Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-09-26
EEarribIe RxpIosiou at an Uaited states
Arsenal.

Horrible RxpIosiou at an Uaited statei
Arsenal.
From the Pittsburg Chronicle, III.
One Of the most horrible and appalling ealsm-
tiles With which any community has ever been
| visited, occurred this afternoon at the United
States arsenal grounds, ia the immediate vein
ity Of the city. Our readers are aware that ever
since the commencement Of the present war, q
! large number of hands have been kept steadily
employed At the arsenal IN putting up fixed am
mUnitien FOR the army. AZ first the work was
done by boys, fearing from their careless habits,
| that some such accident as that which has Just
/ occurred would follow their employment they
were some months ago, discharged, and young
/ women and girls, as being more traetabl5 and
careful, employed in their stead.
About one hundred and fifty Of these, together
with few men, were engaged to-day in putting
] up cartridges in the laboratory buildings living
on the side Of the bill between Batter street and
I the Greensburg pike, when from some cause or
other, as yet unexplained, sn explosion took
/ place which wss distinctly heard in the c ~
I Ihe buildings were blown 20 atoms, and the bod
les of the inmates carried high into the air. The
| greatest number, however, perished by Ere while
I lying under the ruins Of the shattered buildings
Altogether, about eighty lives are reported to
have been lost, but it is impossible at the time
We write, four O'Clock, to arrive at anything like
an seeurats'estimsts Of the extent of the eatas-
trophe. How many were injured could rot be
asceTtained, as they were carried away as fast as
found, to be cared for by their friends
THE SCENE OF THE CALAMITY.
Shortly after three o'cloclz-we visited the scene
of the explosion, and more painful OF revolving
sight than that which presented itself to our
view caa scarcely be ims giBed. The streets
leading 10 the ground were filed with aa excited
crowd, including hundreds Of frantic women.
who rushed wildly through the multitude, sbriek-
ing and sObbing as though theif hearts would
break We entered at the upper gate, and at
the very Threshold were met By evidence OF the
terrible force Of the explosion. The grounds
were covered with fragments Of eharred wood,
canister shot, sheet iron, exploded cartridges
MIME bslls, etc, etc some Of which had fsllen
fully four hundred yards rom the scene Of the
explosion. We found the windows, too, of the
large building Just inside the gate shattered and
broken bY the conclusion, which appears to have
been terribly severe.
HORRIBLE SCENE.
Ascending the side Of the hill toward the lab
oratory buildings, the frst object that attracted
our attention was the body Of ons Of the victims
partly covered with sheet Is was lying where
it fell nearly three hundred yards from the scene
of the explosion, and presented most horrible
spectacle. The flesh had been blown, as it were,
from the bones, and with the intestines lay
tangled mass while the face was horribly mutt
lated, and the corpse little better than : pulp.
From the hair, it WAS evident that the body was
that Of q female, but her identity was out Of the
question. Higher up lay another disfgursd in
the ssIns frightful manner, and badly burned be-
sides and around, ss far ss the eye could reach
lay fragments Of human rsmains-here an arm,
there leg, here the intestines Of some UnfOTtu-
nate creature, and there the pelvis, and so on.
Oh, God what sight yet the greatest horror
Of the scene-was yet to come
ONE OF THE VICTIMS IDENTIFIED.
Continuing on our way still toward the smol,-
ing ruins, We came upon the body Of a female
badly burned, and presenting q most shocking
appearance. The limbs were swollen TO three
times their natural size, while the feet hsd been
partially burned of, and the breast and face
were lTightfuly disGgUrsd. While we stood
looking at the remains a young woman sp-
preached, and With an sgonizjng scream pro
nounced the victim to be a Mrs. Sheppard, resid-
ing in LawIenceville, and one of her best
friends Shs informed Us that Mrs. S. held some
position in one Of the rooms but what it was she
was too agitated 70 explain, Her daughter, she
said, was also killed, but she could not say
whether or not her body had been found. Mrs.
Sheppard appears to have been very respect
able lady, and had hosts Of friends, to whom
her horrible death seemed to be source Of the
deepest suffering.
IN THE DEATH AGONY
Near Mrs. Sheppard lay two women, who
though burned In a horrible manner, were alive
and painfully sensible Of their sutfsrings. One
poor creature, who gave her name as Mary Con
molly, writhed and twisted in the death agony
until the spectacle became too much even for the
crowd OF gszers who thrODged around, and
many of them turned away filed with horror
fha f-7rr nj rnra
were several physicians in attendance, but the
condition Of the sufferers was beyond the reach
Of medical skill, and both died before we LETT.
THE HORROR INCREASES.
We are now on a line with the burned build
ings, and can see crowds OF men at work taking
out the remains Of such as peTished n the ruins
Near here, under q tree, lay the remains Of seven
of the sufferers, and q little higher up, inside
the garden fence, we counted the remains Of
tWehty-six others. OF these lttle else remained
than the trunks. In some cases The heads and
arms were burned off, and in others the legs
were gene, while of the arms nothing but the
larger bones remained. They were crisped, or
burned into all conceivable shapes, and present
ed altogether the most sickening spectacle we
have ever looked upon We have seen death in
almost every form, but never in such shape ss
this. The battle field presents mott 1.-THE Of the
horrors Of such a scene. God grant that We
may never look upon such aspsetaels again.
TAXING OUT THE BODIES.
The fire had not yet been thoroughly quenched,
and = strong stream was being thrown upon the
ruins by one of our steam fire engines, while
men carried water to the scene Of the disaster,
and lsbored noAly in putting out the flames. As
the fire was got under, those engaged in taking
out the bodies extended their operations until
the heart of the largest Of ths buildings wss
reached. At the time we left several bodies had
been taken out, swelling the number which
came under our notice altogether to forty SIX
This however, we DO not consider anything ike
the number lost, as at the time of our leaving We
counted at least five additional bodies lying in
the ruins, to which the workmen were unable to
get access on account Of the heat. How many
were under them no one can say.
EXTENT OF. THE CALAMITY
This, as we have said, It would be difficult 70
determine Just now. We believe that at least
seventy lives were lest, and the mortality may
even exceed this IS many who were taken out
were so badly Injured that their recovery is out
of the question Altogether, the occurrence is
the most psinful By all odds, that has ever hap
penCd here, and it has carried death and desOla-
ton into many happy household.
CAUSE OF THE ExPLosIoN.
This has not Been determined yet and Is
doubtful even if it ever will
TIE YELLOW FEvERAT WnsnEGToN-The
Wilmington (N c. Journal Of the 2Oth inst,
says:
We have made inquiries and learn that, since
our last report, made on Tuesday lsst, the 10th
instant, but two cases Of yellow fever have been
reported to his honor the mayor Both cases
have proved fatal
There has thus, in al, been eight cases report /
ed, in regard to one Of which some doubt exists |
Not including thst, there has been seven cases, /
six Of which have died, and only one recovered. /
Including that case there have been eight, with |
two recoYenes.
Itis only right to remark, that although the /
progress Of tbs fever is slow, and BY no means I