HOTEL FIRE.

EXPLOSION SAORTFIOES NINE

»■■ ■ . uv^is* VANCOUVER, April 21. ISuie persons were sacrifioed to the whims of the deadly aicetylene gas at Macoun, Saskatchewan, on April 20, when, with a terrific, explosion, in the cellar of the Macoun hotel at the luncb. hour, the plant blew >up. and caused terrible havoc in- life: andy property. „ The, bodies .were terribly bxixned, and rescueSrork foe- the vicCims.was next to impossible when the ruins, caught fire, aaid ; took the lives of the injured held beneath debris of timber and wreckage. ■ Four or five more bodies; arc believed to be in the ruins. The. Royal Northwest Mounted Police are superintending, the search'. •

The explosions occurred : shortly after noon, thirty people being,- in the building- at the time. The first explosion lifted the main part of the building like, a balloon and the wreckage 4 dropped i back into a- . confused mass burying a ' scoVe of ..peppl^ in the debris, TbQ uiijnjured imjuednitely a^t t*> [worJc to extr.iciite.tho injured, when a second^ explosion occurred, and tRe masses of wrbekago broke into .flames, cutting: off the?, rescuers Two men and 'five women are known to. have beenburned aJive, and .amid, their cries thet rescuers made supierhuman effort® to reach. them.

-Nine,... others,- were, -tak<>n ,-, from the wreckage, an.d rasjied; to, the hospital at Eestovan. Last night* 'the. search among the ruins resulted In the finding of chair red; remains, .» only .■ one- of -which) that of James Dunger, dbnld 1 -^ be identi. £ed

The gas plant is an acetylene generator, located in the basement of the hotel, and nothing is vet known as to the-cquse of its explosion. The; building was razed to the ground by the , fire, which followed the second explosion. ,