Durango semi-weekly herald., 1907-08-15
The Boulder Explosion

u'S' thN huihlllB Ol twenty HNt cars
s25o.O00 of railroad property and enor
nous loss to other interests-all this
Is the result of an incendiary fire
followed by an explosion which occur
red at the Colorado & Southern freight
depot between midnight and / O'Clock
this morning.
The fire started in a box car, enyeL
oped the depot and finally ate its way
to a car containing 1900 pounds OF
dynamite, which exploded. dealing
. death and destruction in all directions.
The Colorado & Southern railroad
officials claim that the fire was in.
cendiary and caused by the strikers.
Three men have been held on sus-
piston. and are in solitary confinement.
They are:
j. w. Reeves
T. Jifer, a Colorado & Southern
brakeman.
Richard Woodruff.
A fourth man, a brakeman, was ar
rested, but allowed to leave the city
later
The railroad detectives claim to
have discovered finger prints in oil on
the sides of the cars demolished in
the great fire, which ragged over thirty
five minutes before the terrific explo.
sion, which shook the city of Boulder
to its depths.
o j. Watrous, local agent of the
Colorado & Southern, approximates
the loss to the railroad company at
$25O.OOO and damage to outside prop.
erty will perhaps reach an equal
amount.
There is not a window pane within
radius of nine blocks, and substan
tial dwellings, in the Immediate vi
cinity are denuded of their plasterng
Although the fire is said to be Of
incendiary origin, the feeling that the
striking railroad employees are respon-
sible is not general. While the more
radical cling to this belief, the con
sensus of opinion is that the work
'H' 'piN ny q lAbbhS NllO lltto iOAlN
serious damage to Boulder property
this year. Fires starting mysteriously
have not been uncommon of late.
There is not striker left in town
it is believed, but their sympathizers
are numerous.
The freight depot. covering one en-
tire block, is entirely destroyed, only
the great shaft still standing. Twenty
four broad gauge cars and five narrow
gauge cars were also demolished. One
of these cars, loaded with 1850 pounds
of giant powder for the mines. blew
up.
A small blaze was discovered in
caboose No. 239 shortly after midnight
by two small boys who were passing
through the yards. The matter was
reported Immediately. The flames
spread rapidly and in fifteen minutes
the entire district was In flames. The
firemen, under the direction OF Chief
Fonda, did good work. but the depart
ment both in numbers and apparatus,
was inadequate. Volunteers came from
all over town and worked courageous
ly, all unconscious of the presence Of
dynamite close to the heart of the
leaplng. licking flames.
Ike Wilson. one of the foremost con
tractors of Boulder, at present en-
gagged on the handsome new Y. NJ. G
A. building, was one of the first to
volunteer his assistance. He was
close to the powder house when it
exploded and suffered the loss Of both
legs. He died at University hospital
this morning.
Alexander Bartell, a blacksmith en-
ployed by the Phoenix iron works, was
badly cut about the head. His home is
at S14 South Ninth street Denver.
Jack Livingston of 729 Twelfth
street, Denver. a machinist for the
Colorado & Northwestern. went with
Bartell as a volunteer and sustained
internal injuries and a broken nose.
Albert Weeks, a laundryman, was
also hurt by fighting the flames.
Mrs. Annie Finch, wife of David
Finch, the aged janitor OF the Stern
berg building, succumbed to heart fail
ure as a result of the shock She was
a pioneer of Boulder
A hole twenty-five feet wide and
eight feet deep marks the spot where
the powder exploded. One car con
taining the dynamite was moved from
the yard in time to save the second
explosion. The flames ragged till day
light and the fire is still smoldering
Such of the freight as was saved has
been switched to the Colorado &
Northwestern tracks.
Only three deaths are reported Sc
far, but so seriously are some O
the others injured that more fatalities
may be added TO the list. The Maple
ton school, nine blocks from the depot
was badly shaken up. The larges
loss suffered by any one company wa
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