The San Francisco call., 1898-12-14
NTEw YORK, Dec. 13.-The great steel gas tank of the Consoli- M dated Gas Company at Avenue
 A and Twentieth street, the

steel gas tank or the ConSou-
 M dated Gas Company at Avenue A and Twentieth street, the
 largest of its kind in the world, collapsed at 5:3O o'clock this afternoon. a great explosion.
 Masonry of granite blocks and bricks to the height of fifty feet fell like a child's toy house of blocks and loosened from bondage 5000 900 gallons of water, deluged the streets and in a ten-foot tidal wave carried death and destruc- ton through the surrounding neighbor- hood. It Is not known how many were killed and injured.
 The dead so far recovered are:
 ANDREW WENDT, workman.
 JOHN GRAY, 75 years old.
 PLUS BAUM, engineer in adjacent factory.
 The seriously injured are:
 Catherine OConnell, years old, leg fractured.
 Peter Walker, dislocated shoulder.
 About fifteen others, so far as has been learned, were injured more or less severely or almost drowned.
 Missing:
 George Brewer, tfmekeeper.
 George Winkie, 15 years old, son of Foreman Winkie.
 James O'Connor, foreman in Fuld- ner's factory, adjoining, and believed to have been in the basement with En- gineer Baum, who was killed, is miss ing.
 The steel tank was IFS feet in diam eter and 160 feet high. Rising out of the ground to a height of fifty feet was a great circular wall of granite and brick, many feet in thickness. This was filled with 5000, 900 gallons of water. A gang of men were at work under a foreman filling the pit with water to make the first water test"
 Suddenly came an awful crash. The men below had scarcely time to flee from beneath the falling walls ere they were picked up by the mass of rolling water and hurled hundreds of feet away. Into the basement. the first and second floors of factories and tene- ments rushed the flood.
 Workmen were shot out of the fac tory windows and carried a block or more as if mere straws. Women were washed out of the flats and almost drowned.
 Mary Ann O'Connell and her little four-year-old sister, Catherine were seated at the front window of the sec ond floor of 8 Avenue A. Before they could turn to flee a rush of water struck them both, smashing them through the door and carrying them half a block distant. Both were terri bly injured, the little one perhaps fat ally.
 Henry Fuldner was taken up bodily and carried almost to Twenty-first street. His son was also carried ou' of his office by the water, but was caught in the debris and but for the timely arrival of some workmen with axes he would have been drowned.
 Andrew Wendt, one of the killed, was near the base of the tank when 1t col lapsed. He was caught by the rush ing waters and borne clmost an incred- ible distance. His mangled and al- most naked body was found against an elevated railroad pillar at Twenty-hrst street and First avenue. more than a block away.
 w. J. Logan, of the Logan Iron Works, of Green Point, L. l., the con tractor who was building the tank. ar rived on the scene within a few min utes after the collapse and was placed under arrest
 w. H. Bradley. chief engineer of the Consolidated Gas Company. and said to be jointly responsible for the work with Contractor Logan, was also placed under arrest. They were charged with homicide and their bail was fixed at s1O,OOO each.
 After the masonry of the tank col Iapsed the tank proper careened and fell in battered heap to one side. The loss of the tank is said to be complete, s3OO,OOO.
 The collapse of the tank caused the rupture of some of the great water mains which were constructed to feed it. and for some time these poured -heir contents into the streets. Eventually they were