The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-02-06
BOILER EXPLOSION.

PITTsEURo, Feb 3 -Four boilers in the
American. lion Works of Messrs. Jones &
Laughlins, in Brownstowo,in the Twenty.
fourth Ward, exploded about 10 o'clock
this morning The explosion was so tre-
mendous that three sections Of the build
ing, os some fifteen feet each, were com
plet, ~ shattered, the roof being carried
entirely away and scattered In all direc-
tons. There were about 5000 laborers
employed in the mill at the time of the
expulsion, and for time it seemed as
though a very large number had been
either killed or wounded by the steam or
by fragments Of the boilers that were
sent flying in all directions. The great
est CONSERVATION prevailed, and the most
rX'raVagant Tumors were at once set afoat,
lmmedlal estbps were aken to relieve The
INJURED who were still alive, and recover
he hodIes of the dead. Up to the pres.
ent time, the following killed have been
ex'ricated from the Debris Patrick Haw-
ey, Mike Reynolds, Charles Fea, Thomas
Mccarthy, Barney McAuley, Anton Back
u.s.. Some thirty were wounded, but few
OF the number seriously.
,PITTsBURG, Pa. Feb. 3.-The accident
at the American Iron Works this morn
ing surpassed in fatality anything that
has occurred in this city for some time.
At ten o'clock battery Of four boilers
situated at the upper south side, known
az the new mill of the American Iron
Works, exploded with terrific report,and
resulted in the death of several and great
| destruction of property. The boilers,
which had been in place about year, al
though they had been some five wears IN
use, were located about midway between
the ends of the new mill and were placed
between the spike and nail factories with
IN three feet Of the river. They Law far.
ing to the south, and this seemed To he
the direction IN which the force of the
explosioDiprincipal y expended itself. The
rear ends as we'll as the front ends of the
spike and nail factory were blown down
TO an extent Of twenty feet, and the wall
and roof OF the new mills blown away. A
portion Of the boilers and bricks and tim
bers from the ruined buildings were
thrown n all directions and to great
distance, some fragments being thrown a
distance of three or four squares.
The cause of the explosion is a m ysterv.
They examined the water-gauges five min
utes before the explosion aud found the
stage OF water satisfactory. Following
the explosion the most intense excitement
prevailed, Great crowds Immediately
gathered at the scene of the disaster. and
set to work to remove the debris and re-
cover the bodies have been extr1cated
| from the ruins, all of which are more or
less mutllated, some to frightful extent.
The bodies were also blackened to a de-
gree as though burned. Two of the kill
ed were found many feet from the ACCT
dent in an adjoining well. They had
been employed there and were struck bv
flying missiles. One man was brippino a
load Of coal to the furnace of the battery
on the elevator railroad, which was over
the boilers. When the explosion occurred
he was just over the battery and was
blown upwards considerable distance,
The lower Jaw OF one workman was found
| lying quite distance from the body. FIVE
bodies were partially buried under the
ruins and were removed with labor. The
killed were borne away on stretchers as
| fast as recovered, and the scenes which
followed the recognition by friends we're
painful in the extreme.
1t is apprehended that the nail feeders
were out on strike at the time of the
the explosion. Had they been at work
the loss OF life must have been very great.
The iron works are the most extensive Of
the kind IN the country, covering seven
acres in area.