The Tipton advertiser., 1875-07-29
The Iowa CEiy Horror.

Thursday evening of last week, al
about nine o'clock, most terrible
accident occurred at Close q Son s
paper mill, near Iowa City, by which
six men we're instantly and horribly
killed. One account says:
The mill, which is owned prin-
cipally by Mr.. Close, is situated at
! Coralville, three miles from Iowa
| City proper. The noise of the ex-
plosion was distinctly heard here,
nearly everybody thinking it was an
earthquake. The sound was so loud
as to create the greatest consterns.
ton. 1t was not long until the real
truth Of the disaster was known, and
soon every one was flocking toward
the scene of the horror. Thousands
Of people remained up all night on
the ground-assisting in the search
for the bodies Of the killed.
The disaster is supposed to have
been caused by the pulp in the cook
ing vat having choked up the escape
valve or pipe. The explosion was in
the smaller or two-story part of the
large mill. There we're two men and
q boy in the lower room, and four
men asleep in the second story. OF
those in the lower room the two men
were killed outright. The other. the
boy, stood within six feet Of his
father. The father was literally
mashed to pulp, and his body found
among the ruins of the building,
while his son, standing but six feet
from him was entirely uninjured.
This boy was found, by the parties
first arriving on the ground, to be
perfectly speechless and dumb-in-
capable Of uttering word or making
a sign. When q doctor arrived he
gave the boy some stimulants or re-
laxatives. In about five minutes
thereafter the youth suddenly jumped
high in the air, screaming wildly
seemingly having just recovered con-
sciousness and power of speech. He
could recollect nothing, only that he
was standing near his father. He
does no, know how he got out of the
mill, nor can he tell anything about
il.
The four men in the upper story
were al. killed-the bodies of some
of them blown an astonishing dis
tancc. The body of one could not be
found for some time. At last it was
discovered in paint shop, diagonally
across the street. 1t had come down
through the roof, breaking three
raf,crs, and forming hole large
enough to admit hogshead. Moth
ing else than the mans body was
found in the building. So that the
unfortunate mans body must have
been blown to prodigious height
to nave gained such terrific mo-
mentnm in descending. The body
was literally Jelly.
Immense timbers that four men
could not have lifted were blown FIVE
or six hundred feet. A portion of
one Of the exploded tanks, weighing
several tons, was carried four or FIVE |
hundred feet, landing in the river,
Luckily the main building was not
hurt, the explosion spreading itself in
directions such as to spare it entirely. |
Had it been in the range of its terri
BILE missiles, it, too, would have been
bl ,wn to atoms, and many more lives
lost. The two-story building is a
complete wreck and the total money
loss is about $25,00O. Over 100000
are invested in the miil-the daily
of paper being about
i've tons.
There are two or three other large
Mills at the same water power-a
arge oatmeal mill, and one or two
extensive -four mills. Almost every
'vening heretofore it had been the
:ustom of the employees of the other
to gather in and about
he paper mill of the evening, that
,eing run day and night. At the
nd of The two-storv building were
ONE seats forming the inevitable
ounging place where forty or fifty
nen were in the habit of meeting
very night. The night of fate it so
that not man was in that
lsca. Almost every other night for
: or Il tv more men would have been
ilIed. But the calamity is terrible
nough. Its weight of woe falls up
:, those all unable to bear it. One
t The men killed leaves family of
inc children. and three others of
ZEN also left families.