Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1919-02-12

was l6dF0U that lulS DullulUS, TOO,
would burst out in flames. And with
all this intense heat there could be
no work of rescue. The firemen
fought the flames with desperation, al
though their numbers were depleted
by the fatalities resulting from the
falling walls.
Search for Missing.
Then came the search for the mis-
sing. The ruins yielded the follow
ing, all from Platteville:
Espey Dunn, the 17-year old son of
son.
Milton Rotzoll, the 13-year old son
of shoemaker
Ernest Dickson, 80, workingman n,
fighting the fire.
Fred Steinhoff, 40, a farmer who
was helping to fight the fire.
Otto Hale, 38, farmer, who had just
turned volunteer fireman for the oc-
casion.
Len Vanderbilt, jeweler,. tenant if
the building.
G. A. Rafter, owner of the building.
c. E. Gilmore, a merchant who was
a fireman.
1t was said that one of these dead
had suffered complete decapitation.
Many of the other unfortunates were
badly burned, one until he might be
identified only by his watch. 1t was
a horrible sight, the worst ever wit
messed in Grant county.
Those Injured
Will SCHNEIDER, proprietor of the
oil ht1p,
broken. He was hit by the falling
walls
VIM. Holmes. a real estate dealer,
suffered bruises, but his condition is
not thought to be serious.
Roy Edwards, IS, badly crushed I'M
der the walls.
Clarion Youmans, 13, badly cut on
the hands and face; not serious.
Paul Smith, II, foot badly crushed.
John Kopps IS, blown clean through
a window by the explosion. not
thought to be seriously hurt.
William Mauger, so, bruised about
the head, not serious.
Asel Vickers, II, arm broken.
John Nurenburg, bruised
Two others, Harry Beckwith and a
young man of the name of Henry,
were bruised, but were taken to their
homes.
Nine of the injured were rushed to
the Cunningham hospital. as soon as
they were recovered. and given i'm
mediate attention. The Edwards boy
gave much concern to the physicians.
because of the serious nature of his
injuries.
Why Bows We're Hurt.
The presence of so many boys in
the list of casualties is explained by
the fact that it was Saturday, and they
were not in school AS soon as the
fire was discovered, the boys who were
in that vicinity came CALAMITY and
fearlessly to the rescue. They were
active in helping to salvage the
threatened property. While carrying
jeweiry and other property to places
of safety, they were caught by the
falling walls
Clarion YOumans, grandson of the
veteran druggist of Platteyille, had
an experience he will not soon for
get. He was in the street watching
the f1remen, when a woman hOisted a
window on the second floor and asked
him to come up and carry bundle
down the stairs. He mounted the
stairs without fear, took the bundle,
which the woman cautioned him to
carry carefully. When he reached the
street the woman was there, having
brought out of the building other ar
ticles. He surrendered the bundle, .
and to his astonishment it cried out.
He had carried baby down stairs,
and probably had saved a life.
AS Clarion turned to go. the eXplo-
sion occurred. He instinctiyely threw
up his hands, over his head. for he
saw the brick wall coming, and that
act saved his life. The hands he had
over his head were cut by falling
bricks. as was his face in two places.
But he will recover from the injuries.
He vows now that he will never go
to another fire.
What Caused the Explosions
It was said that there was at least
one gasoline stove in the living
apartments, and that several cans of
the explosive fluid were stored there.
1t is a natural conclusion that these
caused the explosion that killed and
injured so many.
From the position of the bodies that
were recovered it is thought that the
falling walls were seen coming. and
that those who were caught saw the
approach of death and sought to
avoid it. Only one was said to be
near the building. 1t looks as if they
tried to run away when they saw the
death trap closing on them
One Buried Sunday.
There was funeral on Sunday af-
ternoon for Otto Hale, one of the vic
Tins of the holocaust. It was attend
ed by the firemen, in full uniform, as
well as by two fraternal orders.
There was talk in Platteyille of
having public funeral for the fire
victims, either yesterday or Monday.
Sunday was q serious day in Platte
vile Citizens wore sorrowful look.
one fully expressive of a sense of the
calamity that had befallen the beau
tiful city.