Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1873-07-01
THE VIRGINIA CITY EXPLOSION.

We clip the following extracts from
the long descriptions of the Virginia ex-
plosion in last evenings Chronicle, and
the Gold Hill Ne,os. The latter paper
furnishes the following
LIST OF THE DEAD.
The following comprises the list Of
those who lost their lives by this most
dread calamity. as far as is known:
Major General Jacob l.. Van Bokkelen;
J. z. Smith. the well known hardware
dealer on C street; William Davis, a
young man, clerk and salesman in
Smith store W. l.. Lowe, Superinten-
dent of the Silver Hill mine: Charles II.
Knox, Benjamin Naudel, clerk in Block s
dry goods store; Mrs. l.. p. O'Connor,
| Mrs. Susan Dean, wife of Edward Dean.
of Gold Hill, and their little daughter
Dolly, aged eight years. James Devine
was the name of the man i'll Derby &
| Gearhart's stable. who was MORALLY in
jured by the iron shutter hurled across
| the street. He was ut work in the har-
ness-room cleaning harness when the
fatal missile came flying through the
window, knocking him insensible and
| crushing him so badly that if ne is not
already dead at the present writing. he
has little or no chance of living
THE EXPLOSION,
Which occurred at IL o'clock Sunday
night, took place in the brick building
corner of and Taylor streets, immedi-
ately in rear of the Bank of California
Agency and of the probable cause Of
the disaster. here is what the Chronicle
says:
General Van Bokkelen was the local
agent of several powder companies-is
said to have been agent for black, giant
and Hercules powder. Recently. as We
learn, he had been making a series Of
experiments with these several eXplo-
sives, and we get it from pretty good an
thority that on Friday last he received
and stored under his bed room and Office
six cases of nitro-glycerine. This, with
about 100 pounds of giant powder. per-
haps as much Hercules, and over 200
pounds of black or blasting powder, was
stored i'll the B-Taylor street L of the |
Root building. At the time of the ex-
plosion = number of miners coming up |
town in the face of the wind from the |
burning wreck distinctly recognized the |
fumes of giant powder. Giant powder is
nitro-glycerine in different form. Giant
powder would have produced the con-
cussion, perhaps, but 100 nor 1000
pounds of it could not have produced
the disaster, because it would have
worked different-would have rent the
solid earth instead of SCATTERING distant
buildings with the fragments of the one
in which it exploded.
The sensation of nearly every one in
Mrs. Taylor's lodging house was that of
IA general npheaval and the resultant
crash, but those who preserved sufficient
presence of mind to notice external
things say that the explosion seemed to
come from General Van Bokkelen's
room. General Van Bokkelen was
doubtless in bed, as he was undressed,
body was found several feet north of his
forty feet north of his room, and that of
Smith had been thrown fifty feet north.
Our space is too limited and our help
90 light to enable US to present any
hing more than the main facts relating
o this dreadful calamity; SO We omit
incidents" altogether and come to the
GLOWING, which is the Chronicles ac-
.ount of
THE LOSSES.
Aggregate about 1925 900. Kennedy &
Iallon lost stock of groceries wort
$50, 600; insured for about $30, 600. j.
i. Douglas sustained about $4,000
lamages; no insurance. DAILY 4 Qnin-
AN sustained damages to their saloon
nd billiard room amounting to about
e. 600; fully covered by insurance.
yaldsrein 4 Co., cigar dealers. sustained !,
damages by water of about $3.50. The u
n buildings fronting1 on G street next
outh of the explosion, had their avn =
nss and balconies swept away; loss ST.
co. F. Boegle. news dealer. sustained
bout 5000 damages. The Bank of Cal
fornia lost about $4,000 in damages to
,uilding. Joe Barnert lost stock of
lothing worth $50. 900; insured for
go, 900 James Root loses building 4
'orth about S4O.OOO. Captain F. F.
)sbiston lost in paintings, jewelry, ETC.,
bout 5000, and professor Asheim lost
is barber shop and bath house, worth
bout $1,000.