, 1863-07-16
Ni1iraqp Iribnl1k.
THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1893.
E'rjGlsJfhf Catastrophe in the
I1th aficii5.:1I fc1at1cry.


Yesterday eves'ins aeout halt past seven
o'clock. heavy suiten roar. uulike the sharp
c5aslltof gun, but at iiret supposed by thoee
lot in the Immediate vicinity, TO be the firing
Of gun to call on the city battalion. was
heard in the direction If Indiana Avenue. Tn
few moments the buried gallopiug Of au
arlilleryman Of the 18th Michigan battery,
down Illinois street, announced that somt-
thing SERIOUS Ind occurred, and rumor came
down Immediately after, that several men had
been kl1led BY the explosion Ut a caisson up
the avenue. We ha>tened at once in the di~
n ct!on Of the rcpo. t, aud It u6d squad Of our
city cavalry ut Tie corner Of Illinois s:re-t
IL tie avenue, placing guards, anu exclud-
citi.ns from that por I'm Of the
avenue between Tennessee and Illinois
streets, aud eaw The guns and catssons Of
battery filling the cleared space for
some dirt.nce. Passing up the Avenue
re bxw, 6uue diAtaure below the Tennessee
srcet crossing, the fore.wheels Of caisson
broken all to fragments, the tires and felloes
torn of, the seat split to pieces, aud nothing
LIT bnt spllntsrs snd spokes which stuck
Of Tennessee street We found tho cause Of
tie r.port, and the wrecked wheels. A
cnisson of the Twelfth Michigan Battery,
which was on fts way to the depot to take
the cars for Ohio, had exploded in the
middle Of the crossing Of Tennessee
and New York streets and the avenues, one Of
the most deately populated portions Of the
city, killing the two men who were riding on
it irstantly, MORALLY Wounding boy who
Was In the street near By, and severely wound
ing one Ut the riders. The circumstances, as
We learned them, after good deal Of inquiry,
we're as follows: The battery Was coming
down the avenue at gallop, and at the point
eaw it, and saw the men blown high iuto the
air, but did not ii the moment know what
the flyirg fsaFutnts were They ran at once
to the place, and found two en- lying in Ncx
Yolk etrcet, close 10 Judge Wisk's residence,
one Of them q horrible. wreck, blown out Of
cead, TIT. other badly wounded. They were
thro~n fullT 100 feet from The place of the
explosion, and how the sur, fyor escaped death
from llr fail is uuaccountab1e. The other
man WIS blown higher than any of the ad.
joining houses, and thrown'nbout two hun
legs was blown clear down to the West Mar.
ket House. Both the men who were killed
were at o1ce taken up aud placed In au ex-
press wagon, and the fragments Of their
limbs and the scattered Jumps Of flesh torn
from their bodies gathered up as completely
as possible. We saw them MS they lay ia the
wagon, and anything So horrible We never
torn off at the Knees, the bobes prot trudicg
sl1 or eight inches bio od5 but bare Of llesh,
and broken at the lower ends wher.: the feet
had been wrenched of. The head Of ons had
apparently been struck By . fragment of shell,
which had crushed clear thruugh, opening q
horrible cha:m the whole length of the face,
aid smashing skull and fatures into a bloody
pulp. The face Of the other MAS apparently
unhurt except By the blaze Of the po wdel.
Eo:h seemed to have had every bone In their
bodi.b broken. Not joint or limb was in its
natural place. They looked as it some tlla-
lignont giant had Wrenched and jaumed them
out Of A1l shape. Their faces were twisted
around to their backs, their hips thro Hu up
to their chests, their shoulders aud arms
turned round to their sides, q mass Of almost
ubliterated humanity, which but few min
utcs before had been full Of hopeful life and
courageous patriotism lastening to the field
to m.ct the enemies Of its country.
The cause Of the explosion can. of course,
only be coutectured, but it Tas probably the
fire of the friction primers in the caisson,
kindled By the jnltiDg and conclusion Of the
rapid Ga1lop down the street, communicating
to some fifty pounds Of powder, which, we
underrtsnd, WAS placed In some sort Of wrap
pi1.s in the caisson. None Of the shells we're
exploded. The spot Of the explosion was
distinctly marked in the street, BY d big black
spot, surrounded By shower Of spl1nters
and fragments.
The Iauaes OF the men who were killed
were James Coney and William Stacey. The
hitter was recently in the rebel army, but es-
capped and enlisted In the 18th Michigan bat.
tery. The wounded man is named Ferdinand
Kennick, and he enlisted in Detroit. The
boy Was natntd Simpkins.