Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-07-16
An Old Sea Captains Traps.

A Telegraph Operator who got Hold Of n
Soldering Iron Which Proved DO
Explosive.
A curious explosion occurred i'll the
kitchen of the house at 12 Pineapple street
Brooklyn, which came near causing SER
iOus injury to several persons. Mr.. ThOs.
Rcchford, the manager in Brooklyn for
the new Mutual Union telegraph company,
resides in the house. For several days
there had been 4 leak in a water pipe in
an extension ut the rear of the house, and
Mr.. COrcOran Western Union telegraph
employee, volunteered, in the absence of
the plumber who had promised to attend
to the defect, to solder the hole up with
lead. Some rOsin was pulverized and a bit
Of lead was procured. SO that all the anna
tear plumber needed Was 4 soldering iron.
There were some old traps in the garret
that had been left by Il sea captain, and
COrcor;ln searched among them, and felt
that he was fortunate when he picked up
an iron tool about eighteen inches long,
shaped like soldering iron and tipped
with triangular pointed end. He thought
there were some unnecessary features
about the tool for a modern soldering iron,
but concluded that it might be a foreign
tool or some patent arrangement. There
seemed to be two sections to the iron,
the top one being about the size of a gas
pipe and screwed into the bottom one.
Then there were several flaps of Rubber
fastened on the upper section at equal
spaces. These seemed to he useless in the
art of plumbing, but Mr.. CorcOran didn't
care what kind of a handle the tool had SO
long rs it was all right at its business end.
He rubbed the point in rosin and, re-
moving one corner Of the range, Shoved
the iron into bed of hot Goals. Mrs.
Aubrey, one of tho occupants of the house
drew up up chair to look on, and Mrs.
Hunter folded her arms and watched the
amateurs work. Mr.. Corcoran took off
his coat and was about to give Mr.. ROch-
ford Il practical lesson showing how every
man could be his own plumber, when
there was a terrific expulsion. The top of
the range was scattered in small pieces
about the room and the old sea captains
soldering iron lifted it's rubber wings and
flew ont of the side window, carrying two
panes of glass with it. The pieces of the
range, which might have done much in
jury to the occupants of the room, took
the same direction. but the iron door was
blown across the kitchen.
Mrs. Hunter, who had just turned to
leave the kitchen, was knocked down by
the conclusion and was bruised by her fall.
Mrs. Aubrey fell out OF her chair, and
Mr.. CorcOran lost a little bit of skin from
his forehead. The room was filled with
ashes and smoke. AS the noise was heard
a block away, the house was soon besieged
by a number of persons who wished to
know what had happened.
The old sea captains soldering iron was
found dismembercd. The lower cylinder
was blown to pieces, but the top section
was intact. This was handled with the
greatest care, and when Mr.. Rockford re-
ported the accident to the police they re-
ceived the mysterious soldering iron
reluctantly. A policeman, in searching
the garrct, found nothing more like it, but
discovered an iron harpoon, and this shed
some light upon the mysterious explosion.
The old sea captain (Capt. Hutchinson)
was formerly a wlaler, ard in his stock he
had an explosive harpOon. which Mr.. Cor
coran mistook for soldering iron. This
harpoon was loaded with explosives
which would put an end to whale when
the end struck it. The rubber wings,
acting like the feathers OF an arrow,
helped to guide the harpOon. A plumber
called to take the dimensions for a new
range, and Mr.. Corcoran returned to tele-
graphing.