The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-10-14
THE TERRIBLE EXPLOSION
At PITTSBURGH.
a Nail Factory Torn to Pieces

a Nail Factory Torn 10 Pieces
Pittsburgh Commercial Of Yesterday ]
Ata quarter before Q o'clock yester-
day morning people residing in the yicin'
ity of the Sable Iron Works, in the Ninth
Ward, were startled by a loud report
and the next instant were panic stricken
at seeing the air filed with flying frag'
ments Of The roof OF the nail factory oi
the works, located at the corner Of Thir'
teenth and E.na streets. 1t was soon as.
eertained that one Of the battery Of boil
ers in the nail factory had exploded, and
that the resulting loss oflife was terrible,
and the MANNED and mangled aud scalded
human beings who were buried in the
debris Of the wrecked building, were
among the frightful consequences OF the
accident, which caused a feeling Of horror
to pervade the breasts Of the entire com.
munity. The details Of the disaster, as
gathered by the Commercial reporters, who
visited the scene shortly after the explo.
sion, are presented below:
THE FORCE OF THE EXPLOSION.
The nail factory, as Already stated, oc.
cupied the square bounded by Twelfth,
Thirteenth, Etna and Pike streets. The
battery Of boilers (three in number) was
located near the Etna street side Of the
factory. So great was the force Of the
explosion that the pieces Of the exploded
boiler were hurled q distance OF several
hundred feet; the roof Of the building was
blown high in the air and torn to atoms;
the portion Of the bar mill on Etna street
Immediately opposite the boiler battery
was struck by piece Of the boiler abon.
ten feet in length, and the effect was as.
tonishingly disastrous. The shock was
received BY the heavy rafters and other
timbers sustaining the roof, which 10 a
width OF about forty feet was utterly
broken to pieces and came down with q
crash. The damage TO the nail factory
consisted Of its almost total demolition,
and that to the muck mill in the wreck
ing Of a space forty or fifty feet in width
running across the entire width Of the
building.
TAKING OUT THE BODIES.
In 4 short time the streets about the
works were filled with m excited crowd,
all anxious to lend a helping hand to
rescue the bodies which all realized were
buried in the debris which had fallen
upon the ground floor Of the nail factory,
Nearly one hundred and fifty men were
employed there, and out OF that number
over fifty were killed and injured. A
large force was at once put to work, and
in short time, considering the magni.
tude OF the undertaking, alL.the dead and
wounded were removed from the wrecked
factory.
THRrI1ISa SCENES.
The work Of taking the bodies out from
the ruins OF the building, task upon
which the Workmen who were unhurt en-.
tered with commendable alaerity, was q
task attended with painful, hearirending
scenes. Mangled, bleeding men, held 70
the earth BY heavy timbers and broken
wheels and fragments Of iron pipe, rent
the air with piercing cries Of agony
blackened corpses were streWn about the
earthen floor in tho vicinity Of the nail
machines aud rolls, where an hour before
strong men had been engaged at work,
little dreaming Of the terrible calamity
that was 80 soon 10 oVeTtake them; women
and children, craEed with griel, ran wild.
" about in search Of loved ones, shed.
ding tears OF Joy at finding husbands,
fathers and sons unhurt, and uttering
walls Of anguish on beholding the man.
gled eOrpses, or the MANNED though still