Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1873-07-10
u.otN.A EXPLOSION

o.d.d on all hands .nas
!; ,, It , ,s 9 sala~';ou; explosion ss%po sn d
: s sislo.s % = aud gun , ss.aa%r the n,
sfa-eg:s5;se was most
-si. iss !. have been mixed
active a. 'rSa vsfdfct6l
18th Shat it might. =.
nSEaper's juries are unanimous
''re,xiScerlpe to have been
in finding IA, lief of The ;nr,e.
the prime cause. IA. >Nsed by a
It is stated to be the b, miro.
that the explosion was L. SSSh
compound OF gun cotton M.
glycerine-gun cotton saturated Z"
nltro-glycerine. This compound Is now
positively aScertained to have been
contained IN the two mysterious boxes
sent from San Francisco, consigned To
J. G. Hampton & Co., and by them
sent TO J.. l.. Van Bckkelen's rooms.
The mystery Of these boxes, which ut
first puzzled everyone, Is now ex-
planned BY j. w. Willard, agent Of the
California Powder Works, who states
positively that he was not only shown
lie contents of the boxes by Dir. Van
Bokkeleu. but says further that he and
Van BokSelen took Il portion OF their
contents-which was gun cotton sat
uraled with nitro-glycerine, aud went
out into the suburbs OF Virginia and
there tried experiments with the new
compound. These experiments we may
/ here say, were not wholly successful,
A. il was found 10 be II difficult matter
to explode the new mixture with the
common caps, such rs are used for ex-
p!odimg giant powder and similar COM
! mounds. The gun cotton mixture Nv
ing proved detective in this respect. It
/, by no means unlikely lin fact Is very
probablel that Mr.. Van Bokkelen ih-
s;itutrd some experiments Oh his own
account. by tryng new abSorbents OF
some porous material, vegetable or
mineral. Being OF this mind. one oil
the Cnrouer's turtles were careful TO say
in their verdict that the death OF thoS
persons named In the Inquest OH which
they were sitting. Was caused by "an
accidental explosion Of nitro-Siycerine
aud other substances unknown, whieh
were stored ia the room OF jacob u.
Van Bokkelen.'
Mr.. Willard. agent OF the powder
works abovcIamed. was frequently IN
the rooms OF Van BoSkelen. L month
or 40 before the explosion. ana had
many conversations with him In re
pIri TO explosives of all kinds. From
casual mention made by Van Bokke-
len OF these occasions. oil what ne nai
about bis rooms. Mr.. Willard is confi.
dent they contained over 100 pounds Of
various explosives. and from what le
knows of ,lei. na.are, Is Of the opinion
that there mist iiale hecl fq:es ~ SONG
%: the cartridges, and that one Of these
fuses was lighted by some accident.
He h still firm In the faith that none
OF che compounds could have been
made to explode by being lighted with
q Candle ar match-he looks upon this
as 4 ih,ng Impossible. He further says
that in a CONVERSATION had by him with
Sir. Kent, the jeweler, OF Virginia,
who was the last person IN Mr.. Van
Bokkclen's rooms previous 10 the eS-
p~,osion, he Is satisfied that Van Box
Eelen was putting a fuse into the car
fridge which Mr.. Kent saw him hand
ling; what he was doing, rs Ies1ribel
BY Mr.. Kent. could have been nothing
else. THUS all appears 10 be explained
blt the last act, that Of lighting the
fuse. How It BECAME lsn!ted IS The one
mystery WHICH mGs; alwayS remain
unexplained. -.