The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-04-02
From the San Francisco ChronIcle.1
ATTEMPT TO MURDER A DINNER
PATTY.
The Residence OF the Belgian Con-
sui as San Francisco Blown up
with POWder--DescrlptlOn OF the
Rulns.

One o fthese mysterious occurrences
which seem to transpIre periodical
" in this city took place last evening
at 1917 Powell street, the residence
of Mons. Grisar, the Belgian Consul
at this mort. Ia the form of a tremen-
dons explosion. A party of gentle
men. consisting of Messrs. Lazard, of
the firm of LaZard Il Freves, Eugene
Dawev. Theodore Leroy, and three
| brothers, Raphael, Henry and Sylvan
WE'LL, had just arisen from the table
ia the dining room, and passed to q
house in the real of the one In which
they bad dined, when they heard a
very loud report, which apparently
proceeded from somewhere near them.
The house in which they stood shook
violently, and they ran into the open
air. Smoke was seen issuing from
the building they had just left, and as
soon as it was thought prudent sever
al ventured to enter the place. The
table in the dining room which they
just left, was moved from its place;
and the dishes it had held nearly all
broken. Passing through into the
parlor, every thing it had contained
was In a mass of ruins. a large mar
ble-top centre-table was destroyed,
the top being broken into pieces and
scattered about the room. Chairs,
| lounges, etc, lay IN a promlscuous
heap near the front of the apartment,
| and all the glass in this and adjoining
houses was totally demolished. In
one corner of the parlor was a large
opening, the floor having been blown
away and the carpet torn from its
place. This was, of course, the sub
iect of immediate investigation, and
the first object noticed explained the
whole occurrence. This was the re-
mains of O corrugated iron powder
| canister, which would hold at least
ten pounds Of fhe explosive material.
This article was firmly wedged In one
corner and was with difficulty re-
moved. 1t is of the kind used to
store powder in, aud was aboutltwelve
inches in length by four inches in
breadth. The force of the explosion
had split it in two; the corner was
torn off and blown several feet away.
The floor of the room was very much
damaged and almost unsafe to tread
upon-all the boards being forced
from their position, or broken or split.
The portico fronting the house was
wholly destroyed by the force of the
conclusion, the planks composing the
flooring of it being, each and every
one, blown into the street or an ad-
Joining garden. As soon as the news
of tee affair spread, a large concourse
of spectators throDgsd the street, ca
ger to obtain q glance at the damaged
premises. Chief Crowley and a party
Of officers were promptly on hand and
prevented any encroachments or un-
due demonstrations by the crowd.
An investigation Of the space under
the floor Of the parlor led to the dis
coVery of certain facts which show
most conclusively that the whole af-
fair was a premeditated deed. On
the wet clay were noticed the imprints
of hands and feet. Near the spot
where the canister was found was a
quantity of paper, patty burned, por-
tions of fuse, and several bits of
strong cord. The spot in which the
canister had been placed was the
nearest to the centre of the dining
room table that could be reached, and
shows clearly that the intention was
to murder the inmates while they sat
at the meal. A fact that goes to sup
; port this theory is that, by good for
tune, they happened to leave the tabl,
= earlier than usual that evening, anC
no one was in the house at the time
of the explosion but a Chinese domes
tic. Chief Crowley has been unable
so far to find any clue to the perpe'
traitors, and it will probably pass away
> without the true cause or animus be
ing brought to light, although it i
suspected that French politics had
something to do with it. Mons. Gri
: sar, the proprietor of the house, wa
z expected to arrive in this city to-mor
I row night oh his return from Paris.