Gilpin observer., 1901-08-08
KILLS 20
MANY CAUGHT UNDER FALLING
WALLS OF FIVE BUILDINGS.
Many Are Drawn From Wrcckaue
Just In Time to Escape the Fiamco.
Over Two Score More or Less In.
lured-Wcrk of Rescue,

PnllduelpDlS, Aug. IA terTlIlc eN
plosion in a block of six buildings on
Locust street. above Tenth, last night
completely wrecked five of the struct-
ures and caused the death of from ten
TO twenty or more persons. Over two
score of others were more or less seri-
ously injured. Some of those taken to
the hospital will die. 1t Is estimated
that at least So persons were in the
five buildings when the explosion oc-
Cured, and the exact number of dead
will probably not be known for "a
hours.
What exploded and how it hap
pcned is not known, but it is believed
TO have been barrel of gasoline in
one of the three grocery storer.
The buildings were occupied as fol-
lows: No. 1908, Housman's pool and
billiard rooms; 1910, Morris Rosen-
thals second hand clothing store, occu-
pied by Rosenthal, his wife and five
children; 1912, William jones, colored
restaurant, occupied by Jones and
about 15 boarders; 1914, George Nc
Clemmy's grocery store, occupied by
McClemmy's clerk and servant girl;
1915, Patrick Quigley's grocery store,
occupied by Quigley, his wife, three
children and his uncle; 1913, Albert
Mountains grocery store, occupied by
Mountain. mother sister and clerk.
The explosion occurred about $50
o'clock. With the explosion OF 1908
the front walls of the buildings were
blown outward into the street. while
the floors and the roofs We're blown
ri oil ct .rv1,t -,
Almost every building in a radius of
two blocks about the scene of the ox-
plosion had window panes shattered
and was otherwise damaged. Every
building on the opposite side of Lo-
Gust street was more or less wrecked
terrible cry went up from the ruins
the moment the explosion occurred
Women. children and men, occupants
of the wrecked houses. could be seen
crawling from the debris while agoniz-
ing cries of others were heard in the
wreckage. From all the surrounding
buildings injured people came running
and fell into the street Unconscious.
To add to the horror, fire broke out
in the debris the moment it settled to
the ground, and in less than five min
ly from end to end. A general alarm
was turned in for fire apparatus and
ambulances, and in the meantime the
work of rescue was voluntarily begun
by those in the neighborhood that
were not injured. Here and there
person was dragged from the ruins
before the fire could reach the victim,
several lives being saved by this
prompt work. When the firemen
reached the scene the flames had
reached great headway and were ignit-
ing the buildings across the street.
The fire, however was extinguished in
a few minutes.
The work of digging away the
ruins was begun in earnest. Near the
edge of the debris several colored men
were taken out and sent to the hos
pitals. While the firemen and police
men were digging in the debris and
hauling away heavy timbers in sev-
eral sections of the wreckage, cries
were heard coming from the cellar of
Mountains grocery store. Fifty men,
with rope and tackle, were Immediate
ly put to work at that point. and pulled
away the roofing and flooring which
had fallen into a massed heap. From
the bottom of the pile, doubled up,
were taken a man and woman. The
man was able to speak, but the wom-
an was apparently dead.
While the work of rescue was 60
ing on in the exploded block, hospital
attendants and others made a search
of all the damaged houses on the oppo-
site of the street and almost a score
of persons were taken to various hos
pitals from these places.
The Jefferson and the Pennsylvania
hospitals. which are located nearest
to the scene of the explosion, were
soon crowded with the injured. Two
hundred men are now at work clearing
away the wreckage. The buildings
containing the pool rooms. clothing
store and the restaurant were three
story bricks, while the other three
buildings were two and one-half
stories.
From 40 to 40 persons are lying In
the several hospitals suffering more or
less severe injuries.
At n. m. the rescuers came across
m inanimate body of a colored WON.
an. but. remarkable to relate. the
woman was alive and asked for water.
She was quickly placed In an ambu.
lance and sent to e hospital. She was
Lizzie Watkins. aged 18 years. She
had been in the ruins for four and
half hours. Four bodies have been re.
covered.
WYOMING SHEEP KILLED.