FIVE BLOWN TO ATOMS.

TERRIFIC EXPLOSION IN A BAY CITY FACTORY.

THE BOILER WAS IN BAD CONDITION AND HAD BEEN SO REPORTED -- ONE OF THE VICTIMS CAN NOT BE FOUND -- LOOKS LIKE CRIMINALITY.

West Bay City, Mich., Dec. 19. -- A boiler explosion in Russell Bros.' box factory yesterday killed five men, injured a number of others.
The dead are:
JOHN CALICUTT, fireman, aged 21.
GEORGE PRUND, aged 17.
ALBERT RAHN, aged 16.
JOHN BRANN, aged 15.
AL HEAVENBACHER, aged 17.
The injured:
FRED WILDAUGER, leg bruised.
CHARLES DODGE, back injured.
GEORGE HUDSON, face badly cut.
One boy is still missing and is believed to be buried in the debris. The explosion occurred while the mill was shut down for a few moments, the boys flocking to the engine room to eat lunch. All the bodies were terribly mutilated and almost unrecognizable. The cause of the explosion has not been determined. JOHN HAINING, the engineer, stepped out of the room a moment before the explosion occurred and escaped uninjured.
HEAVENBACH, one of the injured, was pinned under fallen timbers and bricks, and his screams were terrible. A dozen hands went to his rescue, and when taken out he was found to be only slightly injured. Several of the boys were the only support of families. Some of the employes assert that complaint had been made of the bad condition of the boiler and that the firm had been asked to shut down long enough to make repairs, but this they deny. The coroner has employed several leading boiler makers to make an investigation. The pecuniary loss is small, the mill, which is separated from the boiler room by a few feet, being only slightly damaged.

The Sterling Standard Illinois 1894-12-20
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!