FROM A LEAKING MAIN
IGNITED By A PHoToGRA-
PIERS MATCH
GAS FROM A LEAKING MAIN
IGNITED BY A PHoToGRA-
PIERS MATCH
Explosions Which Followed Wrecked
Four Buildings, Killed Six Men
and Grievously Wounded
Some Thirty Others
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated fresS Speclai WIRE.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Sept. 4.-Broad
Ripple, suburb of Indianapolis, ten
miles from the city proper, was this
morning the scene of the most terrible
disaster that has ever visited this state.
Six persons were burned to death and
thirty people are lying in the home of
neighbors, burned, Scared and racked
with pain and broken bones.
Four buildings, occupying q block of
the town, are in ruins. ~
OF the six dead. nothing but charred
and blackened bones, with hanging
strips of foul-smelling flesh, remain.
At 10 o'clock a foul odor was noticed
in the drug store Of ]. M. Watts and
lamp in a dark room used for amateur
photography went out. 1t was lighted
and a. the burning match was thrown
to the floor streaks of blush tint ran
along the joint between the boards.
ural gas and them up the walls. The
next instant the explosion came. The
walls were hurled in every direction.
and the top of the building fell with
crunching, grinding sound, covering
everything. Fire broke out, and shrieks
could be heard from those buried be-
meath. OF the seven persons in the
store three were burned alive. The rest
are still alive and may recover.
A hundred persons went to work on the
ruins. trying to save Greschek's grocery.
adjoining, pulling at the ruins to save
those buried beneath While thus en-
gagged, and twenty minutes after the
first explosion second came from be-
meath the grocery. 1t was mighty
roar, and hurled the building to atoms.
Forty people were knocked senseless.
were strewn in all directions, with
broken bones and burned bodies, while
as many more escaped with small
bruises. The shock made the whole
town quiver. Beneath the ruins Plus
Greschek, the groceryman. was caught
and crushed to death. His body was re-
covered before it was entirely burned.
The ruins were added to those OF the
building adjoining, demolished by the
first explosion and the whole mass, to-
gether with an adjoining frame cottage
and a livery stable, was burned to ashes.
only the bucket brigade being on hand iii
time to do any good, and probably only
prolonged the agony of the victims who
were burned.
The disaster was caused by natural
gas leaking into the cellars of the build
ings from a three-inch main that ran
into the street, and from which the
houses were supplied.
The list of dead and injured follows:
Dead
Charles Yount, Indianapolis.
Jacob Darling, painter, Broad Ripple.
Plus Greschek, groceryman, Broad
Ripple.
Henry Ernst laborer. Broad Ripple.
Two unidentified dead, one supposed
to be John Carter, laborer.
Seriously injured:
Edgar Watts, badly burned about the
hands, face and body.
Edward Morris, shoulder dislocated,
seriously burned.
Joseph Wambaugh, badly cut about
the eye; burned and cut by glass.
Orville Heady, left knee fractured and
leg broken in two places below knee; will
recover.
Charles Jones, cut in fac and all over
by flying glass; will recover.
]. B. Watts, extent OF injuries not
known.
Thomas Jones, bad cut on face and
bruises on body.
Thomas Kelso, shot a number Of times
by exploding shotgun shells; condition
serious.
Thomas z. Mitchell, left leg broken.
Jacob Cruise, 81 years old; caught under
a piece of flying timber; supposed to be
internally injured.
Harvey Dugan shoulder pierced by
fragment of wood; face cut; serious.
John Doaks, back injured; seriously
All the above named injured are resi-
dents Of Broad Ripple.
Clare Whitaker, Oakland, Ind, ankle
broken.
Frank D. Norville, Indianapolis, in-
gers cut off and arm cut.
John Porter, farmer, near Broad Rip
pie.
Albert Hayworth, huckster, Westfield.