Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-29
PREPARING TO HARVEST
SEASONS FIRST ICE CROP
Disaster at Morewood Lake, Near
Pittsfield, Mass.
SEEKERS FOR JOBS VICTIMS
Tests Made Yesterday, It Is Claimed,
Showed That the Boiler
Was in Perfect
Condition.

PITTSFIELD. Mass, December D.
The boiler at the plant of the Morewood
Lake Ice Company at Morewood lake ex-
ploded today, killing thirteen men and in
juring upward OF twenty. The men were
delayed i'm going to work and were sitting
around the boiler warming themselves
when the explosion occurred. and this
fact is responsible for the great number
of casualties. OF the thirteen known a..a
seven have been identified. as follows:
William Dunn. the engineer at the
plant, aged thirty-nine years.
Edgar Allen. an employe. aged twenty.
eight years
John Raymond, carpenter.
Leo Fermands.
Wyatt Moore
William Pepoon. who died a short time
after the explosion
Alfred Bence. laborer.
frederick Ruthor, laborer.
Ihirteen men are at the hosnjtal sus-
Ierlng from decorations and burns and
several have bone fractures.
body which was identified as th.,
OF Martin +. Smith. a man who ennI,.,,
for work yesterday. proved to o.. tha,
or some one else Later Smith was
found seriously injured at the House ar
Mercy.
Fireman Ward is missing and # ts
reared his body il among those NOT
ioehtlned The bodies of many of thu
DEAD were terribly blackened and mu.
tiiated oy the explosion, making idenu.
hcation almost impossible.
Inc state officials have begun an IN.
Vestigation of the explosion.
The six unidentified dead were eithar
ltalians or Polanders who had reported
for work today, when the nrm had
planned TO begin cutting the first ~
crop of the season.
Injured in Serious Condition.
Twelve of the injured men were ,.Len
to the House Of Mercy. where two were
unconscious at 1850 am. and the other
ten were reported to be in a serious CON-
dition.
The property damage will probably nor
exceed 500. as only the boiler house. a
wooden structure 80 by 45 feet was
wrecked
Owing to the rainy weather Of the past
few days harvesting the crop was de-
layed until this forenoon. In response
to advertisements printed in the local pa
pers large number Of men, most of
whom were unknown to the firm. re-
ported for work at the lake today, AL
though all of the company's regular en-
ployes were on the scene.
Explosion Heard for Miles.
Worl. u-ac not hauu, ;v,r,na,o.., -
tools had to be prepared and the men
given instructions as TO their duties
While waiting for the summons to be-
gin active operations the ice, and
while most of the men We're either in
side the boiler house to keep warm. or
near the building, the boiler burst, with
a terrific noise and a shock which was
noticed for miles. No one who was n
the lake is able to give clear account
Of what happened, for the few who were
not injured killed were dazed by the
shock
The boiler house was demolished and
pieces Of the boiler, timbers and human
bodies were hurled through the air. One
body was blown a distance of zoo feet
and another $50 feet. The cylinder OF
edge Of the lake, more than 100 feet
away.
The icehouse is about two miles outside
OF Pfttsfield and the nearest telephone
line was more than half a mile away.
Consequently it was some time before
word of the disaster reached this city
Doctors were rushed to the scene at once
to give first aid to the injured, and all of
the ambulances We're dispatched to the
lake. The ambulance service however.
was totally Inadequate to care for the
dead and injured, and automobiles were
used to aid i'm the work of assisting the
injured and removing them to the hospi-
tai.
Boiler Tested Yesterday.
The MorewoOd Lake Ice Company is
now owned by Shand & Leshure, q firm
which came here about a year ago from
North Adams Mr.. Shand said today that
the boiler was inspected during the sum-
mer by an inspector of the state police.
who ordered certain changes These
changes were made. according to Mr.
or