The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1899-06-15
FEW TO LABOR
scarcity of Men to Help in the
Work of Rescue at New
Richmond
heponsible For Delay in Recoy.
erlng Corpses Still in the
Ruins.
No More Bodies Had Been Discov.
cred Up to the Hour of
Noon.
Those in St. Paul Hospitals, With
Three Exceptions, Reported
Doing Well.

~~A-' AsAS""o->bs WIS.,, OuIlC 1Js-Dy
~ o'clock q. N. the work Of looking for
the dead was proceeding under defin-
ite system although the number of men
available for the work was woefully
small. Up to noon no bodies had been
recovered.
The largest gang Of men was put to
work on the ruins Of Williams dry
goods store, where six bodies were found
Tuesday and where it is believed large
number are still under the massive
stones and rafters. The building was
but one story high but it was story
fully 20 feet high. the structure being
built Of heavy stone. All the stone
work, floors and stone fixtures fell di-
rectly into the basement, crushing every
body and everything beneath it. 1t
will be slow work cleaning out the ruins
of this place. and probably several days
before it is known how many were
killed there. Other gangs Of men e~ere
working on the ruins Of Tobin's ma
chine shop. where it is thought there
may be additional dead. and in the
tangled mass of debris which was over
the store of w. H. Bixby.
The railroads had promised to bring
in 100 men to assist in clearing up the
! ! wreckage but up to noon none Of them
had put in al appearance, the roads
/ having apparently SO much trouble Of
their own that it was not easy for them
to spare the men for work in the town.
Funerals Blockad
All throughout the morning funerals
were passing through the town, some
from the east part OF the town to the
Catholic cemetery on the west and some
to the Protestant cemetery on the east
side of the town. There was but one
street passable from east to west across
the town, and this was narrow,
muddy thoroughfare between the ruins
Of buildings. Frequently there was a
blockade as funeral bound east and
one going in the opposite direction
| would meet. There We're no hearses
and the dead were carried to the grave
in grocery wagons, i'll most cases bed
quilt being thrown across the casket.
During the early part Of the morning
there was lack Of men to dig graves.
and it was found necessary to impress
laborers from the throng Of sightseers
that have been pouring into the town
since early in the morning.
A Remarkable Escape.
A remarkable escape from death was
that of Ward Williams, the proprietor
of the store in which SO many met their
death, and Miss Edna Scott. Mr.. Will.
Jams is paralyzed below the waist, and
it is with great difficulty that he is able
to hobble around with the assistance OF
two canes. He was in the store when
the storm approached, and hearing the
people talk of the black clouds to the
southwest of the village he, with the
assistance of his wife, and accompanied
by Miss Scott, made his way to sid.
door on the south side Of the building
The three stepped outside to obtain 8
better look at the storm and gust o!
wind slammed the door behind them
It had a catch lock, and the three were
locked out. They pounded the door bu,
no one came to their assistance, ani
when the cyclone was upon them Mr.
Williams called to the women to stand
close up against the wall. They did so
The storm coming from the south wes'
hurled the wall against which the,
were leaning towards the north, ant
although the three sustained severe
scalp wounds, they escaped serious in
Jury. OF all the people who were il
the store when the storm came, thes'
three alone escaped death or serious in