The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-11-30
death MARS
A HOLIDAY
DISASTER ATTENDS FOOT
BALL GAME.
GLOOM IN SAN FRANCISCO
By Col1apsing Of Roof Many Spec
tators Are Killed and
Wounded.
GLOOM IN SAN FRANCISCO

| odIl l. EIduGlSCO, NON. S0--Dy tHe
collapse of the roof Of the San Fran
cisco and Parific glass works at Fif-
teenth and Bryant street, this after
noon, about so people were more or
less injured, some of them fatally.
The number Of dead is reported as Is,
but only seven are known.
The victims were watching the foot
ball game between Stanford and the
University Of California teams, when
the roof beneath them gave way, pre-
cipitating them to the floor of the
factory. Some of them fell upon the
furnaces and one man of unknown
identity +, was burned almost to a
crisp The crash of the falling roof
was heard a great distance away and
thousands of people hurried to the
scene.
Messages were sent to the city re-
ceiving hospital and the morgue, and
all available ambulances were hurried
to the spot. At the central receiving
hospital at O'Clock five Of the in
jured had been received. At the time
of the accident there was but one
doctor on duty at the hospital and he
was unable to attend to all the cases as
they came in. A summons was sent
out Immediately, calling upon the
doctors in the neighborllood to come
to render assistance. Owing to the
confusion existing at that time the
name Of but one of the injured had
been learned. That one was AL
Essnann, who was frightfully cut
about the head and face.
The crowd was gathered upon the
roof of the building directly over the
furnace of the glass works When
the roof collapsed the occupants were
precipitated upon the heated top and
rolled off. Fully 40 were injured,
nearly all Of them seriously. Seven
of the dead are boys ranging in age
from 10 to Is years. They were found
lying in a row and two Of them were
badly mangled. There were not
fewer than 200 persons OH the roof
when it collapsed and Of these 81
went down. Those who were fortu-
nate enough to be on a solid section
of the building scurried down and
helped to recover the injured. The
heat of the furnace was so intense,
however, that to many no assistance
could be rendered and they roasted to
death. Not 200 yards away were 30,
900 persons watching the football
game and when the news came there
was intense excitement among them.
Ushers went through the crowd call
ing for doctors end many surgeons
hurriedly left the game. The sufferers
were taken to various hospitals. The
Southern Pacific hospital, within two
blocks of the glass works, was soon
over-crowded and many of the injured
had to be sent to St. Luke's receiving
hospital and to drug stores. So scat
tered are they among the various insti-
tutions that it is impossible to tell
exactly how many We're hurt or how
seriously they were injured.
The coroner did not have enough
wagons to remove the dead and they
were taken away in express wagons
Many elegant private carriages were
waiting outside the football grounds
and they were pressed into service by
the police to take away the injured.
A high fence surrounds the glass
works grounds and thousands of peo-
pie tried to get inside. They were
restrained with difficulty by large
force of police.
Following is list of the identified
dead: George Estell, William Val
encia, M. Vanlyna, Of Pasadena; J.
A. Mulrooney, Thomas Rippon, John
Cakes. One unidentified body, that of
a boy, was also found. So far as
known the above list comprises all the
dead, as the first reports were exag-
gerated. 1t is reported that one man,
Joseph Gumper, fell into the furnace
and was incinerated.
The manager Of the glass works re-
allied the danger before the accident
occurred and had sent for police to
compel the crowd to leave. Just as
squad of officers arrived from the city
hall the roof went down.
A few minutes after the game had
begun there was crash plainly audi
BILE from the football grounds and a
portion of the crowd on the roof
went down. The fires in the furnaces
had been started for the first time to-
day and the watts were full Of liquid
glass. It was upon these that the vic
Tins fell. Some were killed instantly
and others were slowly roasted to
death. The few who missed the fur
naces rolled of and together with the |