The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-10-13
HE'LL GATE EXPLOSION.
The Exact Phenomena OF the Eruption.


OF the numerous descriptions of III,
appearance of the blast for the momen
after the mine was fired, scarcely tive
have been found to agree in the most i'm
portant particulars. The height to which
the column of water rose is variously
represented from five or ten up to one
hundred and fifty feet. Some say there
were two explosions, and others say that
three distinct detonations were heard
Some say that half of the area covering
the mine rose up few seconds before the
other halt, while others represent thai
the whole charge went off at the same in
slant, shooting up rocks, mud and water
altogether, as if they had been fired out
of the mouth Of great mortar. Many
have said that the sound of the explosion
came first and the quaking of the earth
after, which is quite contrary to the
truth. The fact is, the only point from
which all the visible effects ofthe explo-
sion could be seen was directly opposite
Hallett's point. The spectators who
took their positions to the east or to the
west of the mine saw only one end of the
object, while those who looked from
Wards island, where, by the way, no
person Immediately associated in the
work was situated, saw the whole length
and breadth of the object, and their ele-
waited position enabled them to see the
top surface as we'll Gen. Newton, who
watched the explosion from point east
ward of the mine, agrees with the re-
porter of the World, who saw it from
Wards island, so far as height of column
is concerned, and corrects him in one
particular by explaining that the large
black object which shot up at an angle
of about seventy-five degrees toward the
New York shore was either a section
of the Golfer dam or large mass of mud,
and not a rock. The phenomena of
the blast, as nearly as could be as
certained by an observer in the best po-
sitOn, were as follows: A gun was heard
which was generally understood to be
the last signal, and not more than five or
ten seconds elapsed before the explosion
came. At the sound of the gun a dove,
which had been perched either on the
Golfer dam or one of the small wooden
structures close to the edge of the water,
flew up, and she had not gone more than
one hundred wards before the spray of
water shut her off from view. The first
indications OF the explosion was a rising
or swelling of the surface above the
mine, apparently covering the whole
area of from three to four acres. As the
water rose to a distance of about ten feet,
it began to roll down from the circum-
ference. Almost at the same instant
that the water began to rise the earth
shook or quaked, and those who stood
near the ledge of rocks which runs di-
rectly across Wards island felt them
selves lifted by short, sharp blow from
beneath their feet. The water having
swelled up to height of ten or twelve
feet, as stated, then came the violet ex
plosiOn which threw the whole central
part Cf the column up into thousands OF
Jets, or peaks, and these, after shooting
up about forty feet, curled and fell out
ward in silver-white spray. 1t was while
the water was at its highest that the
black object was seen shooting up from
the center, throwing down a shower of
black humps of mud, like the tail OF a |
comet. This rose to an apparent height |
of eighty or ninety feet, and fell into the !
river some distance from the circumter- |
ence of the column. There was only one |
a sharp but restrained sound, !
which came just as the waters shot up |
into lets, the time between the first vlsl- |
Die indication of the explosion and the |
being about one second; so
that when the broadside of air waves
struck the three or four hundred win
lows in the front of the county lunatic |
asylum with brag!" the earth h-shOck
lad passed on. The circle OF white jets
which rose and seemed to stand for
single instant of time on the great area of
swollen water for base, were in the |
shape of crown, the central part being |
For half minute after the |
column had fallen, and while the waves
we're rolling away, "a dense cloud of smoke,
with yellow and purple tints, stood over
The mine ,and then rose and tloated down
5he river till it wholly disappeared.