The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-08-29
COLISEUM COLLAPSED.
Eleven Killed by the Fall Of a Su-
perstructure in Chicago.
TWO BURIED MEATH THE BUNS.

Fire at st. Agnes Convent and Orr
pnanage at sparkhill, N. Y, De-
stroys Nine Building and Results in
the Death OF Four Inmates.
Chicago. Aug. 29.-Twelve steel
arches, each weighing SO tons, which
were to have supported the super
structure of the Coliseum building in
course of erection on Wabash avenue,
between Fifteenth and Sixteenth
streets, fell to the ground late yes
terday afternoon. 1t Is known that nine
lives were crushed out, and the bodies
of two other men are supposed to be
under the wreckage. Seven are In the
hospital with injuries received In the
accident, and Of these two will surely
die. one may possibly recover and the
rest are for the greater part seriously
injured, .7a"s'a@
p The Known dead are: Charles Wal
pot, crushed to death; Stephen ].
Thompson, crushed to death; John
Farrey, head crushed; Richard Sher-
man, head cut off; Edward Murray,
head and both legs cut of; Theodore
Thorn, crushed to death; Frank A.
Logan, AL Norman and Leroy Fenner.
Missing and believed to be in tho
ruins: Edward Swanson and Joseph
King.
Fatally injured: John Dowd, both
legs broken and both eyes knocked out,
internal injuries; John White, cut on
head and right side and internal in
juries; John Marshman. fractured
skull and fractured right leg; Peter
Pelet.ar, right arm cut of at shoulder,
skull fractured; John White. skull
fractured, internal injuries.
All Of the u arches were standing,
the twelfth and last having been COM
pleted yesterday. It was the intention
of the steel contractors the Pittsburg
Bridge company, of Pittsburg, to turn
over its work last night to the general
contractors. The immense traveller"
or derrick, which had been used in the
erection of the arches had been re-
moved and the agents of the bridge
company were accounting their work
as practically completed when sudden
ly and without the slightest warning
the arch last put up suddenly fell over
against the one next to 1t. The weight
was too much for this, and 1t gave way.
crashed against the third, and then one
by one the great steel span fell over to
the south. precisely in the same man
ner as number of cards would fall.
Nearly all the men who were killed
were at work on top of the arches, 40
feet above the ground. Some of them
made futile attempts to slide down
the side Of the arches, but before they
could save themselves they were hurl-
ed to the ground. Many of them ut
tered piercing shrieks for aid as they
fell. Most of them were killed outright
by the awful nature of their injuries.
The skulls of the unfortunate men
were crushed into shapeless masses;
their limbs were cut off as If by
monster knife, and they were mangled
beyond recognition. The immense
structure began falling slowly, each
arch being sustained by the cross
beams supporting the entire structure.
As the mass gained impetus bars OF
iron inches thick snapped with loud
report and the great mass moved faster
and faster in its descent. With crash
that was heard blocks distant the
structure fell, leaving the walls prac-
tically uninjured.
An immense crowd gathered around
the place, and despite the efforts of
the police they swarmed over the mass
of wreckage, making desperate, but
i'll directed efforts to drag out the dead
and to save the wounded. 1t was only
with the greatest difficulty that the po-
lice were finally able to drive back
the crowd. and give the firemen and
uninjured workmen chance to rescue
the injured.
That more men were not killed and
injured was almost miracle. Fully
so men were at work in the space COW
cred by the arches as they fell. A
number Of the men jumped into small
excavations, of which there are many
in the ground beneath the steel works,
and were saved from the great masses
of steel that crashed down over them.
AN ORPHANAGE HOLOCAUST.
NIL = \