The Red Cloud chief., 1905-03-24
EXPLOSION KILLS GO
stiCE FACTORY OPERATIVES
LOSE LIVES IN ACCIDENT.
Death Roll Now Contains Fifty.five
Names--Rescue Work Made Diff.
cult by Fierce Heat-Property Loss
Is Quarter of Million.

Is Quarter of Million.
Brockton, Mass, March. 21.-This
city is in mourning for at least three
score of her citizens, whose lives were
blotted out by the explosion of a
boiler in a large shoe manufacturing
establishment, in the Campello dis.
trlct, conducted by the II. B. Grover
company. The explosion was imme-
diately followed by a flash of flame,
which consumed the factory, a long,
four.story structure, as il it were a
house Of cards, and incinerated an
unknown number of men and women,
who were unable to eXtricate them
selves from a mass of tangled wreck
age formed by the terrific u%pheaval
In the boiler room. More than 100
Of the employees in the building were
manned, burned or bruised by the
time they had reached safe ground.
Some had jumped from the roof,
some from windows and others had
been injured in the mad rush to es-
cape from the doomed factory, which
from all parts emf, ed the intense,
awful heat of an inferno, driving back
the band of heroic r%escuers, who in a
few brief moments had performed gal
liant service.
The fire extended from the factory
to seven other buildings in the vicin-
ity and destroyed them. One of the
buildings was a three-story wodQen
block, owned by Charles F. Dahlborg.
the others being cottages of small
value and a blacksmith shop. The
wooden dwellings near the engine
room were practically demolished by
the flying boiler, but none of the &C.
cupants was seriously injured. The
$250,000, $500, 900 of which falls on
the r. B. Grover company. The mon
etary losses are nearly covered by
insurance.
Many Unaccounted For.
1t may never be known just how
many persons persisted in the wreck
age. No one knows exactly how many
persons were in the factory. The
number has been estimated at 400, but
Treasurer Emerson said he doubted
whether there were so many at work.
Two hundred and fifty survivors have
been accounted for and the remains
of fifty-ive bodies have been recovered
from the ruins, the search being con-
tinued all night. Fragments of human
frames, which possibly might belong
to bodies other than those enumer-
ated, have also been found. Few of
the remains have been identified. The
head in nearly every instance is miss
was impossible to distinguish the sex.
Chief of Police Boyden expressed
the opinion hat some of the en-
ployes had not reached the factory at
the time Of the explosion and that I'M
doubleday a number of those living in
nearby places were injured and had
gone home without reporting their in
juries. He thought that many of
those unaccounted for, upwards of
100 in number, were among these.
The disaster was attended by many
narrowing scenes and thrilling res
cues. For hours hundreds of the rela-
tives of the factory operatives be-
sieged the ruins and the fire and po-
lice stations in quest Of missing ones.
Some in their violent grief and ago.
nizing stress of mind, collapsed.
Several of the rescuers and search
ers tainted as they beheld the dis
tressing scene. There was no trace
OF the body of David w. Rockwell,
engineer of the plant, who was not
seen after the explosion. 1t is sup.
posed that he persisted at his post.
List Of Dead and Missing.
The list Of identified dead: j. r.
Cole, Hardy II. Hall, Jerome A. Mayo,
George Smith, Emma b. Pray, Flor
ence A. Durham, Samuel A. Tilley,
Ernest Cabon. Nellie Leary, Miss Sc
rena Shaw Burrows, Marion Tufts.
Miss Fitzgerald, James N. Bell.
A list OF missing was given out at
the police station. There is reason to
believe that all were killed, as every
eHort mas been made to locate them.
me list follows: Andrew Johnson.
John Lundell, Jennie Styles, Almoran
Hailett' Miss George Emerson, Miss
MARY Fitzpatrick, George Burgess,
Lewis, David w. Rockwell,
Hannah L%indberg, Sadie Hickey, J.
victor turner, Arthur Pray. Nader
man, George A, Monk, Jessie Chand-
ier' A. +. Nelson, Bror Lovejoy, Mrs
Stella Kelley, Mrs. Cara Atwood,
Richard Spriggins, Mamie O'Connell.
Mania nInnRI wv