Clark's Crossing, N. W. T., April 20.
A dispatch just received from Battleford says that a messenger has just returned from Fort Pitt and reports that the fort has fallen into the hands of the Cree Indians, who have been besieging it ever since the Frog Lake massacre. Two policemen are known to have been killed and it is feared the whole garrison have been massacred. An Indian told the messenger that the Cree had gone down the river, but his is not credited. The Commander at Fort Pitt was Police Inspector Francis Jeffrey Dickens, third son of Charles Dickens, the novelist.
A Calgary dispatch says: 'Information has been received here that on Saturday, April 11, about forty young Crees raided the Hudson Bay Company's store at Battle Pines and plundered it of a lot of stores and managed to secure all the furs and escape with them to Red Deer. A messenger overtook him on route and told him that the Indians had repented their actions and wished him to return. They restored all the goods that had not been consumed. J. G. Baker's store at the same place was gutted and Colquhoun, the manager, made prisoner. A raid was also made on George Gatz's store at Red Deer. Smith's Battalion is in camp here. Two couriers have come in from Edmonton and bring word that all the soldiers around there have been brought into town by command of Captain Griesbach. The town has not been attacked, but the outlying settlements have been raided. Calgarry has been in a state of great activity all day, owing to preparations by Manning, Steele and the scouts for marching north tomorrow. Major Steele will take seventy mounted men with him, forty being country scouts under command of Captain Oswald and the others mounted police belonging to the Mountain Division.
Obituary of Adrian Vanderveer
Adrian Vanderveer, for many years a well known resident of Flatbush, died at his residence, on Vernon Avenue, this morning. The deceased had been connected with the Niagara Fire Insurance Company for the past fifteen years. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church of the Town.
Shouted Herself To Death
Superintendent Pearsall, in charge of the poor and insane of Queens County received word from the State Asylum at Poughkeepsie yesterday morning of the death of Martha Brooks, colored, who had been committed from Hempstead. She became insane through religious excitement during a revival, and literally shouted herself out of existence, refusing all nourishment and producing prostration, which was the direct cause of her death.
Found On The Bridge
Mrs. Knapp, a lady residing at No. 1, 018 Fulton street, lost a pocketbook, containing a large sum of money on the bridge Wednesday evening. She reported the loss to Captain Ward, and Miss Sweeney, a young lady who lives at 153 Withers street, called at the station with the missing valuable, and returned it to its owner.
Current Events April 24, 1885, B.D.E.
Work has been stopped on the Capitol at Albany owing to the failure of the Legislature to provide an appropriation.
James Baine, aged 100 years, died yesterday at Fairfield, Connecticut.
Mrs. Foggle, of Mount Washington, Pa., a woman of 50, has eloped with a young man of 25.
Thomas Quinn, aged 30, a well known resident of Williamstown, Mass., was found dead yesterday with a bullet hole through his heart. It is not known whether the case is one of murder or suicide.
Yesterday was Arbor Day in New Jersey and it was generally observed. Young trees were planted in Trenton and other cities.
Mr. Charles Liebenau, a well known physician of Morrisania, died yesterday morning from effects of being thrown from his wagon. The accident was caused by a collision between the physician's vehicle and a Third Avenue car. Dr. Liebenau was seventy years old.
Mrs. Amelia Evans and Caspar Wenger were found dead in bed together yesterday at the residence of William Evans, a private detective, on Orange street, New Orleans. They had been shot through the head, it is supposed, by Evans who surrendered himself to the police. Evans declares that they were dead when he returned to his house. The servant girl employed by the family is held as a witness.
Two Wives
How George Ditmar Managed to Secure Them.
George Ditmar, Jr., aged 26 years, of No. 215 North Tenth street, was arraigned before Justice Phinehart this morning on a charge of bigamy made by his wife, Susanna, who resides with her parents at No. 268 North Seventh street. The accused was placed under $1,000 bonds to appear for examination Thursday, May 7.
Mrs. Ditmar, whose maiden name was McAleer, made a statement of the case to an Eagle reporter. She is a brunette of prepossessing appearance, and her parents are industrious people. The defendant's father who is in the rag and junk business, is known as 'King of the Dump,' from fact that he collects rags at the garbage place in the swamp dividing the Fourteenth and Seventeenth wards. He has accumulated a small fortune. Young George and Susanna knew each other almost from childhood, and kept company for four years before their marriage on June 1, 1879, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. Father Hauptman, pastor of the Church of the Annunciation, on North Fifth street. They lived together until two years ago, when Mrs. Ditmar's husband left her, she says without any just cause. They had one child, now dead. After the desertion, Mrs. Ditmar caused her husband's arrest a few times for lack of support, but she was defeated in her suits on technical points. Ditmar had her arrested twice for following him, but nothing came of the matter. Six months ago he made complaint against the dwelling where she lived (No. 313 Union Avenue0, with her mother and other relatives, as a disorderly house. The woman was unable to secure the services of a lawyer, and her husband succeeded in having her committed for six months as a vagrant. She had been in the Penitentiary only tow months when, she asserts, Ditmar married Kate McDonald, the Rev. Mr. Sommers, of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church on North Fifth street, performing the ceremony. The complainant was liberated on the 14th inst., and yesterday procured a warrant on which her husband was arrested. Wife No. 2 did not appear in court, but the prisoner was surrounded by several ladies. he claims to have secured a divorce from the complainant while she was in prison, but the latter stated that she was never served with papers in any suit. It is her opinion he never obtained a divorce. Counselor H. B. Davis stated that his client had a valid defense.
Measles
An Epidemic in New York and Brooklyn.
'There is a popular impression,' said health commissioner Raymond this morning, 'that the measles in not a fatal disease or even a serious one; but it is time, in my opinion, that the public should be correctly informed on the subject in view of the present prevalence of this ailment. It may be called epidemic; it is so in New York, and the deaths which have occurred there were so frequent that the sanitary inspectors who had charge of this branch of the department, called for special action in the matter. That the measles is a contagious disease is not only certain, but it is a fact that it is very contagious. Hundreds of cases have been known were it was spread from one child to another, before the child which originally took it, had passed the period of incubation. That is often a fatal disease the records of mortality clearly demonstrate. In New York there were many deaths last year and the fatality of the disease is increasing in Brooklyn. In the month of January in New York the deaths from contagious disease were 72 from scarlet fever, 178 from diphtheria and croup and 150 from measles alone.
Marriages posted for May 1, 1885.
On April 30, 1885, at St. James Episcopal Church , Mr. Herrmann De Selding and Miss Anna Josephine Clark, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Clark.
At the Second Presbyterian Church ,last evening, Miss Marie S. Worth to Mr. D. P. Mygatt.
At the Sands Street M. E. Church, last evening, Miss Minnie Esterbrook, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Esterbrook, to Edgar D. Scavens.
On Wednesday evening at the residence of the brides parents, No. 91 India street, Miss Minnie Birkett, daughter of Counselor Henry M. Birkett, of this city to Mr. William Clark, a resident of New Milford, Connecticut. The Rev. Lewis Francis, pastor of the Kent Street Church performed the marriage ceremony.
Obituary of Henry G. Miller
At 5 o'clock last evening Henry G. Miller, better known as 'Harry' Miller, died at his residence on Flatbush Avenue from an attack of apoplexy. Mr. Miller was an enthusiastic sportsman and one of the originators of the Fountain Gun club, which ranks prominently in the New York State Sportsmen's Association. Twelve or fifteen years ago he started a hostelry on Flatbush Avenue, near the Plaza, and conducted it in a manner which commanded patronage select and extended. The Fountain Gun Club was organized there, and the success of the association is well known. Mr. Miller adopted the name of the Fountain Club House for his hotel, and made a reputation for himself as a caterer by no means confined to Brooklyn. He was a member of the Coney Island Rod and Gun Club and the Prospect Club, and supplied these and the Fountain club with pigeons at their regular shoots. He was also a member of the New York State Sportsmen's Association, and a well known authority in all matters pertaining to the rod and gun. Personally he combined those characteristics which made him an especial favorite with all with whom he was brought in contact, and a very large circle of friends will be sincerely grieved upon receiving the news of his death. For some time past he had not been in good health. He was troubled with catarrh, and for some months suffered from a complication of diseases. At four o'clock yesterday morning he was seized with an apoplectic stroke. Three physicians were summoned, but medical aid was useless. and after lingering in a comatose state until five o'clock last evening he died. Mr. Miller was 48 years old, and leaves a wife and a bright boy about 10 years old. The arrangements for the funeral have not been completed as yet. The members of the organizations to which he belonged will attend.
Obituary - Louis E. McLaughlin
Lieutenant Louis E. McLaughlin, commander of Devin Post, G. A. R., of this city, died at his residence, No. 600 Atlantic Avenue, at 5 o'clock last evening. Lieutenant McLaughlin was born in Brooklyn forty-two years ago the 1st of January. He was educated at the public schools, his classmates including Senator John J. Kiernan and several other now prominent citizens. On the breaking out of the war, he desired to enlist, but this was objected to by his parents. However, on the morning that the Fourteenth Regiment formed on Fort Greene to march to the front, young McLaughlin's patriotism overcame all home influence and he prevailed upon the officers to enlist him. He was forthwith furnished the uniform and sent his school books and clothing to his mother. He marched away with the other brave fellows of that organization. Subsequently his father obtained from Secretary Stanton the discharge of his son, on account of his youth. His father went to the camp on the Wednesday preceding the first battle of Bull Run and demanded that the young soldier should go to his home. Young McLaughlin refused to do to do so, saying that after enlisting he would not disgrace his father and mother, nor his native city, by leaving his post on the eve of a battle. He remained and participated in the fight with his regiment. A few weeks after his father succeeded in securing his discharge, but the young man finally enlisted in the eighty-second Regiment and went again to the war. He had his right thumb shot off at the Battle of Antietam and received another wound. he was promoted to a lieutenancy for bravery. He was captured by the Rebels and for several months was in prison on James Island, and Libby Prison, until exchanged. He was detailed to serve on the staff of General Corse, and , with other officers, served in the forage department of Sherman's army from Chattanooga to Washington, receiving the thanks of the War Department for his energy and integrity.
After the war he was superintendent of the Arms Manufactory in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for several years, where he formed the first post of the Grand Army of the Republic in that city. Subsequently he removed to this city, and was appointed to an office in the Custom House by Collector Merritt. Lieutenant McLaughlin had been very prominent in Grand Army affairs, and at the time of his death was serving his second term as Commander of Devin Post. he leaves a most estimable wife and two children. His parents reside at Dido, Tarrant County, Texas. The Rev. Messrs. Lansing and Foster will officiate at the funeral on Monday.
About Brooklyn People - May 3, 1885
Mr. William J. Gaynor has given up his cottage at Flatbush, where he as for several years resided, and has purchased a $15,000 house, No. 212 St., Johns place, between Seventh and Eight Avenues, where he will henceforth reside.
Assemblyman M. c. Earl has been very ill during the past week. He was compelled to leave the House on Tuesday, and since then has been confined to his home.
Commander Fox, of Louis M. Hamilton Post, G. A. R., of East New York, is suffering from a severe attack of pneumonia.
Mrs. Wood of Rochester, N. Y., is the guest of her sister, Mrs. William Bennett, of West Flatbush.
Surrogate Jacob I. Bergen, who has been sojourning with is wife and father in the West Indies for the past three weeks, will resume his judicial functions in the Court House to-morrow morning.
Mr. John Roth, of Flatbush, has gone to California to spend the summer.
Mrs. Mary Adams, 95 years old, is visiting her daughter, Mrs. John Archard, of West Flatbush.
Marriages Posted.
The social event of the Flatbush season was the marriage of Miss Lydia E. Arnold to Mr. Walter e. Beadle on Wednesday evening. The ceremony took place at the residence of the bride's parents on Sherman Street. It was performed by the Rev. Mr. Snively, of the Flatbush Episcopal church. The bride was dressed in garnet velvet, cut princess, duchess lace trimmings, and diamond ornament, and carried a bouquet of white roses and ferns. Mr. Frank Beadle, brother of the groom, acted as groomsman and Miss Walden as bridesmaid. The spacious homestead was crowded with friends of the contracting parties. Many handsome toilets were displayed by the ladies present. The presents were numerous and costly and included lemonade sets, Florentine statuettes and numerous others of the conventional wedding type.
At the residence of the bride's father, Mr. Barnce R. Hagerman, No. 355 Dean street, on Thursday evening, Miss Eleanor Hagerman was untied in marriage to Dr. Henry Tuttle Halleck, of this city. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. George E. Reed, pastor of the Hanson Place M. E. church, in the presence of the immediate relatives and friends of the parties.
The Fire on State Street - May 5, 1885
At Twenty minutes past nine this morning an alarm was sent out, to Fire Headquarters of the South Ferry Statoin. within half an hour after there were four alarms and two special calls, which hurried eighteen fire companies to the scene of a disaster the extent of which will probably not be known for some days. Fronting 200 feet on State street is a building known as the 'State Street machine Shop,' but is in fact only a portion a series of irregular but connected buildings which occupy most of the space of the interior of the block bounded by Atlantic Avenue and State street and Hicks and Columbia streets. The principal entrance to these buildings is on Atlantic Avenue. It is a gateway which passes beneath a two story frame building. The left portion on the ground floor is occupied by Mr. George L. Abbot, the agent of the owner of the property destroyed. (A picture is included in the article of the layout of the buildings showing how much the fire destroyed.)
When the fireman got to the Atlantic Avenue entrance they found that all the interior buildings were in flames, and that the westerly wall of the five story building had fallen out and Carried with it the extensions of the tenement houses fronting on Atlantic Avenue, and directly west of the gateway entrance. The utmost excitement prevailed and the most exaggerated rumors were afloat as to the damage done and the loss of life. Simultaneous with the alarms which were sent out by Chief Engineer Nevins calls were telegraphed for the ambulances, which conveyed the injured to the Long Island College Hospital, as stated in another portion of this report. When the excitement consequent upon the disaster had somewhat subsided the conflicting rumors finally shaped themselves into this one fact-that some workmen were engaged in putting a new girder under the westerly wall of building number 5. To this end jacks, such as house movers use, were employed. There were three or four of them in use. One had been screwed up so high that the other jacks bore not weight at all, and upon the fact being discovered the foreman ordered the jack in question to be eased down. It was while the men were engaged in doing this that the westerly wall, unevenly upheld, gave way and fell with a tremendous crash, carrying with it about one-third of the westerly end of the building. Almost simultaneously flames burst forth, in this building being soap works and a tin factory where furnaces were freely used, and the wall, falling upon the extensions of the dwelling houses on Atlantic street, crushed them like so many egg shells, the cooking stoves scattering their burning coals among the debris starting the flames among the tenements. The houses damaged by fire in this manner number from 49 to 63 Atlantic street. On the east side of the gateway entrance is a row of flats running from 57 to 63 Atlantic street. They are owned by Mr. Lindenberg, and are mostly damaged in the rear, where the wings from the main building on State street almost connected with them. Building No. 5 on the diagram is where the accident occurred through some mismanagement of the jacks, as it is alleged, but the careful investigation which will be made in the case will probably elicit some clearer information on the subject. This building was occupied as follows:
Henry L. Judd & Co., window shade roller manufacturers, had the whole of the top or fifth floor. They also occupied floors in the main building which fronted on state street. They alone employed about three hundred hands. The fourth floor was occupied by C. W. Butier & Co., tin dealers, who had on-half and Benjamin Moore & Co. calsom finish makers, who had the other half. William Durst, metal spinner, had half of the second floor, the other portion was not occupied. George Young had half of the first floor as a machine shop, and William Daniels, a machinist, the other half. These were all the occupants of the building where the calamity occurred. those who rented space in the other portions, according to the statement given the Eagle reporter by Mr. George L. Abbot, the agent are:
Thurber, Whyland & Co., scouring soap., Charles Schwitter, watch cases, J. U. Gerow, pencil cases, The Columbia Rubber works, George Whittaker & Co., Roy & Co., watch cases, Frank Whitner, Howard and Mohl, gold refiners, C. W. Butoler & Co., tinsmiths, William Durst, metal spinner, Baker and Monroe, machinists, P. H. McGann, oleomargarine (not occupied), Albert Hinrichs, metal specialties, Elliott & Ludlam, rod trimmings.
Mr. Abbott, the agent, was at first disinclined to talk about the occurrence, and refused to state the name of the owner until he was impressed with the fact that it would have to be divulged. Fire Marshal Thorne informed him that the best course he could pursue was to give to the reporters all the facts that he could. He thereupon stated to the Eagle man, that the buildings were owned by Mr. Nathan Cushing, at Boston, who has been telegraphed and is on his way to this city. All of them were furnished with steam power, and according to Mr. Abbott Mr. Cushing's insurance on the building and machinery is about $70,000. "Who was the person employed to put in this new girder?" the reporter asked.
'Mr. B. C. Miller. he is a house mover, and understands his business I presume.'
'Was he present when the wall fell?'
'I don't know.'
He had sole charge of the work?'
'He and the carpenter, Mr. Peter Watson.'
The reporter tried to find both of these gentlemen, but did not succeed. When Mr. Abbott was asked how many men there were in building No. 5 at the time it fell, he said: 'I don't know; about forty, I guess.' The superintendent of H. L. Judd & Co., laughed at this. 'Why,' he said, ' We have three hundred hands alone, and I suppose there were over one hundred in that building.'
'Did they all get out?'
'I think so, but are not sure.'
'What was done when the wall fell?'
'Why, we all tried to save ourselves at first, and most had got out, when the flames were discovered. We had a lot of hand grenades and we used them to check the fire. They did so when they were thrown but the heat was so intense that the flames would soon burst out again, and we finally had to save ourselves and let the fire go ahead.'
The reporter discovered that in the different manufacturing places in the buildings there were 700 people. In the New York Tin Company's employ there were thirty or forty girls, and whether all escaped or not is a question which cannot yet be solved. Some of them were seen shrieking wildly upon the iron fire escape of the fourth floor, where the tin factory was located, and three or four of them, it is said, fell into the burning ruins below. The flames seemed to leap from floor to floor and from building to building with a celerity that baffles description. Within an hour the whole mass of the structures was in ruins, with the exception of building No. 7, which fronts on Columbia street, but which was thoroughly gutted.
The fire extended to the buildings that fronted on State street with remarkable swiftness, and though the fire engines were promptly at hand they were powerless to stay the progress of the flames. The buildings went to pieces like houses of cards. The crash of falling walls and floors, the vast clouds of smoke and dust and steam, the spires of flame, that shot from crumbling ruins, gave terror to the spectacle , and the general excitement grew into a panic when it was reported that several employees had been crushed and burned to death in the ruins. While the excitement was at its height four explosions were heard in quick succession. It is surmised that the four engine boilers under the State Street sidewalk at burst. Many of the employees lived in the immediate neighborhood of the buildings and their friends and relatives were quickly on the ground, in a state of wild alarm, prosecuting their inquiries as to the safety and whereabouts of the working men and girls.
Truck No. 1 turned into State street immediately on reaching the scene of the disaster, and Foreman Daniel Garrity was appealed to save a couple of girls who were said to have been seen at one of the windows of the fourth floor. He cried: 'My God! if there are any people up there they are lost. The whole building is on fire.'
Garrity was then told that the fireman of the concern was in a place of great danger, and as the stairways were in flames he could only be reached through a coal hole in the sidewalk. The cover was quickly removed from the hole and the man was found calmly stoking his furnace. He had no idea that anything unusual was going on until he was drawn out of the place and saw the walls cracking and flames rolling from the windows above him. he was quite surprised when he saw firemen's faces at the aperture above him and was loudly admonished to 'Get out of here.'
Until the police had cleared the street many of the people who lived in the neighborhood of the burning buildings were huddled together on their door steps, wringing their hands and lamenting the probable destruction of their houses and their goods. Some of them were quite dazed and wandered about the street close under the lee of the falling walls until hurried away by their friends. When the immediate dander had passed they became more tractable, but the police had their hands full in keeping the sidewalks clear.
The flames spread to one or two of the tenement houses below the factories, but streams were at once directed against them and the fire gained no headway in that direction, although the damage by water will be considerable. Their occupants were readily persuaded to move out, and some of them saved a portion of their household goods. Sparks fell from time to time on the neighboring roofs and firemen and volunteers were busy in spraying the tar and shingles that might otherwise have caught fire. It was necessary to cut away the overhanging cornice from the house just below the factory, as the flames had already taken hold of the woodwork there.
The tumbling brick had severed the gas pipe that supplied the buildings and the escaping jet caught fire, shooting a flame that whirred and whizzed as it leaped upward. It burned after the fire in its immediate vicinity had been extinguished, and laborers were put at work tearing up the pavement for the purpose of getting at the gas main and putting a stop to the leak. The walls fell rapidly, and two hours after the fire had broken out nothing but a few fragments of the wall indicated that a building had formerly stood there. In places where these fragments bulged outward and threatened to fall the firemen directed steams of water against them at short ranges and crumbled them down, brick by brick.
Firemen also gained the interior of the buildings and played streams toward the street that several times went wide of their mark and came bursting through doors and windows into the crowd. Two policemen were thoroughly soused, but they took their dunking with good nature and the crowd laughed gleefully. By noon the fire on the State street side was extinguished and several engines left, but steam and smoke still rolled in heavy volumes from the charred and smoldering ruins. Walter W. Marcus, a workman in one of the factories, who was standing on the corner of Hicks street at the time of the conflagration started, said that he glanced at one of the upper windows and notices a puff of smoke coming from it and that in less than a minute it seemed as if fire and smoke were leaping form every door and window. 'I was caught in that place last September,' said he, 'when part of the building was burned, as I was sleeping on the third floor. I was awakened by shouts in the street and got down the stairs just in time to save a roasting. There was nothing in or about the place to check a fire-no hose or extinguisher and no fire escape.'
The excitement around the scene of the conflagration was intense, and there were a hundred anxious people looking for missing relatives and friends who were employed in the building. What human life is lost will never be known until the firemen have thoroughly searched the ruins, but there seems to be little doubt on all sides that a considerable number have perished. the firemen-nearly one-half of the entire force-are still busily engaged under the direction of Chief Nevins and his district engineers. Fire Commissioner Poillen was present, and insurance men were at work estimating their losses.
This is the third time that a fire has occurred on these premises. The buildings stand upon the site of the old glass house, which was burned down some years ago.
The Injured and the Missing.
The following is a list of the missing, so far as could be ascertained up to a late hour this afternoon:
Daniel Loughery, aged 42. He was the engineer of the building and lived in it with his wife Mary, and one child, aged 6 years. The wife and child were not in the building at the time of the crash, but Loughery was. His remains were subsequently discovered beneath the debris. He had held his position 6 years.
Edward Butler, aged 25 of State street. he was employed on the third floor and is believed to have fallen through and to have been killed. His brother, Daniel, was at the fire making inquires about him, but nothing could be ascertained concerning him.
Edward Lantry, aged 42, employed by William Durst, metal skinner on the fifth floor, believed to be in the ruins.
John Mitz, aged 26, residence not known, reported missing. Adolph Martin, aged 25, married, one child. Fred Eggler, aged 22, Williamsburgh, worked for Mr. Hine. John McGrath, aged 15, residence unknown.
Among the injured:
Bernard Stork, fireman, No. 4 Engine Company, severely injured about the head by falling bricks and removed to Long Island college Hospital. His injuries are not necessarily fatal.
Michael F. Grogan, fireman, 4 Engine Company, burned about the face, hands and body, removed to Long Island College Hospital. Injuries not of a serous character.
patrick Dougherty, fireman, Hook and Ladder company No. 3, sever internal injuries, received by being caught under a piece of timber. doubts of his recover are entertained.
Henrietta Haas, aged 68, of 55 Atlantic Avenue, severely bruised about the body. She was caught under some falling bricks, and would doubtless have been killed had not Dr. Palmer, of the Health Department, together with Fireman Duff, rescued her.
Mary Moore, residence unknown, slight injuries. Samuel Duff, foreman of No. 3 Engine Company, bruised about the body; injuries not serious.
Charles Ruddy, foreman, injured by falling bricks; left leg broken. James Fay, fireman, severely burned. His hair, eyebrows and mustache were taken entirely off. Removed to the Long Island College Hospital, where doubts of recovery are entertained.
Emma Haas, daughter of Henrietta Haas, of 55 Atlantic Avenue, left arm injured. She could easily have escaped, but went back to get a bird and was caught beneath a piece of timber. removed with her mother to the Long Island College Hospital.
Mary Watts, aged 18, of Union Hill, N. J., worked for Milo Hine, left leg badly burned. James Paff, worked for H. L. Judd.
Rose Partridge, employed in the button factory.
It is impossible at time of writing to estimate the number of people who are under the ruins. The general impression is that there are about twenty, but in all probability there are more. At one o'clock Firemen Ruddy and Fay were taken out, and the firemen were searching for more bodies..
At the Hospitals
despite the many wild rumors about those injured, but few person could be found under medical treatment. At the Long Island College Hospital the reporter ascertained the following facts: Mrs. Haas, a German woman sixty years of age, and somewhat infirm, was in her apartments, at 53 Atlantic Avenue, with her daughter, when without any warning the wall fell in on her, and she was crashing through the first floor. here, after some moments she was reached by Foreman Samuel Duff, of Engine, 3, with some firemen, and extricated. In assisting the old lady out from the debris Foreman Duff was considerably burned about the head and hands, and sustained great risk in his efforts, as the bricks and burning wood was falling all around him. Mrs. Haas was shortly after conveyed to the Long Island college Hospital, where it was found that her collar bone was fractured, as was one of the bones of her right arm. She may recover, but her age may militate against it and make treatment difficult. Coroner Menninger was in attendance in case of any fatality, and believed Mrs. Haas would recover.
Mary Moore, a girl employed at Hinde's button factory, was led by a police officer to the dispensary of the hospital, suffering from injuries to the knee. To a reporter she said: 'There were about seventeen of us working in the room on button. I was making eyelets. Suddenly Mamie Riley cried out, 'There's fire somewhere!' and pointed to black smoke coming through a little window at the end of the room. We all got scared, and began to shout, 'fire!' The flames, she continue, come first from a tenement house. She herself was burned about the knee escaping, and when the walls began to fall the girls rushed out. She is confident that Mamie Riley, Mary November McGrath, Annie Higgins, Aggie Downs, and Katie McKeon fell in the ruins. She herself was one of the first out of the ruins, and saw all the others come out but those. After persistent questions she remained steadfast in her assertions that they had not escaped from the building. She was able to walk home after surgical treatment, her chief injury going a burn on the knee.
Four young men walked into the Long Island College Hospital at one o'clock, inquiring for missing friends. One of these was Henry Roessles, of 96elm Street, who was engaged as foremen for William Durst, the entrance to whose metal spinning factory was at 55 Atlantic Street. he related the following experience: 'I had ten men at work, and the first thing we knew of anything wrong was the wall caved in on us. There was a shout and rush and every one ran for safety. we didn't see any fire, nor any smoke either, but simply heard a rumble and then down came the walls on our work. The only way I could see to escape was to tear up some flooring, which I did, and dropped through to the floor below, where I got out. The others got down by the stairway, then out of windows on Columbia place. As soon as we got together we watched for each other and could only muster five men, and we were the first out. Those who fell in the ruins are Fred. Eger, 22 years of age, single; Adolph Martis, 25 years of age, married; John McGrath, 15 years of age, and Henry Durst, 55 years of age, an uncle of the proprietor of the works, who did laboring work about the shop. I saw all who were in the room. They were near the wall that caved in, and I don't see how they could escape. We have searched everywhere and can find no trace of them. As that part of the floor were they were fell in directly after I got through the floor, they must have gone down in the ruins.'
'Have you any idea how the fire or accident originated?' asked the reporter.
'Yes. they were raising the building 55 Atlantic Avenue, and were taking out old and rotten posts and putting in new ones. Last week they raised the building three inches. One of the posts that they were putting in must have given way, from the location of the cave in, and then the fires from the tin shop, which were upset, set fire to the wood or stuff laying around.'
Lowry, the engineer of the building, who made periodical visits to the various floors, was on the third floor at the time of the crash, as nearly as could be learned, and ran to the roof to see what was the matter. that was the last seen of him. he lived in the building, 55 Atlantic Avenue.
Fireman Michael F. Rogan, of Engine 4, occupied a cot in the accident ward in the hospital, with his head bandaged. His body is much bruised, and at two o'clock the surgeons had not made a close examination into his injuries. He could not move his left leg, and believed both his arms are broken. he was running through an archway when it collapsed and the brickwork and masonry fell on him. His head was abraised, but not seriously. Rogan was able to converse and seemed to be in good spirits.
An elderly man, without a hat on, was inquiring wildly at the two hospitals for James Paff, who worked in the hardware factory of H. L . Judd. At the Third Sub Station house he was reported missing.
Rose Partridge, a girl working at Hinde's button factory is reported as missing. None of the girls who escaped have seen her, and her friends have searched for her everywhere in vain.
Statements of Person who Escaped
Milo Hine, who occupied the top floor for the manufacture of buttons, made a statement: 'At nine o'clock I was in my room directing the work of my employees, of whom there were forty, mostly women. the first we heard, of the accident was when we heard a crash, and this was followed by part of the flooring giving way. In one of the corners of my room there was a ladder lading to the roof, and all the employees made a rush for it because they saw it was useless to attempt to escape in any other way. There was a panic among the women for a time and two or three of them fainted, but the men succeeded in restoring order, and then in single file, the employees climbed the ladder and gained the roof. After that but little difficulty was experienced. The girls marched out in good order, gained the roof of the adjoining building, which was not injured and reached the street by descending the fire escapes. The women who fainted were carried out by two of my men and myself. They recovered by the time we gained the roof and sent down the fire escapes themselves without any assistance. I am sure that we all escaped, and that not one of the persons of my room may be classed among the missing.'
William Gildersleeve, of 135 Atlantic Avenue, who was working in the shop of G. A. Young & Co., on the ground floor, when the crash occurred said: 'I was standing in the shop between 9 and 10 o'clock this morning when seven or eight bricks fell from the ceiling at a point a few feet from were I was. Then the timber began to spread. There were with me in the shop at the time a man named William Sandford, who lives on Bergen Street, and a youth who came to work this morning for the first time and who was known as George. The Three of us made a rush for the boilers, over which we climbed and succeeded in gaining the window facing the State Side Street, through which we scrambled in double quick time. we had no sooner got out than the whole building came down with a mighty crash. I am sure that if we had been in the place one minute longer we would at this time be under the ruins. It was the most miraculous escape I ever heard of , and you can rest assured that I am by no means anxious to undergo another such experience.
william Sandford, who was with Mr. Gildersleeve, made a statement as follows: 'Ten tons of silica which were to be used in the manufacture of "Pride of the Kitchen Soap", were brought into the building yesterday. The structure was so rickety that it is surprising that it did not tumble long ago. It was common saying among the people who worked in it that they risked their lives every time they entered it, and when the silica was brought in we joked each other as to whether the old place was strong enough to stand the heavy weight. It would have been all right if the propping up of the ceiling on the ground floor had been done in a decent way, but it was not. You see one of the "jacks" was bigger then the others, and when driven into place the effect was to lift the ceiling somewhat and render the other supports practically worthless. It was the clumsiest piece of work I ever saw. In our wing of the building there were at least sixty persons employed and I will be very much surprised if more than forty of that number made their escape. In my opinion, at least twenty were caught beneath the falling timbers and buried beneath the ruins. Most of them, I should say, were woman.'
Mr. Charles Schwetter, who manufactured gold watch cases on the third floor of the rear extension, running through to State Street, had seen the fire when the flames struck his own portions of the building. 'There was no difficulty experience,' he said, 'in securing the safety of the one hundred person in my employ. They all filed out in good time and were on the sidewalk before that portion of the building occupied by them had caught fire at all. The smoke was dense and the stairs rickety, but otherwise there was no inconvenience. As to the stock, which was valuable, I could not save any of it. An attempt was made to secure some specially valuable articles, particularly a large burnishing arrangement, but it got too hot to be handled and had to be left it its fate. I don't know, of course about the other portions of the building, but I think I can say that there was little likelihood of any lives being lost.'
William Bradley, who lives at 322 Hicks street, right in the rear of the burned building, was at his window when the fire broke out. 'It was just twenty-five minutes to nine, ' he said, ' and I had looked out the window to see if the day was clearing when the flame form the third floor of the extension, immediately opposite to my house, burst through the window and quickly spread from its woodwork to the adjoining brickwork. It fell in after a quarter of an hour's burning. It was ten minutes afterward when the first engine arrived. everybody who knows anything about the origin of the fire says that the department was very slack in responding to the call. It was a full twenty-five minutes after the fire broke out before the engines arrived. when the fire had made good headway I saw Mr. Weston grab some tools or something from the floor and ran down the stairs. It looked to me as if all the employees had got out in good time. There are half a dozen stories as to the way the fire broke out and no two of them agree, substantially. There were some plumbing work being done in the rear and it is possible that the fire from the furnaces used may have caused the fire.'
Mr. Weston, who had escaped from the burning building at great peril, was found in the immediate neighborhood in a borrowed hat and coat. He did contract work for the Judd Manufacturing Company, and employed a number of hands on the third floor of the building. He premises were in the extension abutting in the rear of the western portion of the burned building. 'I don't care to have my name in the papers,' Mr. Weston said, ' and would prefer not to say anything about the fire at all. I know that all my employees got out in good time. When I saw the fire most of the girls jumped to their feet, and were about rushing pell mell for the door. that would have caused a panic and possibly loss of life, but I quieted them without much trouble and got them all out before the fire struck our part of the building at all. My own escape was undertaken in quicker fashion. My coat and hat were not near by, and I had to get out without them.'
From another source the reporter learned that the building had been partially burned last August; that it was entirely without fire escapes and was constructed of flimsy materials.
The Search for the Bodies
About half past twelve Commissioner Poillon, Chief Nevins and Inspector McKellar held a conference in front of No. 55 Atlantic Avenue, one of the entrances to the death trap. 'How are we going to get at the bodies beneath those ruins.' the inspector asked.
'I don't think our men can give any assistance in that direction,' said the chief. 'We will put the fire out and that is about all we can do. the men have been worked hard already, and fires may break out in other parts of the city which will demand their attention.'
'That is true,' said the inspector, 'and perhaps we will have to employ men to work on the ruins. The Commissioner of City Works might hire the men needed.'
'I will see the Mayor and Commissioner Fleeman about he matter,' said Commissioner Poillon. 'They will probably arrange for the searching of the ruins. It will not do to keep all of our men here and leave other parts of the city unprotected.'
'This is another evidence of our own need for more engines and men,' said the chief. 'We have been obliged to leave but seven companies to look out for the city. All the others are here. We can put a foremen over each gang of men put to work on the ruins and this is the best we can do.'
Inspector McKellar said that he would leave to the Fire Commissioners the work of arranging for the searching of the ruins. While they were talking a fireman ran out, and saluting the Chief said: 'We've just found the body of the engineer, Levery. The man is all smashed up.'
The body, when taken out, presented a ghastly appearance; the features were discolored and distorted. The wounds on the head and body bore evidence to the fact that the unfortunate man's death must have been almost instantaneous. The remains were taken away to the Morgue. The sturdy Chief of the Fire Department, as the body was taken away, again gave expression to his indignation:
'It was an outrage to locate these shops in the rear of tenement houses,' said he. 'Here were scores of men, women and girls penned in by tenement houses on every side. I was driving up Baltic street, when the alarm was first given. I wasn't more than three blocks sway from this place, and yet when I drove up to the front of No. 55 Atlantic Avenue there were people buried in the ruins. I was in the door of No. 53 and found a lot of girls in the rear screaming and trying to make their way out of the wreck. We got three out in very short order and each of them seemed to be badly hurt. There was a terrible deal of confusion and I had to leave some of my men to continue the work of pulling people out of the ruins while I set the companies to work in other directions. I sent out four alarms in quick succession and the companies arrived her with commendable promptness. Back of these tenements the fire was like that of a big raging furnace. You see when the building fell, the fires on each floor caught on the timber and everything was in a blaze in less time than it takes me to tell it.'
'Have you any idea how many lives are lost?' a reporter asked.
That is purely a matter of speculation. From the accounts given me here and there by persons employed in come of the shops, it seems almost certain that there are several bodies under the ruins. The heads of the shops have not had time to yet to ascertain who is missing. Several have been reported missing but there is a possibility of their turning up when the excitement subsides.'
"When can the work of searching the ruins be begun?'
'Not until towards night. It will take some time to cool off the wreck, although we are flooding it now. One thing is certain-that is, there is no chance of there being anyone beneath those bricks who is alive. Everything there is beyond human suffering.'
'This place has been a bad hole for years,' said Police Captain Campell.
'Yes,' said the Chief. 'I remember coming to fires here as far back as '66,' when the old volunteer fire department was in existence. I've been coming here nearly every year since.'
What they say at the Building Department
Deputy Buildings Commissioner Acker, and Inspector Long, who had returned from the fire, said this afternoon that they found no record in the department in relation to the building. Inspector Long said, however, that about two years ago, at the request of one of the tenants, he made an examination of the premises and found that some of the girders had settled. the tenant, a manufacturer, who did not want his name known, had called the attention of the department to the matter because the floor in his part of the premises was so uneven he could not get his machinery plumb. Inspector Long went down there and found that while the settling was an old one there was no immediate danger about it. The settlement was all the way from the top to the bottom. He ordered the girders to be raised and the agent of the property promised to have the work done. Whether or not it was ever done, the inspector did not know. In 1883, in consequence of a complaint, he order the agent to attach fire escapes to the premises. This was done. Inspector Long admitted that he had not inspected the building since. In regard to the fire to-day he and Deputy Acker supposed that some incompetent mechanics were raising the girders, the columns having been removed, when the lever slipped and the floors fell in, the furnaces of the manufacturers on the upper stories dropping and setting the place on fire. Deputy Acker was careful to explain that this supposition was based upon what they had heard this morning.
Later in the day Mr. Acker found among the records of the Department a report of Inspector Long, dated May 28, 1884, setting forth that the foundation walls of No. 61 Atlantic Avenue were in an unsafe condition, and that the owner had been ordered to make the necessary repairs. Inspector Long thereupon declared that the work had been done. Mr. Acker said that no permit had been granted by the department to make the repairs which were under way this morning.
Inspector Long said that G. L. Abbot, the agent of the property, had told him that he (Abbott) had contracted with b. c. Miller, house mover, to take out the wooden posts in the cellar, and substitute brick ones.
Providing For Excavations.
Fire Commissioner Poillon called at the Mayor's office at 2 o'clock this afternoon for the purpose of ascertaining if he could not have a gang of men employed to search the ruins for bodies. The Mayor had gone for the day. Commissioner Poillen said that the firemen were worn out after their labors of last night and today and furthermore, it would not be advisable to put them at such work, s they might be called upon to perform fire duty elsewhere. He said that no bodies had yet been found, but he believed there were bodies in the ruins. Commissioner Piollon called upon the City Works Commissioner Fleeman, who promised to send all the men that could be spared from the pipe yard, to work at the ruins. If more men should be requested, he should detail come men from the street repair gangs.
The Losses And Insurance.
The insurance on the property destroyed is about $300,00, while the damage will aggregate at least $250,000. The following is the insurance of some of the occupants: A. B. Judd--------$40,000,
Charles Schweiter-------$50,000
J. N Gerow------$20,000
Columbia Rubber Works----$4,000
Baker & Monroe-----15,000
Roy & Co.------$20.000
William Durst----$4,000.
The remainder of the insurance will aggregate $80,000, the principal companies affected being the Etna Williamsburgh City, Niagara, Royal and Lancashire.
At half past three o'clock fifty of the employees of the Board of city Works arrived on the scene and were immediately set at work by Commissioner Poillen to look for the missing.
After The Fire
Early this morning men in the employ of the Department of City Works, were sent down to the ruins of the Atlantic street fire to excavate the debris and search for the bodies of those who are supposed to be buried under tons of broken brick which lie in irregular heaps throughout that portion of the center of the block which encompassed the buildings where the catastrophe occurred. 22 men were sent by Commissioner Fleeman from the pipe yard and were under the direction of Foreman Raymond and in addition to these were many fireman who acted under the orders of district Engineers William A. Minard and James Dale. At half-past nine the first body was found by the gang of men employed today. It was in the rear of No. 51 Atlantic Avenue, and was embedded near the north wall of the extension of that dwelling, beneath a pile of charred beams, broken bricks and tin cans which had fallen in upon the spot from c. w. Butler & Company's tin factory, which was on the fourth floor of the building which fell. It was removed with all possible care and conveyed to the Third Sub Precinct Station House, preparatory to its removal to the Morgue. It proved to be the body of Edward Butler, who lived in the rear of No. 51 Atlantic Avenue, which almost touched the end of building No. 5, of the Cushing Steam Power works, the falling wall of which precipitated the fire and crushed in the extensions of the Atlantic Avenue tenements.
After the charred remains, almost indistinguishable, had been removed to the station house in congress street the two brothers of the unfortunate man went there and desired to see the body. 'I don;t think it would be well for you to do so,' Captain Kellet said. 'If it is your brother you will not like to look at what is left of him.'
David Butler, the elder brother, stated that he desired to see the remains, as he and his father and mother wanted to know the worst.
'Can you describe anything that he wore or anything about him by which he can be identified?' Captain Kellett asked.
'Yes; I can describe his clothing.'
'We only have the vest of this man,' was Kellet's response.
'Then I can describe that,' said David, and he did so, so accurately that the captain was satisfied that the mutilated corpse lying in the prison corridor was in truth his brother.
'Was there anything special about his teeth?' the brother was asked.
'Yes, he had three our four false ones.'
'Then I think that the corpse inside in that of your brother.'
The younger brother, who accompanied David, was so overcome by these statements that he commenced to cry and shook like an aspen leaf. He was so overcome that Captain Kellet refused him permission to go to the prison to see the remains. The elder brother, David, did go and a physician attached to the Long Island College Hospital accompanied him. The vest was precisely as David had described it, and the false teeth were found to compare with the description given of them. In addition to this, there was a card of Slater's Oyster house, were the dead man worked as a waiter, and $2.40 in change was found in his pocket. This is the only body which has been fully identified.
The Missing list as it now stands.
The missing list, obtained from the police and other sources.
Conrad Brelling, 25 years old, Prospect street, L. I. City. William Clark, Third Avenue, near forty-second Street New York; worked in Butler's tin shop. ----- Cooney, of Dutch Kills, worked in the tin shop . Henry Durst, 58 years old, 31 Marion Street, New York, worked in the brass shop; uncle of William Durst. Fred., Egger, aged 21, 38 Troutman street, worked in the brass shop. Henry Hoefner, aged 45, foreman of the tin shop 195 Braham Avenue. William Legge, aged 43, single, lived on Columbia Heights. Daniel J. Lowrey, aged 60, married and has a wife and boy, engineer and janitor, 55 Atlantic Avenue. Member of Rankin Post No. 10, G. A. R. Gustave Lunz, aged 20, single, 285 Pacific street. John McGrath, 15 years old, 214 Bond street, worked in the brass shop. Adolph Mathes, aged 26 years, married and has one child 172 Hicks Street, worked in Williams Durat's brass shop. James Shaughnessy, a young man who lives at 58 Atlantic Avenue. Henry Young, of Dutch Kills, worked in Butler's tin shop. Gus----, a Swedish boy, living in Warren Street, between Smith and Hoyt, a helper in the tin shop. Patrick Bronson, James Coyle, Mrs. Coyle, William Coyle, Thomas Harrigan, James Lynch, James O'Hara, Thomas O'Hara, Lizzie O'Brien, Mary Riley, Thomas Ryan, ages and addresses unknown.
At three o'clock workmen found the unshapely masses which the physicians assert are the remains of four more victims.
This is the short version of the article. I only pulled out the names of the dead and injured.
May 8, 1885 - The Victims
All Of Them Believed to Have Been Discovered.
The pouring rain last evening brought the efforts of the laborers who are excavating the lass house ruins to an early close. Their progress during the day had been markedly slow, but his through no fault of their own. The big charred beams and heavy shafting, together with the snarles of steam pipes, were all cleared away in the forenoon, but the promised easy digging did not materialize. the picks of the workmen had not struck a dozen blows when they encountered a new element in the debris. It lay about in hugh, spongy, impenetrable masses, and for a tie defied all efforts tending to tis removal. On one of the floors of the burned building had been stoed an immense quantity of glue, and this had fused in flames, glueing together everythin in its neighborhood in such a through manner that when night came the much of it yet remained to harrass the workmen today. The general dampness hindered the work but little, though it made the labor highly disagreeable. When night came the workers all looked as if they had been digging in a coal mine, while Superintendent Geoff's handsome visage was streaked and spotted in a highly picturesque manner. The pile of debris seemed to grow rather than lessen under the attacks of the laborers, and several days are likely to lapse before this west wing is fully cleared.
All Bodies Thought To Be Recovered.
The general belief lst evening ws that the bodies of all the missing victims had been discovered. The remains so far found represent those of sixteen persons, while the fragments discovered are sufficient to warrant the belief that the toal may reach seventeen or eightenn, judging from the distence st which they lay from each other. Mr. Goffis, however, of the opinion that at least three more will be found. He says a man was seen running across the fifth floor bridge from the west wing to the State stret front , who has not yet been acounted for. Beside this there are several others.William Clarke, and W. H. Schiebel, who lived at No. 197 Grand Street, New York, who have yet to be heard from. Louis Lemaine, Clarke's cousin, watched the diggers all day yeaterday without result. he said his cousin, who was also his roomate, at No. 641 Third Avenue, New York, had left that place for work on Tuesday morning, and had failed to return. Mr. Goff stated further that two doors lead from the main stairway on the ground floor into the west wing, and that it was not unlikely that someone in a mad effort to escape might have rushed into the fallen structure, and thus trapped might have perished. The ruins near these doors have yet to be examined. It will take a good deal of work to get them, as the ground is incumbered with bricks, mr. Henry Durst's safe, and a variety of heavy timbers and metal. The standing east walls of the wing will have to be pulled down before the digging can be conducted with safety. Mr. Durst's men attempted to get at his safe yesterday, but were stopped by Mr. Goff, lest they add to the peril of the work.
Smokey Hollow Treasure Seekers,
The yet unguarded rear windows of the surrounding tenement houses afford the ever present throng pleasing and picturesgue glimpses of life in Smokey Hollow. All day long they were full of men and women who watched the proceedings with special interest. This attention to details has been the subject of much comment by the policemen at the gate of No. 55. It'll break their hearts,' said he, 'if that gold from the watch case factory gets away without they're getting a whack, at it. Some of 'em will die sure from very grief.' The gang is getting little show, however, for nightly a half dozen of the biggest and most vigliant of captain kellett's policemen keep sharp watchon premises. This, with the time honored esteem of locking up certain denizens of the Hollow who appear in public after dark, no matter how peaceful they may seem, gives added security to the valuables. Just as soon as the recovery of all the bodies is assured the various firms will be ermitted to do what they will with the remains of their resective establishments.
The Effect of Business
The destruction of the many factories in the glass house patch has resulted in much loss to the stores, restuarants and saloons in their vicinity. Of the six or seven hundred hands employed many made their purcheses in the near at hand stores. The restaurants and saloons are left expecially desolate. H. L. Judd & co. have made arrangements to resume business in New York. Mr. Durst has also provided P;aces for his men in that city pending his renewal of operations.
At The Morgue
The crowd which gaters around the Morgue building in Willoughy Street, every morning, is almost as large as that which fringes the outskirts of the fire. Mr. McGuire has his patience severely tested at times. Courteous and obliging as he always is to the relatvies of the dead, he has been taxed to the utmost by people who really have no business in the building but who will tell him that they expect to find a missing relative or friend, when in fact allthey want to do is to satisty a morbid curiosity by viewing the disfigured and blackened corpses.
One of these person was nicely caught last night. When Keeper McGuire was admitting a couple of the city undertaker's men he pressed toward the door. 'What is it sir?' he was asked by Mr. McGuire.
'I want to see if I can recognize a friend's body amoung the dead.'
'alright sir,' said Mr. McGuire, admitting the man in the vestibule of the building, and closing the door.
'What is your name sir.'
'My name? William Long.'
'And who is it you expect to identity?'
"One of the people who was killed at the fire."
'Yes, yes, but what was his name?'
'His name?' repeated Long, evidently embarrassed. His anem was Owens, John Owens,'
'How old was he?'
"He was a young man.'
'Who did he work for in the building that was burned?'
'For the man who ran the shoe factory.'
'What was his name?'
'I don't know.'
'Were you ever in the shop youself?'
'No, said Long, who was visibly wilting under Mr. McGuire's questioning. 'No, I don't think you ever were,; was Mr. McGuire's caustic response. 'You saved yourself one lie, anyhow. You get right out of here!' Long got.
'That is what I have to do with such people,; the keeper said to the Eagle reporter. 'That fellow has no one lost, all he wanted to do was to get a look at the bodies of the poor unfortunate people who have been crushed and burned. I have a diagram of these buildings and I know from the Eagel who occupied the premises. This fellow said his friend worked in the shoe factory, while there was no factory there at all. I have no patience with such folks and I feel like kicking them out the place evertime I come across them.'
The bodies are laid in a row on the newly tiled floor of the Morgue, and such person as have a right to enter are allowed to see them. The father of John McGrath, the boy who was learning his trade in the metal spinning shop, went to the Morgue yesterday afternoon to see if he could identify the remains of his son. He saw the bodies and scanned each one carefully until he came to a shapless mass upon which was a portion of a check jumper.'I think this is what is left of my poor boy,' he said, he wore a jumper something like this.'
'Are you sure it's the same?' Mr. McGurie asked.
'I think it is, my wife would know. I suppose I will have to bring her down.'
'No, if she dosen't want to come,' Mr. McGuire said, ' and this is no sight for her, I'll cut a piece of that jumper and you can take it home to your wife and let her see if she can identify it.'
He did so, and Mr. McGrath carried the strip home. 'That is Johnny's jumper,' Mrs. McGrath said to her husband, 'I'm sure of it, for I've washed it often. Did you see the buttons?
"No."
"Well, to make sure, see if there is a white button sewn on with black thread, and if there is it is our poor boy; I sewed one on last week."
Mrs. McGrath handed to her husband a button like the one she placed on the jumper and Mr. McGrath went back to the Morgue. The counterpart of the button he held was found on the jumper and it was sewn on with black thread. This proved the boy's identity beyond question. The old man, who has been hanging round the ruins ever since the workmen commenced to search for the bodies, gave vent to his grief in a flood of bitter tears. Such of the bodies as have been satisfactorily identified are placed by side by side by themselves and are covered with sheeting.
The Funeral of Victims
Coroner Meninger impaneled a jury of twelve business men this morning and swore them in at the Coroner's office in the Court Home. They then marched in a body to the Morgue, where they viewed the bodies. The inquest has been adjourned, but to what date the Coroner had not made up his mind, but it will appear in the 4 o'clock edition of the Eagle to-day, together with the names of the jurors.
"My opinion is," said Coroner Menninger, "that all the bodies have been found. There may be one or two more probably, but Superintendent Goff tells me he has searched pretty well through the building where the calamity occurred and where it is believed that all who lost their lives perished. Then, as several of the people who have identified bodies desire to bury on Sunday, I thought I would give them an opportunity to do so."
The funeral of Daniel J. Lowery, the young engineer who met his death at the fire, will be held at his late residence, No. 55 Atlantic Ave., on Sunday afternoon. Commanded William P. Wild, of Raukin Post, G. A. R., has ordered the members of the Post to assemble at the headquarters at 1 o'clock on Sunday afternoon to attend the funeral. No arrangements have been made for the funerals of the other victims.
After the jurors had left the morgue, the Coroner wrote out the permits for the removal of the identified dead, and most of them were taken away this morning. The inquest will probably be held in the room of the Board of Supervisors, and the evidence will be listened to by a large number of people. The Coroner intends to have all the light thrown on the subject that he can, and should the verdict hold any person or persons responsible, he will at once take the necessary legal steps for their detention.