The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-03-25
Search for the Missing Men Has
Been Begun.
NO TRACE Of THEM FOUND
The Hotel Safe Opened and Its Contents
Were Intact-The Oficial Inves
tigation Into the Cause
OF the Fire.

Rooney. kreigbaum and Sullivan are
buried in the ruins of the big boarding
house. and the search for them has
been commenced. The representatives
of the insurance companies which car
ried the risks on the buildings gave
their permission yesterday morning to
allow the debris to be disturbed. and
ID. j.. Hennesy. as agent of the owners,
issued orders to have the search begun.
A force of men under Tim Riordan
went to work at 1 o'clock in the after
noon and worked up to 6 o'clock, but
no trace of human remains was found
The brother-in-law of Frank Kreig-
baum. who is in the city. being INK
ious to return to Utah. the search for
his relative was commenced first.
Kreigbaum occupied room lis. just over
the real of the boiler room. and il was
i'm the debris at this spot that the
workmen commenced the search. The
work was confined to this place, as ii
is supposed that Kreigbaum is buried
there. but If his remains are not found
a larger force will be put or and all the
debris removed until the remains of
the victims are found The search
will be continued today.
The hotel safe was opened at Mr..
Haggerty's Office at 10 East Quartz
yesterday morning and it's contents
foundt to be all intact. The safe on
tanned nearly $1,000. all but $500 of
which belonged to the miners who
roomed at the house. Most of the
men who had money thus deposited
called during the day and got their
cash. Some of them had considerable
amounts i'm the safe, one in particular,
Pat Gallagher. having $430. Mr.. Hag-
gerty saw all of his help who called
during the day. Many complaints were
made by his former guests that board
ing house keepers refused to take them
/ x-hara than hax,a mo n,ana.- a,z -,
said they were actually compelled to
quit work because they could get no
boarding house.
The funeral of Frederick Rohle, one
of the victims who lost their lives. will
be held this afternoon from Sherman's
undertaking rooms. The injured at
the hospital were all reported last even
ing as rapidly improving. On account
of the criticisms passed upon the fire
department, Chief Flannery sent a
communication to the city council last
evening asking for an investigation.
and a committee was appointed to con-
duct one.
The official investigation of Coroner
Tremblay into the death of the two VIC
tins, Matt Doyle and Frederick Rohle,
was begun yesterday afternoon. The in
quest is being held in the police court
room at the city hall, where a big
crowd of spectators had assembled to
" ttt "iCh llS plo-
ceedings commenced at / o'clock. The
jury is composed of J. p. Collins, Oliver
Chevrier, c. w. Newton, James f. Nc
Nally. =. +. Gallagher and n. Jacco.
The testimony of the employees of the
Hale house who We're on duty at the
time of the fire, several miners and
some other witnesses was taken, after
which the inquest adjourned until this
afternoon at 2 O'Clock. The most point
ed part of the testimony was the
unity of the statements of all those who
went to the basement when the fire was
discovered, that there was no water
pressure at all at the time.
The first witness was Proprietor Hag-
gerty. He testified that when he left
the house at 3 o'clock the evening be-
fore the fire everything was in it's usual
condition. He stated that since he took
the house improvements had been made
to guard against fire. Mr.. Haggerty
gave ii as his opinion hat the disas-
trous consequences were due to a lack
OF water pressure and said that when
he arrived at the fire and asked a fire.
man to turn a stream on the safe. the
stream would not break the window.
John w. Mahoney, who came to Butte
with the Reliance football team last
winter. n who has since been en-
ployed as night Waterman at the Hale
house, testified that, as usual, he made
his regular round of the house the night
of the fire n at 10 minutes to 3 o'clock
Monday morning kindled the fire in the
bakery, as was his custom. He then
went up in the bar room I'M had not
been there long when a roomer named
Dooley came running in and said the
house was on fire. Accompanied by sew
eral others he rushed down to the cellar,
and on reaching the bake room found a
a about six feet square afire in the
rafters over the bake oven. He at
fanhod the hose kant for that ntIrnnso
to a plug and tried to turn a stream of
water On the fire. but there was not
enough pressure to throw the water to
the ceiling. He said there would have
been no trouble in putting out the fire
if there had been any water.
r. H.. Campbell. bookkeeper at the
Hale house. said he was i'm bed in the
parlor When the fire broke out. He was
awakened by the general confusion
which ollowed the discovery of the
fire and found the room full Of smoke.
The fire must have been burning some
time. The witness never heard that
the bake ovens were in such a condi-
ton as to be liable to cause a fire.
Coroner Tremblay asked: Was il POS
sible for any one to have been sleep
ing i'm the house without your knowing
it," to which the witness replied that
men sometimes came in and slept with
friends who had rooms
Emil Ostello. the head cook at the
Hale house. was called. He said he
was in charge of everything pertaining
TO the kitchen and bakery and was al
ways careful to see there was no dan
ger of fire. Coils OF hose were kept
handy for an emergency. Sometimes
the water pressure was light. but he
knew nothing about IL the night of the
fire. as he was not there. The hose he
knew to be in good condition. as IL was
used twice a week. He was the last
man in the bakery the night before the
fire and knew there was no fire under
h oven. He carried the keys and no
one else had access to the place.
Christopher Voss. the baker. testified
that he had worked at the Hale house
six n and considered the oven in
perfectly good condition. 1t was the
duty of the night Waterman to close
the danners and he had na..a= laau-=