Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-11-29

broken by the concussion and fv;no
bricks filed the neighboring yards.
A dense cloud of dust arose, and as
1t settled it was succeeded by denser
clouds of smoke and steam. and ar
onized cries began to come from the
heap of tangled wood, metal and
bricks. Those who were only partly
buried frantically dug themselves
out and then as energetioaly turned
to digging for their comrades who
We're buried deeper.
Fire Adds Its Horrors,
Flames broke out almost imnedi-
ately and the horror OF fire was
added to the sufferings Of the I'M
prisoned ones. A fire alarm was
turned in and quickly responded to.
Calls were sent out for all the am
balances in the city and they were
hurried to the scene. Pending their
arrival neighboring houses were
turned into temporary hospitals and
those physicians who were In the VI
cinity eased the suffering ones al
much as they were able. The first
ambulances on the scene were totally
Inadequate to carry those who had
already been extricated and express
wagons and similar vehjSles ware
pressed into service. AS soon a. the
gravity of the accident was realized
, calls for additional fremen were sent
In and the apparatus came flying to
the scene from all parts of the city.
While part of the fremen directed
their efforts at the fire which was
burning fiercely in the center of the
wreck the greater number of them
seized axes and crowbars and began
prying out the victims who could be
seen or whose faint cries were audi
BILE.
Many Burned.
The department of public works
was notified of the horror and i'm
mediately sent all it's available men
and horses to the scene. In COM
paratively short time all the laborers
who could work to advantage were
feverishly throwing and pulling this
debris out into Brooklyn avenue,
where it was loaded into wagons and
carried off. The floors and roof had
fallen at an angle and formed sort
of huge cover, under which the FIRE
burned fercely. Not until the fire.
men had chopped through this did
their streams begin to have an APP
preciable effect on the flames. The
sufferings of those who were buried
beneath were later mutely testified
to by their charred and blackelD,d
bodies.
Miraculous Escape.
Engineer Riley was among the first
to be dug out from the wreck. His
escape was little short of miraculous.
When the boiler let go he was
knocked to the floor and one of the
testing boilers was blown
over his PROSTATE form in such a
way that one end rested on some
debris high above him, thereby form
ing a shield that kept the falling tim
bers, bricks and machinery from
crushing him. The escaping steam,
burned him frightfnlly.
After his arrival at Grace hospital
Riley's first words were: How did
it happen? The engine and boilers
were all right"
Rescuers Work Hard.
Gradually the rescuers worked their
way downward through the pile. By
this time there were no cries or
groans to aid them, for the flames
had destroyed those unfortunates
who were not killed by the explosion
Or the fail. But the work of rescue
continued with unabated haste. When
heavy beam or piece Of chatting
was encountered a team of horses
was driven in and the piece of wreck
age hauled to the street. Stretcher
bearers stood beside the delivers and
bore away the burned and blackened
bodies. A vacant house adjoining the
factory was converted into a tenn
porary morgue; here the bodies were
placed in coffns and taken to the
nearest morgue. In several cases the
charred corpses were SO hot when re.
covered that they could scarcely be
handled by the undertakers and as
sistants.
At the Hospitals.
The hospitals were besieged by rel
attves and friends of the injured men.
At Emergency hospital, which was
only a short distance from the scene,
and where many of the injured were
carried in wagons, the floors of the
reception rooms and even the halls
were used as a temporary resting
place for the victims. Physicians
were hastily summoned and the work
OF relief expedited. Similar scenes
were enacted at Grace and Harper
Property Loss Heavy.
The property loss, according to
Secretary George W. Childs, is about
$4,000. The firm carried $4,000 Are
and some boiler insurance, but how
much of the latter Secretary Childs