Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-11
MANY UNFORTUNATE VICTIMS
WERE BURNED.
THE EXPLOSION is A MYSTERY.
Engineer Is Dead, and No One Knows
What Caused the Accidentally
Be Gas.

come to offer their services i'll the WORK
OF rescuin. the many bodies which are
lust being taken from the ruins.
The explosion TOOK ~. i, iiaie
when many of the EN- oloEes % the lain
dry had gone to work. Il time register
found in the ruins showing trait ~ mad
already reported for duty, while two
or three others We're known u nave
lust entered the building The force of
the explosion was so terrific that build
ings for blocks around We're shaken as
if 10y an earthquake aaI hundreds OF
windows We're ShatteIeI
The building in Whi@h the explosion
occurred was known as the Old Waveriy
theater and was built il 1877. subs
Quently It was remoda;lel and the rear
used BY the Doremus laundry. The Part
of the auditorium running toward Trool
street was used by No!uut .Ars Of Amer
lea while the small stores built pat from
the wings of the audit orilin ana fac
ing on Madison street. We're rented II
shop keepers One of Il s,nras was used
as the office Of Dor MUS laundry ana
through this access was na1 TO tn.
laundry. Directly back OF the office unl
in the southwest corner Of the building
the boiler room was located. Tie eX-
plosion lifted half of Tho roof Of the i'm
mense building nlanv feet III the air
which fell directly back into the ruins
of the building. carrying with it the
portion of the brick walls that had not
been blown outward ani nucyIns under
tons of debris the unfortunate employees
The wreckage near the boiler ana in
the east part Of the bui'lilg at once
took fire and through the binding Clouds
of dust and smoke AMI escaping steam
could be seen struggl'nr men ana won-
en-. some of them half buried IN the
Wreckage, others feebiN endaavolins to
climb some place to safety while from
various part of the "u,ns came cries
for help. The fire department soon ex-4
tinSushed the flames and the worl, Of
rescue began at once. One by one the
wounded and bleeding girls wer, carried
70 nearby stores. where they were given
nasty medical attention aud thea taken
TO hospitals in ambulances. Dead bodies
We're taken to the nlrr~ue. In two IN
stances the bodies vera so frightfully
mangled that a clothes basket was used
to carry them out.
a the morgue the bodies We're idant
fed by rela tiveS.
Most of the dead We're for1l in TIE
east end of the building where the FIRE.
ragged the ferceSt. Pinioned under tors
OF heavy tlmbers crushed and manglet.
almost beyond Identification. and in on !.
or two instances half cooked, We're fou /
hVe of the dead. The wreck.ng at this
point was 50 massed that the firrr, y,
had great difficulty in working. and il
will be nightfall before the bottom o.
the mass can be reached and the dea l..
II any mora are in The ruins, discovere
All OF the dozen or more little stores
attached to the Waverley thea ter, facin
on Madison street. We're wrecked by tn
explosion and in one of them. a restaI-
rant owned by Peter Dean, one of the
fatalities. it is supposed to have o.
CURED. The rear of the restaurant wa ,
almost opposite the boiler Mr.. Dean,
his wife and two boys were eating
breakfast at the time of the explosion
which blew in through the rear wall ci
the little establishment burying the
Dean family in thu ruins. All We're eX.
caVated except William, 10 years o. J.
who has not been seen since, and who IS
believed to be buried in the debris.
Madison street cable train passing
the building at the time of the explo
sion, was almos. lifted from the ira Il,
by the conclusion and the passengers
were thrown into a panic but none wer,
injured
Lille Olsen one of the injured girls
was working near window opening int,
the laundry office. She picked III
bodily and hurled through the window
to the floor of the Office. When she re
covered consciousness she cried chat he
sister was in the ruins, and it took tn
combined efforts of three officers to pre-
vent the frantic girl from rushing .ntt
the smoking ruins in search of HI
sister.
A. Shopp, proprietor of confectioner,
store. was near the rear wall and wa
completely buried by the explosion. II
escaped serious injury and Nt.s sou
dug out. George E,dom. laundry EN-
ploye who will probably die as a resul
of his injuries, was in the boiler room
when the explosion occurred and hov
he escaped instant death is a mystery
lie did not lose consciousness and as
sisted the firemen in eNtrcating him.
The cause of the explosion is mys
terry and as the engineer George Phie
was killed it may be never known. n
statement has yet been obtained fror
the proprietor, Doremus. who was >,
affected by the disaster as to be unabl
20 give the police much information.
The boiler. it is said. was an old on
Of 125 pounds steam pressure and wa
fired up at o'clock. 1t is stated tina
the gas used was manufactured on tn
premises and a great deal of gasolin
was also used. This may account i
part for the violence of the explosion.
Among the narrow escapes We're thos
of five girls working in the papier mach
works of ]. X. Young occupying a pal
of the wrecked building. The plant wa
completely wrecked and the roof blow
in but none of the employees We're il
jured.
1t is reported that an officer from IL
boiler inspection department warned NJ
Dormuse that the boiler was unsafe
use in it's present condition. The lau,
dry employees, declare, however, tn:
the boiler had not been inspected ar
therefore not condemned. No arres
are expected to result from the disast
at least until the verdict of the coroner
Jury.