The Ohio union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1849-1854, 1854-02-08
ANOTHER APPALLING CALAMITY
EXPL0F0N 0F 4 1CNRTRIIGE EAcTnRY.
.7aaso uoi25 Lives Lost. aal F.
FAwfuII AND HraRrlhENDiNo SCENES.

About . o'clock P. NJ, on the 2slh ult.
the building occupied as a factory, for tn
! making Of ball carlridgesai Lower Ravans
wood, Long Island, blew up and from
twenty 70 twenty-five persons, mostly boy
and females, were Instantly killed. Th,
explosion was terrific, shaking all the hous
es for tive miles around, and breaking III,
wiinndloys pfaN buildings within six or eigh
hundred feet. ,r ', - -
The N. Y. HPrald Of Sunday the 29th
says: ''e''3
The number ofpersons employ ed is gen
orally about thirty, being for The most par
girls oflhe ages often TO eighteen; but some
men and youths also find work in the fac
Tory. The exact number of lives lost i,
not now known, for being The afternoon
ol Saturday, greater or less number than
usual might have been lh5re, acording tc
circumstances Do aI ia p 'r1G
The lowest estimate made by Mr..
French is twenly-lour, and the highest
made by friends of the deceased is about
thirty. One family-lhe father Of which
is Mr.. Rhine, a worthy man, and garden.
er 10 a gentleman in the place-lost three
girls; and scarcely labofiDg family re-.
sides near the place that is not now wall.
ing for the loss Of some member of il.
Our reporter was on the spot half an
hour after it occurred, and the site of such
a sickenihg scene he hopes 10 be spared
again. The site of The building and
the surrounding lots were covered with
the Debris Of fle building human limbs, and
fragments Of machinery; here trunkless
head, there an arm, and all round blood
and entral., and shreds of clothing, all
blackened and burnt SO that Identification
is Impossible. We saw a man draw from
the mass the head ofa lille girl which he
knew was that Of his daughter by bit Of
ribbon ia te e. t, the hair; but any other
portion p'the body he would never find,
or if he found he would never be able to
say il was the body of his child. The
house o.. Mr. Moses is white house, about
four hundred feet di5lani and against the
rear oflhis a-humanc arm from the shoul.
der down was carried with force, and las
left its exact imprint in blood and charcoal
on tie angle, "''." '' 'F y" "
The windows Of this l.o1se, those also Of
the Rev. Mr.. Waite, the Episcopal minis!
aer Of Rasenswool, which is next, and
those Of Mr., French, adjoining, have no, a
Whole pane Of glass left in them.
"Most terrible Of all 1t was 10 see wo-
men wailng on the ground, OF grouping
amougthe human fragments for something
which they could identify and mourn over /;
but lime barrels, filled with disgusting
mass of human remains, black and bloody,
was, in most cases, all they could indulge
their frantic griefupun. About ten corr s
were fitted together, either wholly or par.
Tally, and carried away on boards, follow.
ed by crops of inconsollble mourners." ;"
"Iho precise cause OF the explosion no
one remains 10 explain. II is known,
however. that the stove used for warming
the building was red bot. The day being
very cold; and from The highly combusli-
BILE materials which were used in close
proximity to'it, il may readily be account.
ed for by supPos'ng some particle ignited
on the floor, and communicating with the
articles in variousl Stages Of preparation,
caused The explosion. ri .,..:. o..
Within few feet OF The building is
fire. proof cell, in which is stored large
Quantities Of powder; and this being with
in the scope Of the smoke and flames of
the burning ruins, no one was willing to
hazard an approach 10 attempt 10 rescue
the sufferers from the ruins for some time
afer the explosion took place" o..
| The building occupied by Mr. French.
for the Manufacture of his rifle cartridges,
was one story wooden building, twenty
by twenty-five feet. 1t was blown into
fragmenis--scarcely stick being left 10
| identify il. ~" lag
Says the MraH:1 :1a.@9t sa. a".
alt is said that the fire originated in the
Northeast corner Of the building, in the
opposite end of the building from the stove,
but from what cause is unknown.
"There we're over 80 600 ball cartridges
made up in the building. besides a consid.
cradle quantity of powder, The cartridges
nearly all exploded, and the balls were
thrown in every direction !; but proyiden.
TALLY no person out Of the building was
seriously injured. One of The balls pass.
ed through a pane Of glass into the libra
ry room Of Mr. Bodine, distance of one
eighth Of mile, and shattered tie chan
delier. -. ir-... .., .u p ...,. f.
4 &.s
ave were informed by Mr.. French,
that one of Ills boys, few days since, in
emptying out some kegs Of powder, dis.
covered two matches, which had been
packed up with il. . ,,aa..5,a
Persons Ehn we're in the City Hall al
Willamsburgh, felt the shock, and il was
the general Impression that il was occa.
stoned by an earthquake" .,.E o.d
Some of the eifeciing incidents Of the
catastrophe are thus narrated: .' o. ,a ..
Nearly all the deceased were young
men or boys, and young girls and the
agony Of The bereaved parents who arrived
on The spot in The melancholy hope Of re.
! covering some fragments, at least, Of ihe
!. beloved form which had been perhap all
Z in alto them, as Subscribed as something
J frigh,iula Here a,lalher searched'anppg
! the piuIilaisd corpse for his son, Rnd wep
ih agony al the dreadful tbougb, ihai ever
The poor 'ntisiac.ion'of gazing at the life