Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-01-24
BLOWN TO ATOMS.
ADJUSTMENTS.

Fri0htful Explosion at the Xenia Ponder
MillS-FOMr thousand Pounds Of POtCder
in Combination - TtU0 Men Bloom to
Shreds.
Xenia Special Jan. 49, to Cincinnati En-
quirer.
This morning at fifteen minutes before ten
o'clock our town was shaken to its very GEN.
ter by terrible explosion. Some persons
who were in tho court house at the time ran
out, thinking it was the boiler of the steam
heating apparatus. But the thought that
flashed across the minds of most of our citi-
zens was the powder mills, and in moment
the streets were full of people, running to
get a view, if possible, of any thing that
would solve the mystery, and in a moment
the black column of smoke rising heaven
ward in the direction of the mills told the
story. Then the rush began to the Office of
the company and to the mills. Hundreds
of persons who crowded in front of the
company's office eagerly asking for news,
some having friends at work there, but
mostly friends drawn there by curiosity; but
the officers were unable to give any informa-
ton whatever, as they could not call the
operator at the mills. Scores of persons
were soon on the road to the scene, some on
foot and some in conveyances of every kind,
and the number of visitors during the day
from the towns and country around will
number several thousand.
The first explosion occurred in the by
draulic- press room, which contains $500
pounds of powder, 1000 pounds of which
were in the press at the time and under q
pressure of 1000 pounds to the square inch;
and here were working the only men who
were killed. Charles Taggart, single man
of about twenty five, and D. Carney (colored, }
aged about thirty, who leaves wife and
three children. The men were blown to
atoms, only small portions of their bodies
being found-the largest piece would not OK
coed three pounds in weight.
How the explosion occurred will never be
known, as it is very unusual thing for q
press mill to explo de, and the officers do not
attempt to explain it in any way. Imme-
diately after the explosion of the press mill
three of the wheel mills exploded in quick
succession, each containing 200 pounds of
powder, bat the men were outside and g.
capped uninjured.
Charles Taggart was engaged in the corn
ing mill last fall, but became frightened on
finding piece of iron in the powder and re-
fused to work in that mill any longer, and
was given wheel mill, which he took charge
of until this morning, when he began work
in the press mill, and Carney had been on
duty but about five minutes when the fatal
explosion occurred. Mr.. E. Feagans, the
boss of the mill hands, had just left mo-
ment beforefor the grocery to get some to-
bacco, and thereby escaped.
The mills and the press that exploded
were situated in the thickest settled and
busiest portion of all the mills, and the
most frequanted by the hands, and, although
everything was under full Roadway, and men
and teams were thick on the premises at the
time, not one was injured of any conse-
quence other than the two killed, which
seems miraculous, considering the manner
in which the buildings were blown to pieces
and the timbers and limbs of trees scattered
in every direction.
Many of the dwelling houses are injured,
and all the glass, and in some cases the en-
tire sash, blown out, and child of one Of
the workmen was seriously injured by the
flying glass, and the wife of James Henry
seriously and the wife of s. Carter slightly
Injured by the shock and broken glass.