The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-05
PIoUs GREsH's DEATH.
Rescuers Bid Him Goodbye and
Leave Him to His Fate.


Leave Him to His Fate.
1t was about 10 o'clock when the second
fatal explosion occurred. After the grocery
walls parted and the floors fell in upon
the busy men within, the men on the outside
seemed to have become paraylzed. There
was about twenty minutes perhaps between
the explosion and the time whom the fire
drove everybody back. Yet during this
time it is said that many were more inter-
ested in saving their own property than in
rescuirg the imprisoned men from ceath
by fire. There were but few men to at
tempt to save their fellow-beings at time
when minutes were extremely valuable.
Among those who engaged III this work
we're Columbus Wright F. Watts ard !.
NoIf anson. Wright was the last man
with Pious Gresh, the young son of the
grocer who was killed. Wright says that
after the explosion he, with o.ne:s. at
tempted to cut Gresh out.
Il kept telling Pious to keep COOL" Gays
Wright "Pious was continuous IN mis- Cp-
peals for help. He was wedged IN beneath
a lont of timbers and although we tried
to reach him we could not ex--,cato Eim.
Finally 1 uncovered his head, but the hre
became so intense that 1 was i'm oeiled to
tell yne poor boy that we had 20 leave him.
'Pious we have got to leave YOU said
He begged us not to go, but we had 70
sooner got out of the way when the
burning floor fell in. 1 heard men crying
for help in the back part of the store"
The ctfer men with Wright tell similar
stories. The only thing accomplished by
the rescuers before the fire came was to
obtain the body of Jacob Darling who was
taken out of the northeast corner of the
grocery. The fall of the second floor and
wall killed him. His remains were in hor-
rible shape.
After the fire had done its work the num-
ber of those to search the ruins was large.
BY this time the entire village was on the
scene and help from indianapolis was ar
irving. Captain Quigley, with Sheriff Shu-
felton, and ex-Sheriff Womack, arrived
shortly after 10 o'clock and various ply
sicians from the city came out on wheels
or in ambulances and other vehicles. The
first body to be taken out of the ruins
after Darling's was that of Pious Gresh.
This was about half hour after Darlings
body was obtained The young mans in
cinerated remains were found about ten
feet back from the front of the store Co
lumbus Wright, Harry Hamilton, j. {.
MorganSOn and several others aided i'll re-
moving them. The head was severed from
the body, but was soon obtained. The low
er legs and forearms were gone. 1t was
evident that young Gresh was carrying in
his hands the money drawer, as little
pile of money was found on the spot. 1t
was said that Gresh had about $50 in his
pocket in bills that were burned. Young
Gresh was highly regarded in the village
and many expressions OF sorrow at his
sudden taking off was expressed. Mrs.
White. the wife of the liveryman whose
stable was burned, for instance, said: Our
loss is heavy to us, but it is nothing COM
a most promising young man and his death
iG
father of Pious and the owner of the gro
Gerry, was in the city while the tragedy
his sons remains also arrived there He
takes the less of his son very much to
heart. he being his only boy.
YOUNTZ'S BODY TAKEN OUT.
The third body to be recovered was that
of Charles Yountz. 1t was taken out al
most Immediately after Gresh's. The head
was off, also the legs and forearms. 1t
lay within fifteen feet of the front of the
store. Yountz was about twenty-five years
of age and several years ago was a police
man in Indianapolis.
The fourth and fifth bodies were taken
out in short order. They were found in
about the center of the ruins. covered over
with ashes. Neither had any head or fur
ther extremities One evidently wore a
pair of steel sleeve holders, as they were
found with his bones. The other was ap-
parently the remains of q large, heavy
man, and a piece of cordury pants was
found attached to him. The skull, sup
posed to belong to the latter, was found
later. 1t had high cheek bones. Neither
was identified for a long time, and not even
now with certainty. The one with the
sleeve holders is supposed to be John Por-
ter, an eighteen-year-o son Of farm
laborer living a mile from the town. The
other body has been identified that OF
Henry c. Earnest, an old soldier. He be-
longed to Company 3, Eleventh Indiana,
for three months, and then re-enlisted in
Company A, Seventy-ninth Indiana, under
Col. Fred Knefer, and served during the
war. He leaves a wife and three children
at Greensburg, Westmoreland county,
Pennsylvania.
The sixth and last body was taken out at
Ills o'clock. 1t remains unidentified. There
is not much to identify. The head, arms
and legs are gone, nothing but the charred
trunk remaining. A mass of brain sub
stance and bones was picked up from
where the body lay. Nearby a gold hunting
case watch was found with the initials
Cd Cor P.) w. c." roughly engraved in
the back of the case. The watch stopped
at 1905. The initials on the case, however,
indicate that it belonged to Pious Gresh,
not to the man whose remains are un-
identified The body lies at Whitsetts
morgue It is thought to be a white man,
judging by the hair on the body. The other
bodies were taken 10 Flanner & Buchanan