Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-11-15

chine, supposed to have contained dy-
Mantle, WHICH occurred in the bag
gage-car attached to the New York
express, which left Philadelphia for
this city Friday afternoon, was the
subject of very close but fruitless In
vestigation by the Pennsylvania Rail
road officials yesterday. The machine,
as will be remembered, was placed In
large Saratoga trunk. checked at
Philadelphia. When the train, crowd
ed with Centennial passengers, had
PASSED Metuohen, some twenty miles
from Jersey City, loud explosion
hurled the pile of trunks over the
door and Frustrated the men in
the car Flames instantly burst
from the pile Of trunks, and it
was not until the train stopped at Rah-
way that the fire was extinguished.
The railroad officials yesterday thought
it probable that the intention Of the
man who put the machine in the trunk
was to rob the passengers or cause
such destruction in the baggage-car
that he could claim large damages. If
the trunk had been in the lower tier
Of baggage, the explosion would have
destroyed much valuable property, and
probably wrecked the train. The most
careful search on the car failed to re-
veal the check, or any portion of the
trunk which was not shattered and
bent. The damage to the other trunks
was triiling. and no claims have been
made by their owners. Some OF them
were badly scOrched and the root of
the car was burned, but not to any
great extent
The Pennsylvania railroad officials
profcssed yesterday to have obtained
no clue that would lead TO the detec-
ton Of the author of the plot. They
have 80 far offered no reward for the
arrest of the person who sent from
Philadelphia to New York the trunk
in which the Internal machine was
placed They employed a number of
detectives to work up the case both at
Philadelphia and New York, but they
do not seem very confident, Us the case
presents almost insurmountable diff
Culties. The immense amount OF
baggage received at Philadelphia each
day almost precludes the possibility of
placing the hour or time of reception
of the trunk. The machine by which
the contents Of the trunk was fred off
was on exhibition yesterday at the Of
fee of the train master, Mr. Watts, in
the Pennsylvania railroad depot ut
Jersey City. During the day a large
number of visitors called at the office
to examine it. 1t is a simple affair,
rough in detail, but very well cacu-
lated to accomplish all that was de
sired.
The clock used resembles one of the
small Connecticut clocks of Seth
Thomas make, and is about five inches
square. The glass face and minute
hand Aud been removed. On the front
face just above the dial-plate was fast
ened a smgle-barreled pistol. nearly
six inches in length with three-inch
barrel. II is of very small calibre,
and was loaded with a small copper
cartridge, filed, as it is supposed, with
"A blank charge Of powder 1t was
fastened TO the clock by long screw
running through the hole, by which
the wooden butt-plates are at
tached to the pistol. The left
side hutt-plate was removed SO as
to make it lie Hat to the clock face. 1t
was further fastened by small piece
of wood screwed to the clock, which
pressed against the barrel near the
muzLle. Just above the figure twelve
on the dial-plate was u small wooden
lever, working loosely on a screw
This was fastened IN such a manner
that when the hour arrived at which it
was set 10 explode, the hour-hand
would press hrmly against this lever,
turning 1t 50 that II struck the hair
trigger of the pistol. The whole MAJ
chine was then screwed to the bottom
OF the trunk, with pistol pointing up
ward. The trunk WAS tlllcd with gun
powder, straw, cotton saturated with
some explosive, and a bottle supposed
To contain dynamite. soon after the
train left Philadelphia one of the en-
ployeS In the baggage carnotiCed some
thing leaking from the trunk, which
ON examination proved 10 he gunpoW-
der. As there was smoking going ON
in the car, the trunk WAS put ON the
top of the baggage, and this fortunate
discovery and the fact that the con-
tents did not all explode, account for
the slight damage done. The most
probable theory advanced is that the
clock was set to explode ut the hour
when the train arrived in Jersey City,
and during the removal of the baggage
in the depot, when large number of
persons would he gathered around,
The fact that the train was behind
time. and was about due at New York
when the explosion occurred, helps
bear out the theory.
About half nm hour after the train
reached Jersey City. large man with
heavy black mustaChe made mum