Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 March 1890 — UNDER FALLING WALLS. [ARTICLE]

UNDER FALLING WALLS.

TERRIBLE LOSS OF LIFE AT AN INDIANAPOLIS FIRE. The Book and Stationery Store of Bowen A Merrill in Ashes A Falling Wall During the Progress of the Blaze Hurls Many Firemen Into the Blazing Rains. Indianapolis (Ind.) dispatch: Tho shocking catastrophe during the fire at Bowen & Merrill’s book store has thrown a pall of gloom over the entire city. One more dead body has been taken from the debris and this increases the number of killed to eleven. Others are' thought to be buried under the pile of masonry that fell into the alley. Many people were standing in the opening behind the Brunswick billiard hall when the crash came and it is said that some of them were buried under the falling mass. Search is now being made for them. Shortly after midnight the searching party discovered a man in the ruins, and as a large beam had fallen across his body he was somewhat protected from the piles of brick and stone that came down with the wall. He was pinioned to the ground, but the weight upon him was not sufficient to crush out his life. He could not be reached, however, on account of the pile of stuff that was above him, and life would surely be extinct before he could be rescued if he did not receive some bodily strength. A peculiar device was resorted to. A rubber tube was lowered to the unfortunate man’s mouth, and in this manner he was fed with whiskv. For over fourteen hours he lay in his dangerous position. Every minute it was expected that the huge piece of timber would sink and crush out what life remained In the man, and the rescuers worked heroically to release him. At intervals of a half hour the man was given a little whisky through the tube, and he was able to bear up until he was released. .

It was 9:45 o'clock Tuesday morning when he was taken from the ruins, and a cheer went up from the crowd when they that he was alive and would probably, live. The excitement was intense during the many hours the rescuing party was working hard to get at the man. All this time he was conscious, and he looked up pleadingly at the men who finally succeeded in saving him. The building occupied by the book company was a four-story and basement marble front, facing Washington street just west of Meridian. The fire started shortly before 8* o’clock, near the furnace of the sub-basement, and the department, when it arrived, seemed at a loss to locate the flames and began pouring water into the front of the building. For two hours the fight had continued in this way until a majority of the spectators had left, under the impresssion that the fire was out. About 5:30 o'clock, however, there was a terrific crash and the entire building, with the exception of the front wall, fell Inward. At the time a number of firemen were on the roof and were buried in the debris, which was piled forty feet high within the walls of the burned building. The work of rescuing, the living and extricating the dead was immediately begun by at least five hundred volunteers. At a late hour the following ten men had been taken out dead; GECRGE FAULKNER. ULYSSES GLAZIER. AL HOFFMAN. THOMAS S. BURKHARDT. EI’SEY STORMER. RICHARD LOWRIL. CHARLES JENKINS. THOMAS A. BLACK. ANDREW CHERRY, superintendent ol fire alarm system. An unknown man. The injured are: Anthony Voltz,. pipeman. Lew Rafert. fireman. Thomas Barrett, fireman. A. C. Mercer, captain fire department. Samuel W. Neal, pipeman. Tjlomas A. Black, pipeman. Webb Robinson, pipeman. William Partee, pipeman; internally hurt; may die. Henry Woodruff, pipeman; badly hurt. Ebenezer Leech, pipeman; cut and bruised. Tom Talentyre, foreman engine No. 2; fatally crashed. William Leong, pipeman; slightly hurt. Charles Jenkins, pipeman: badly bruised. William Heinsley, pipeman; badly hurt. John Burkhart, pipeman; badly hurt about the head. The Bowen Merrill Company carried a stock valued at $125,000, on which there was an insurance of $70,000. The building was owned by Silas T. Bowen, and the loss on the structure will be $30,000. H. P. Wasson, dealer in dry goods, suffered a loss of SIO,OOO by smoke' and water, and Byram & Sullivan lost half that amount. Several smaller stocks are badly damaged.