Morning journal and courier., 1880-09-18
A DISASTROUS EXPLOSION.

Lake-FraxmentaryP Portions Sttu MISS
 fng-Names of the Dead-The Tremon-
 dous Power of the Concussi0n. 's,sszse-
 A terrible explosion, accompanied with tne loss of five lives, occurred in Bridgeport yes teraay afternoohaat quarter past o'clock blowing to atoms one of the small buildings of the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, situated some distance from the main build@ ires. in their rear and in u lot oh the shore Of Pembroke Lake The explosion was heard and felt all over Bridgeport Every large building in the city was more or less shaken as though by an earthquake. A dense smoke hovered over'the scene of the disaster for 1a Aime and thousands of people congregated m the vicinity. The fire alarm was sounded and the fremen soon extinguished the burning debris A terrible, sickening work of deaths was done and five persons were blown into: eternity in a moment Wild runnors prevailed, but the timekeeper's record, taken one hour before the dreadful affair, showed but i've. persons on the premises, and this IS probably the number of lives lost. scene of horror it was as mangled, mutilated and disembow-5 eled human bodies were found. Three bodies were found on land, and one and parts of. another were fished out of the waters of the lake. The agony of parents, wives and mothers and other friends of the missing, was l a painful accompaniment to the scene at the ] lake The whole Cartridge establishment was | a scene of panic when tho explosion occur \ red, and work was at once closed for the day. I The shops employ now from 800 to 500 ! hands, many of them girls and women. At \ one time, not long ago, from 1,5O0 to 2,O00 l were employed there. Willing hands by the I dozen were proffered to help search for the l missing bodies, and boats crews were soon at | work. They continued dragging the waters ! until darkness caused suspension of the | labor until morning, There is no reason to l believe, however, that any other lives were l lost but fragments of two were yet missing when darkness closed in.
 ghastly scene it was-those mutilated human bodies. One was headless, only a portion of the jaw remaining. One was con- 1 pletely torn to fragments. In the case of another one leg was wanting Fragments I were found here and there. A piece of a windpipe was picked up by the roadside The remains were collected and taken to Bishop & Cullinan's, No. 65 State street, and 1 there prepared for the grave, at the expense of the Cartridge Company.
 The names of the dead are as follows :: I Joseph Sullivan, aged 14 years and months | His body was mutilated beyond recognition, and was identified from the fact of his being l the only lad employed in the fated premises 1 His body was found on a lot fully fifty feet 1 distant from the scene of the explosion It
 was headless trunk small part of the l jaw alone remained attached widowed mother is in this case called to mourn. She lives on Arch street. The widowed mother
 was restrained from seeing the remains by the
 advice of kind friends
 Philander Clark, about 55 years of age and
 foreman of the illuminate shop, cousin of Capt. Clark, of the steamer Rosedale. He resided at No. 12 Booth street. His re-
 mains were but little disfgured, and looked quiet in the repose of death. There were marks on the face, cuts and abrasions, but nothing more and the face wore it's wonted
 expression in life. His body as also the
 bodies of the others, bore many marks where
 pierced by thrilled cartridge shells. There
 was barrel of these shells in the building. | They left marks like bullet marks. MT.
 Clark leaves wife and several daughters,
 who are married to lament his sad fate
 l Michael Dempsey, jr., aged 2z His re-
 mains were found in 8 terribly mutilated con | dition, an the greater part of one leg had
 been torn from the body and is missing. Ii
 is probably in the lake, as thorough searcl
 on land for it failed. Lived on Arch street
 with his father and mother and two sisters | A1oap
 of the city.
 l - Tobin, a young man of IS. His re-
 mains were the least mutilated, but the body
 was riddled with the cartridge shells. His
 father works in the yard at the Cartridge
 shops and lives on Pequonnock street.
 Wilbur Fiersinger, a German about 35 years of age, leaves . wife, and lived on Water l street. His body was blown to fragments. The undertakers have one hip part of the
 breast, portions of the entrails, the windpipe
 and the jaw. The rest of the remains, it is
 supposed, are in the water.
 Dempsey's body was found in the lake 200 feet distant from the shop.
 The body of the Sullivan boy was blown
 through the end of the building and landed
 on rolls of paper in another building, fifty feet distant
 Parts of the building, which was of wood,
 were reduced to fragments and lie scattered
 around for the space of an acre and on the 1 bosom of Pembroke lake. Such was the
 tremendous force of the explosion that the
 walls of corrugated iron building fifty feet distant were partially blown to fragments.
 Many of the windows of the horse car depot, a large building several hundred yards away, were broken and some of the sashes much 1 damaged. The same was the case at the 1 Sanford hat manufactory and the dye shops, also several hundred feet away. The dan 1 cing pavilion in Pembroke Grove was few
 hundred feet away, and it was reported to be also damaged. On the day before there was a large picnic party in the grove. The affair
 was given by the Wheeler & Wilson Band. The people in the vicinity who were eye wit nesses of the explosion say that great, dense volume of smoke rose, in the midst of which was a great collection of debris, and the report was deafening. Women ran l out of doors wild with excitement and speech less with terror. Everywhere over Bridge ports principal streets last evening peo- pie stood anxious to hear later particulars,
 and discussing the sad facts as far as learned The utmost sympathy was of course ex- pressed and felt for the afflicted families.
 It is the most distressing event that has oc-
 cured in the city since the Sanford hat shop
 calamity fewyears ago, when there were l eleven victims. On that occasion all the
 dead lay in the same undertaking establish
 ment where last night the remains of the unfortunate workers in the illuminate build. ing were being arrayed for the last sad cere
 monies. The building destroyed was used
 for making exploders or large caps used fol
 exploding dynamite. There were but si1 pounds of powder on the premises. It wa,
 20x3O feet and one story high. Exactly how
 the accident happened must forever remain
 mystery, but the dangerous character ant
 tremendous explosive power of illuminate Ii
 widely known.
 | Police Notes.
 Thomas McNamara was arrested last even l ing on a charge of stealing door mats. Tw, of the mats stolen were taken from the vicin Il tv 0f 0oI1 -A,.o E