Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-11-09

the debris Of jars cans and magazines,
asCended in the air to the height Of
two or three hundred feet. accom-
panied by a dense cloud of smoke, the
whole illumined by the blaze of the
( burning glycerine, presenting the APP
pearancs of a bright orange color.
This continued but for a moment or
two, and then the smOkea slowly
drifted away upon the breeze, and all
was as quiet as if no such thing as
nitro-glycerine had ever been discOv-
cred. Witnesses say that the sight
was fearfully grand. The explosion
OF the second magazine, caused by
the conclusion of the first, was so
nearly simultaneous that many per-
sons aver there was but one report.
Others are positive they heard two
distinct reports, with but second or
two intervening.
BLOWN TO ATOMS.
II was known that four men were
at work near the magazines, and the
thought of them sent a thrill of hOr-
rer through every breast. Anxious
eyes peered eagerly through the
smoke and dust, as they were gradu-
ally ulspGllGAf NaAAil ~ AAAS ~ NALSAA
a glimpse Of the men. Not the slight
est sign of them was discernable. In
4 short time, when the terror of the
citizens had somewhat abated, the
small boats were filled with people
and rowed rapidly across the river, to
the scene Of disastere With cautious
steps, as fearing another upheaval,
they searched for traces of the dead.
Here and there were found small frag-
ments of flesh and bones, scared and
blackened, and these only were left
to tell the fearful taleof death.
The effect upon these men was one
Of the most wonderful features of. the
explosion. They were not merely
killed, they were literally blOiUH to
atoms! In the fast gathering dark
ness but a mere handful of these frag-
ments could be found, the largest be-
ing a piece Of rib, three or foUrinches
in length. On Wednesday morning
the search was renewed ami within a
radius of five hundred feet from the
magazines were collected enough of
these ghastly remnants to fill, per
haps, half bushel measure, and this
was all that was left of these four
men. 1t is rare, indeed, that such
utter and complete annihiIation of
human beings, done in the twinkling
of an eye, occurs.
During Wednesday these remains
lay in three or four little heaps, as
they were collected-a spectacle that
made the flesh creep with sickening
horror. Most Of them were shapeless
bits of flesh or bone, it being impOs-
sible to even tell to what part OF the
body they originally belonged. There
We're a few pieces of scalps with most
of the hair burned of, and a frag-
ment of a chin, with gray whiskers
attached. The latter, alone, was iden-
titled rs being a part of the elder Ma
lone. There was the joint of what
seemed to be a knee, with, shattered
bone a few inches in length, and
ghostly shreds of flesh clinging
thereto; and the complete sole Of a
foot, even to the toes, all except the
thick skin upon the bottom, being
absent. The largest piece found at
all was what was supposed to be part
of a thigh, weighing eight or ten
pounds, which was picked up on the
opposite side of the river, fully one
thousand feet from the magazines.
1t would seem as if the remaining
portions of the bodies must have
been instantly burned up and utterly
destroyed in that fierce flame, or else
they were blown into such minute
fragments that they mingled with the
sand and debris and could not be
found. 1t is supposed that many
fragments fell in the river, which is
quite probably the case. Scarcely q
vestige of the clothing worn by the
men could be found. A few half
burned sbreds and crisped remnants
of boots were picked up, but nothing
as large, even, as a mans hand.
The elder Malone had been in the
employ of the company but a few
days. His son, Nelson Malone, leaves
a wife and six children in very desti-
tute circumstances. Scribner had re-
Gently returned from the West, where
his wife died, and leaves four orphan
children. Duncan was a young man,
recently married. All the families
live in Fairport, and there is sad
wailing for the dead.
EFFECTs OF THE EXPLOSION.
The effect upon the magazines was
wonderful. Of the frame structures
only a handful of splinters were any
where to be seen. 1t seems as if the
wood must have been consumed, or
the pieces blown so far that no one
has vet found them. The fOrceof the
explosion penetrated deep into the
earth, heaving out immense quaniti-
ties of sand and below this, huge
masses of blue clay. The holes, which
must have been blown out to the
depth of fifty OF sixty feet, soon filled
with water up 10 the level of the lake.
They are forty or fifty eet in diane
ter at the top, and seem like the
cTaters Of extinct volcanoes. Two or
three sycamore trees which stood near
the magazines were scathed and rent,
limbs were wrenched of, and all COW
cred with sand and blackened as if
swept by tirry tornado.
EFFECT UPON THE TOWN.
There is not a building in FairpOrt
which does not bear many marks of
the explosion. Almost every win
dow in the place was utterly demOl-
ished, even the sash, in many cases,
being broken and shattered. Doors
were blown of their hinges, chin
neys were blown down, and houses
We're shaken as if by the hand Of a
giant. Several roofs were crushed
and tumbled in, plastering dropped
from the walls ana ceilings, and aTti-
cles of cTOckery were hurled from
shelves and crashed upon floors. Citi-
Zens of Cleveland. who have a vivid
recollection OF their recent earth
quake experiences, will not wonder
that a great fear fell upon the people
of FairpOrt, and that women and
children screamed with terror rs they
fled from the threatened destruction.
No person was seriously injured on
the east side of the river. One man
stated tina; he was thrown a cOnsid-
cradle distance, but found himself
right side up and unhurt. Two OF
three children were hurled to the
ground with considerable violence,
escaping, however, with slight bruises
and scratches.
The glass of the lighthouse, upon
the hill, was entirely destroyed, tho
the lamp was not seriously injured.
The Glycerine Company occupied for
their works two old warehouses situ-
ated upon the dock. Both these were
nearly demolished, portions of the
roofs and sides being crushed in, and
beams everywhere cracked and shat
tered. Half the clapboards on them
were blown off. Alarmed by the ter
Tible crash, the employees, six or eight
in number, fled for their lives, until
they reached the open air. Many of
the large stone Jars and retorts, used