New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-11-22

|
used In blasting rock, yesterday caused in
Juries to nine persons living in the neighbor-
hood OF Seventy-third-st. and Third-ave., and
frightened great many Others The windows
in all the houses near by were broken. The
persons injured were generally hurt by the
broken glass. The foreman of the blasting
squad. who had undertaken to prepare tho
cartridges for use, was arrested, and is held to
await examination on a charge of criminal
carelessness.
RESULTS OF CRIMINAL CARELESsNESS
| GIANT POWDER CARTRIDGES SET UP TO WARM BY
| BoILfR-soME OF THE pOwDER sPIILED-A TER
| RTFIED NEIGHBoRHooD SOON AFTER.
| large number OF giant powder cartridges Of tn
| KIND used for blasting rock, exploded by accident
yesterday afternoon jim Seventy -third-st, between
Second and Third-aves The report was exceed
ingy loud and the shock so severe as TO suggest an
earthquake. The windows of fifty or more houses
| in the neghborhoCd were broken crockery ratified
from its shelves and was smashed and many people
were prostrated. Nine persons were found by tho
police TO be injured, but only seriously Tho
escape of OF otheis from instant death seems
| almost miraculous Michael Monahan, the fore
| man. to whose carelessness the accident was due,
was arrested and taken TO the Yorkvile Police
Court where he remanded until to-day on o
charge OF criminal carelessness. The scene of tho
explosion the north side of Seventy -thrd-st.
| About one-fOurth of the block-the end toward
Third-ave.--is built mp; the rest is covered with
rock, which in PLACES rises to a considerable
| height Workmen engaged by Patrick Farley, "a
contractor have been busy all summer blasting tho
rock preparatory to the erection of a dozen tene-
ment houses by builder named Buddcnsiek. They
have removed nearly three-fOurths of the rock in
the lots. steam drill connected by pipe with tho
boiler house that stood twenty-five feet from
| the Second-ave corner furnished employment for
between twenty and thirty men, who divided their
labor between the management of the drill and of
the basin gtcartridges that finished the work These
were of different Sizes containing as much as
two pounds more of gant-powder of the most
powerful kind. The cartridges before they can
be used, require to be thawed out" warmed:
this is usually accomplished by exposing them to
the rays of the sun or by dipping them in hot
water. Foreman Monahan adopted yesterday
a novel and more convenient mode and with unex-
pected results.
"THAwING oUT' THE CARTRIDGES
The had resumed work after the dinner hour.
and Just well under way when Monahan pre-
pared to thaw out large number Of cartridges for
the afternoons work; for convenience be placed
them against of the steam pipes leading to the
drill so that the heat CT the steam might effect his
object. In doing quantity of the loose powder
was spilled ON the ground and remained lying
there. BY some accident it was set on fire. Mona
han had his attention suddenly engaged by loud
buzzng that increased in volume until it sounded
like the whiZ of gigantic rocket or the escape Of
great volumes Of steam from huge boiler. He
saw the cause and the danger at glance, and
shouted to his men to run One or two dld rnn the
rest threw themselves their faces and lay await
ing the explosion 1t came with deafening crash
and the terrible shock OF severe earthquake. In
deed the impression produced on the occupants OF
the dwellings near by was that such thing hS IL
taken place. Houses shook and tottered percept-
bly,; windows smashed and doors burst open
everywhere: crockery and furniture were de-
stIOyed in every house In all Seventy third st and
in the greater part of Seventy -fourth-st between
Second aud Third-ayes hardly pane of glass
inained whole. Persons who had come 10 their
windows attracted by the whizzing noise we're
thrown down and IN some cases stunned.
INJURED.
ROundsman Chew, of tho Fifty -ninth-s st. police,
who was in his room at No. ,425 Second-aye. was
knocked down by the concussiOn, and cage con-
tanning two canary birds fell on him both the
birds died but the roundsman did moi. For a who
it was feared that many persons were seriously
injured but canvass by the police showed that
the list of casualties strangely ALL and that
the injuries inflicted were slight, Us rule being
merely the effects of the shock and scratches in.
flicted By glass spnters from broken windows or
the workInen Mt the of the accident the fore
and the engineer sustained slight Injuries.
The list of injured as gathered last night, was as
follows:
BENNETT, George; engineer, No. 2l2 East Seventy.
fourth-st; scalp wound.
FLYNN Mrs; No 24e East Seventy fOurthst wrist and
McaomIE, Mrs. No. 9S2 East seventy-fOurthst1 suf-
McGoRITE Nellie; age two years. same home; scalp
wound made by living glass severe shock
MoNAIIAN, Michael; foreman; No 5l5 East Seventy
scuWETiER' Mrs. i No 4s2 East seyenty-fourtas.
TosER MarsSret, Mrs; No, 22s East seyenty-iOurts
at. suffering from severe shock. Mrs. Toner was iu
do fp hpa WAS n
YOUNG. Mrs. No 246 East Seventy fourth-st head sad
DR.. Flynn. OF No. o46 East Seventy -fourth-st..
whose moi her one of the injured, attended to
all the wounded at their homes numerous minor
injuries of which no mention was made by the
police were inflicted upon persons who were at the
windows at the time OF the explosion.
APPEARANCE OF THE PLACE
The houses in Seventy-thi and Seventy fourth
sts., presented strangely diapidated appearance
after the explosion. In no single house on the south
side of Seventy -third-st from No. 206 to No. 302,
was q single pane of window glass left unbroken.
and the sashes smashed in many instances;
on the north side of the street the rear windows,
and in some instances the front windows also, Of
the houses had Jared as badly: the rear windows in
East Seyenty-fourth-st. from No. 226 TO No. 250
were all broken and ia Second-ave. ali windows in
the houses between No. 1876 and No. l,421, in the
direct way of the force OF the explosion that appa
rently travelled south, were ruined Even IN
Third-aye. there some damage OF the same KIND
done The streets il every direction were Uttered
with broken glass. and the interior of the houses
in the two streets not in much better state.
On the spot where the cartridges had exploded
there was a small hole in the ground, and for the
rest nothing except blackness and confn-
sion The boiler house had disappeared not q yes-
tige of it remained, although q blacksmith shop
that joined it stood uninjured. The boiler was in
its place, but exposed to view and tilted upon its
bed.
Great crowds of people gathered when the frss
fright over, to ascertain the cause. The police
arrived also and arrested MonahaD, who was taken
at rst to the Fifty ninth Street Station and locked
up. He said little. but insisted that he mad done
with the cartrdges yesterday only as he had often
done before although not recently, The general
revailed in the neighborgod last nighs
that the residents had had mOst~ pro'iuehtiA
from fota destruction.