The San Francisco call., 1904-10-05
Sixty Dairy COWSAr0
Killed Under
Hay Bales.
Owners and RalGhmal Have
Narrow Escape From
the Same Fate.
Kn Imprisoned Under Mass of Beams
and DshriS and ReEcueIS Arrive
Just In Tina

With a crash that could be heard
for blocks around. an overloaded hay
loft in q COW barn belonging to the
Excelsior ranch at 400 Harvard street
IN the University Homestead district
fell 10 the ground yesterday morning
and three men narrowly escaped be-
ing killed The falling mass of tim
bers and bales Of hay crushed TO the
earth sixty cows belonging to the
dairy, killing some outright, while the
rest were imprisoned and were smoth-
cred to death by $50 tons of feed that
was in the loft. The men who were
near the door had just begun milking
when the loft fell They were i'm
prisoned in a cache formed by door
posts and roof beams and were
chopped out by neighboring ranch
hands barely in time TO escape meet
ing death by suffocation.
Yesterday morning at $50 o'clock
Jean Labrucherie and his brother Pc
ter, the owners Of the Excelsior ranch
dairy, together with one of their
ranch hands, John Bruchou, entered
the stable and began the morning
milking. In the large barn that shell
ters the dairy COWS were four rows of
mixers peacefully awaiting their turn
at the pals. Suddenly the men heard
q 64ASAlL ripping noise ana nOuceQ Ine
floor supports beginning to give way.
Tthey made a rush for the door, but
were TOO late. The hayloft came
crashing down with a deafening roar
and in an instant the barn became a
shambles
While the men lay imprisoned be-
meath the girders that formed at once
their prison and their refuge they
could hear the moaning of the ami
Ic f-orTrrn4 l.anaofh 60
Slowly the sounds ceased as the hay
pressed down upon the imprisoned
acttle and their life was choked out.
In the meantime the neighboring
ranch hands, summoned by the noise
or the disaster, came running to the
rescue. Armed with axes and bars of
iron they chopped through beams and
pried apart bales in a desperate en-
oeaVOr 10 Iberate the imprisoned
men. Others hitched teams of horses
10 the roof beams and attempted to
remove the debris that covered the
place where the barn once stood.
RACE AGAINST TIME.
It was a race against time to get at
the imprisoned men before they be-
came smothered- The men were
finally pulled out of their prison in
the nick OF time. Peter Labrucherie
was sent home, having sustained Sc
we're bruises. Jean Labrucherie re-
ceived cOntusions Of the right leg.
John Bruchou escaped unhurt and
was apparently no worse for his expe-
rience.
Meanwhile a call had been sent in
TO Truck Of the Fire Department
and Captain Bannon and his men
soon responded. On their arrival at
the scene the firemen cleared awav
the roof beams while the ranch hands
removed the bales Of hay. When this
work had been accomplished a pitiful
sight met the gaze Of the workers. The
cows were lying in regular rows in the
relative position they occupied before
the accident. The two center rows
were almost instantly killed. The
COWS in the outer rows, however.
were not all dead. and the suffering
of the dumb animals was pitifuI
HEALTH OFFICERS ARRIVE.
Deputy Health Officer DR.. NJ. ].
Brady, veterinarian of the Health
Board, and Deputy Health Officer
William Lendrum arrived on the
scene and did what they could to re-
lieve the sufferings Of the stricken
brutes. AS quickly as possible the in
Jured COWS were moved to the out
skirts OF the debris and examined. II
was found that they were suffering
from broken limbs and the health Of
hcers gave the owners the alterna-
tive Of having them killed. or turning
them over TO the care of a veterina-
rian. A pathetic instance occurred
when baby calf whose leg had been
broken tried TO struggle close to its
dying mother.
The cause of the accident was the
careless overlooking of the hayIoft.
The barn was over fifteen years old
and the rotting timbers were not able
70 stand the weight placed upon
them. The owners estimate their loss
al $4,000. The neighboring dairies
have generously come to the assist
ance Of the Excelsior ranch and will
supply ITS customers for a few days.