Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-04-01
The Powder Explosion Near Cleve-
Z. land, Ohio.
CLrELANp. March 16.

CLEVELAND, March 16.
At ten minutes past one o'clock this
afternoon the city was startled by an i'm
mense defamation, followed by three
others in quick succession, and few
seconds later by still another. Five min
utes afterward there came also another
one. The shock was so great that many
believed terrible earthquake had oc-
CURED; others thought the buildings
next them were falling down, while
those in the streets feared that some oil
refneries had been blown up. In re-
markably short space of time the people
rushed out of doors to see what was the
matter, and a more panic-stricken COM
munity has seldom been seen. Horses
in the streets were terrified and reared in
pitiful trepidation. 1t took but few
moments to decide what was the matter.
1t was clear to those who were able to
find an available lookout that the Austin
powder mills, at Five-mile lock, On the
canal, had once again been rent to
pieces. The smoke rolling upward in
thick volumes beyond the heights made
it certain that this was the case, and
many thought of the explosion which
occurred there about three years ago.
The present catastrophe is much more
disastrous, however. The powder COM
pany occupied, perhaps, twenty or thirty
acres, and on that were ten buildings,
cheap frame structures. There was one
large engine-house and nine smaller
buildings, mostly scattered wide apart
and used for various branches of the
manufacture of powder. Far away in
different directions were two magazines,
in one of which is said to have been
stored 1900 tons of powder. Only seven
men were at work, as the business is SO
dangerous that the least number of men
is employed Three of these men were
killed, their bodies being torn to frag-
ments and the pieces scattered to the
winds. One man was considerably in
jured, and the other three escaped with
only severe fright. The men who were
preserved were in or near the engine
house, which was left standing in badly
collapsed state. All the other nine
buildings were blown to flinders.
The force of the explosion was SO
great that large pieces of iron and tim
Der were hurled distance of nearly a
mile. A man who happened to be look
ing that way at the time OF the occur
renee says he should think pieces of
wood and smoke were shot two miles
into the air. The city has felt the
shocks of oil explosions and earth
quakes, but nothing to compare with this
succession of shocks. Although the mills
were five miles from the heart of the city,
chimneys were shaken down, massive edi
fees rocked like cradles, and window
glass broken in all parts of the city.
Large panes of plate-glass suffered most
severely. The immense pane in one
corner of the new City Hall-the largest
in America, and bought at cost of
$500-was shivered, $500 glass in
Ryder's art gallery was smashed, and
numerous other smaller plate-glass
fronts were destroyed. Other damage
was done to crockery, drug, and other
stores stocked with frangible goods.
Eighty dollars worth of china was
ruined in single show-window.
The scenes in the infirmary and in the
insane asylums are said to have been
terrible. Patients tried to jump out of
the windows, the glass of which had
been shaken out. Some screamed, some
cried, some prayed, and all were sadly
alarmed. They will not soon, If ever,
recover from the shock to their nervous
systems.
At the time of the explosion the wind
was blowing in such direction that it
seemed inevitable that sparks from the
burning debris would be blown to the
largest magazine, when a frightful de-
struction of property in the city must
have occurred, followed, no doubt, by
an appalling loss of life. People who
learned of this danger left their houses
and kept in the street, although the
weather was clustering and disapreeable
in the extreme; but good fortune shift
ed the wind and vast calamity was
averted. In few hours afterward a
heavy snow setin and extinguishedt the fire
Vast crowds flocked from town to the
vicinage of the disaster. 1t was difficult
to learn much of the cause of the acct
dent, which will forever remain mys
terry, as the only men who could tell were
killed. 1t is probable the fire originated
in one of the grinding mills from fric-
ton. 1t is unknown how much powder
was blown up; perhaps ten tons, msvbe
fifteen, possibly twenty.