The Savannah morning news., 1902-01-31
FREAKS OF THE EXPLOSION.
Queer Happenings in Connection
With New YOrk's Disaster.


With New YorI<'s Disaster.
The New York newspapers print some
interesting stories of incidents of the
explosion that wrecked the Murray
Hill Hotel and killed and injured a
number of persons. A few of them fol-
low:
Chief Train Dispatcher G. H. Wilson
sat at his desk in one of the front
rooms at the Grand Central Railway
station. At the same desk were his
four assistants. Broken glass rained
down upon them, but not one of the
five men moved from his chair. They
had more than 200 trains to look after,
and, although bruised and cut, they
kept at their work. Smoke filled the
room so that they could not at one
time see their instruments, but they
never budged. Telegrapher Foster, who
had charge of the direction of trains
on one of the Connecticut branches, did
not even get up from his seat to view
the ruins. +ts
John Sulzman, who owns the cigar
stand in the Grand Union Hotel, was
| injured in a peculiar way by the ex-
| plosion. He was standing behind his
cigar cases, which are entirely of plate
blown in. His cases were not even
scratched but his right shoe was cut
open and the top of his big toe shaved
| off as cleanly as if it had been done
with surgeons knife. He was other
wise uninjured.
NJ. D. Nagle, chief engineer of the
Murray Hill Hotel, was in the engine
room in the sub-cellar when the ex-
ploSiOn occurred.
hn iVonVN
! the noise or the sensation that fol
! lowed" he said. II was absolutely deaf
! for several minutes after landing on
| the floor. / was knocked completely
off my feet and struck the ceiling. 1t
was the loudest noise l ever heard
louder than anything 1 had ever i'm
agined.
my senses was of my engines and boil
ers. When the mist cleared from my
eyes l saw the engines going along
as though nothing had happened. Up
| stairs l heard confused sounds, as of
a distant battle. There was no time
to go up and investigate.
1.-The first thing 1 did was to shout
orders to shut off the electricity up
! stairs.
''The power for the elevators was
kept uo.
Presently ran out to the wine cell
| lar, Just beyond us. l sank knee deep
| in a LIQUID which l found afterward
to be wine and liquor flowing from
thousands and thousands of broken
! bottles.
ION my way there 1 stumbled over
Sebastian Smith, a painter. lying on
the floor, his face badly cut.
HE had been knocked fifteen feet.
/ l went on until 1 found Max Else
mann, the cellar man, whose head and
hands had been badly cut.
1.-The wine was flowing in torrents"
1t was said at the hotel that the DAM
age to the wine cellar would amount
to between $4,000 and $4,000. An i'm
mense quantity of rare wines and
LIQUORS had been stored there and al
! most every bottle in the place was
broken.
Thomas Jaques, son of the proprie-
tor of the Murray Hill Hotel, was one
of the, injured. He was in the cafe
and was hurled to the ceiling by the
force of the blast. When he landed
uron the floor amid the pile of broken
glass and the crumbled ceiling, he was
unconscious. His head was badly lac
Grated and he had to be attended by
two physicians. The injuries were
dressed and as soon as Mr.. Jaques
recovered from the shock he went
about the work of helping those guests
who had been injured.
William Roselle, the key clerk, was
behind the desk, when the blow sent
him in the air and landed him at the
opposite side of the office. He was
bleeding about the face and was badly
bruised. Fearing that the hotel was
falling, he crawled into the big office
safe and was about to close the door
after him, when Chief Clerk OBrien
found him and assured him that the
trouble was over.
Marcel Journet, baritone of the
Maurice Grau Opera Company, lived
on the fourth floor of the Murray HILL
He had not gone out of his room ten
minutes before the explosion made kim
ding wood of all the furniture in II
and sent a great deal OF his~costly
bric-a-brac and Jewels out OF the win
dow.
Among the belongings he priced very
highly and which We're missing when
he returned TO his room were a pair
OF sleeve buttons given TO him by
Queen Victoria and a gold watch pre-
scented to him by Kaiser wilhelm.
DR.. James Gage. one OF the house
surgeons Of the Eye'and Ear Hospital.
was In the operating room on the first
floor, directly opposite the scene OF the
explosion. removing a foreign SUBJ
stance from the eye OF "A visiting pa
tient The patients face was turned
toward the light OF the window. and
the surgeons back was toward H. Or.
Gage WAS using AN exceedingly deli
cate instrument on the mans eye. aud
the latter was WinCinR little.
"iie very luiet now" ndmoniahod Dr.
Gage. and then the explosion came.