Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-01-21
WERE W|LE AND A HALF FROM SHORE
Explosion ltse.f Did Small Damage.
But Resultant Flames Burned to
Death or Drove Into Icy Waters
Hall Hurdred-Southsid Hospitals
Are Filled With injured.
lRr Associated Press.)

CHlCA(E' lLl.. jan. ~ DION" II
20 pieces by exploding iowu"r. hn'n-
ed 10 d. ath hy til" resultant fire. or
tfrc wned in the icy waters Of LAX"
Michigan, was The fate tolay OF som"
fifty wnrkmrn Who were working "a
a srbma in" tunnel a a wooden CRIB.
a mile and half from shore.
Tn" crib was used in tn" conHruc-
ton OF Il tunnel connecting with tn"
Southside shc.e 0: the city at Seventy
,hirI street |; is knCwn 'hai -
wOrkmen wtr" employed in III" Cr!h
and the connecting tunnel a. the time
o. the explosion which started tn"
fire and blew or drove the workmen
into the water.
Accurate List Unobtainab'e.
The work Of the destroying Gle
ments was begun SO unexpectedly an
reaIed its harvest of dead and in
jured with such swiftness that the
Contracting firm Of George W. jack
son and the rescuers have been I'M
able to arrive at anything like ali
accurate list OF those who perished.
or Of others who escaped the fury OF
the flames Or the icy waters Of the
lake.
All Sou;hsdc hospitals are filled
with injured men tonight.
City fire boats and tugs Of the con-
c;ructicn company made frequen:
trips FAR into the night to the scene
disaster.
Oriqin in Powder House.
The disaster apparently had its orr
gin in a powder house CT small d.
mansions situated about 100 yards
from the crib structure proper. but
at the same time being a part of the
general structure.
The Gull detonation. muffiad as II
was by the crunching of floating ice
against the crib. and the atmosphere
laden with heavy fog. simply aroused
the attenti of the wOrkmcn, &C
cOrding 20 survivors and II was not
until The heat OF the flames of the
sitting smoke penetrated the social
ed living room of the crib and ID"
tunnel beneath the waters f lh"
lake that the full import OF the dis
astcr dawned on the workmen cut CT
from quick succor.
One Workman Used Phone.
One Of the wOrkmen. with a cooler
head than his fellows made his wav
through the smoke TO little III
ci sure in which was telephone and
gave this hurried message to I'll"
shore station:
The crib is on fire. For G"i 5
sake send help al once or We Will T."
buried aliv" The tug
At this point communications c"aS
ed hat through an occasional! hurS.
CT fame and unmis akabI" Odo- -
smoke male i; known to the watchers
Oh shore that the telephone mcsSag'
was in earnest.
The tug T.. T. MorEo'd was IN" frs
to begin rcscuins the fr"uzi"d work
men.
Dead Number SIS.
.,f;sr scIe al hoGrs e h"r ic work
or the pr. Of IN" rscuef.. thirty
min" wOIkm"n Were rescued. " hen
he frc trg Conway and its crew hal
rs querch"d III" flames. ~ bodies
ha! been carried 20 the sh"r" AMI
placed in morgIIcs N Sout: ChicaS"
aw a;iing Identification.
Tho bodies iUf the victims in tbs
VIA jorirv OF instances were unr"c z
rizab,C and he contracting firm CAV"
GU ;hc following list Of missing.
which p-oG2hiv will h" h" about ta'
same as will ~ announced Us the Of
. lciaI list oi the dead vhrn he cor"
. nor has completed his investigate .
The M.Ssn.
Barney O'Connor. foreman. H. u
Mcdonald. iinekc"per: J. THORPE
cook: II r Lynch. waller: {. Meyer
elevator man. r Jennings. elevator
, man. Peter Blake. engineer; william
Kelly. carpenter. ]. PSster. rarpcn
ter: ]. Kelly. drillcr: Edward McGc"
,muCk.r: Charles kraper. macker: J
GaIAd.nis. muckcr: T. ConnoIiey
muckcr. J. Lucas. mucker. J. Conve!
muctcr. 81 Cassidy. muck"r: "
Yaadro!us. muckcr: A. kilcoync
muckcr. T. Mitchell. ,ramway opera