Morning journal and courier., 1882-05-01

thought they had the box in the superin- tendent's house. Superintendent Walling resides at No. 311 in the same street. The police are working on a clue and soon expect to make some arrests.
 InfernaI Machines in the HIails-LOaded
 With Gun Cotton-A DastariIY Plot.
 NEW YORK, April 3O.-Two packages were brought yesterday by mail carriers, one ad- dressed to Cyrus W. Field the other to Will liam Ii. Vanderbilt. The mail pouch in which were the packages was placed with others on the first car of an ''L'' road train. Just after moving out of the Ninth street station a smothered report was heard by the messenger, and he saw smoke issuing from one of the packages At station the con- tents of the pouches were emptied. Aqueer powder-like smell pervaded the heap, and among the pile of envelopes and the like were lying the fragments of one of the packages. It had been torn apart, and on closer examination the mail bag itself was found to have been rent open for fully five inches. The bits of paper and pasteboard were picked up and then 1t was found that it was the package addressed to MT. Cyrus W. Field that had exploded. In the same pouch was lying twin bundle, which was laid aside. Word was sent to Postmaster Pearson, who hastened to the station and sent information to Messrs Field and Van derbilt, neither of whom showed any excite ment over the affair. The postmaster then made an examination. Brown wrapping pa- per covered both of them. Within were blue pasteboard boxes with pictured labels Each box was about seven inches long, five inches wide and two in depth They were IT faS and contained @ lot of cotton. In this a powder canister had been placed It was five and three quarter inches long, an inch and seven-eighths across the bottom, which ten and one half inches in circumfer- ence. It did not contain much powder There not more than seven eight ounces in it altogether. The end of this canister was perforated with small holes, and into each of them thin glass tube was in serted which communicated with a tube con- taining some fluid resembling mercury. These tubes were fastened to one end of the box by putty, which held a piece of green ribbon protruding from the box cover. It was so arranged that when these strips were pulled the mercury like fluid would be dis charged into the powder canister through it's perforated bottom. The package addressed to MT. Field was of course in fragments, but it appeared to be in every respect like the other one. On inner sheet of the brown wrapping paper was discovered the address George w. Walling, 311 East Nineteenth street, City" There seems to be no chance of find ing the sender of the internal machines.
 The contents and mode of construction of the internal machines were more definitely ascertained to day when the unexploded box was opened and chemical part of it's con- tents analysed. It was found that the ex- plosive used was gun cotton, which is four times as destructive in proportion to its weight as powder, and this fact accounts for the lightness of the package, which only weighed eleven ounces The glass tube and bulb with their liquid cont, nts were taken to Professor Doremus for examination As the result Professor Doremus wrote the follow ing
 To Postmaster P arson
 Dear Sir-The liqId is sulphurc acid, which if brought in contact with gunpowder chlorate of pot sh, even in small quantities wIu the pow der to explode. In the Russians wi h England and France am told they planted receptaces of gum powder the ground in front of SebastapooI and placed the top of each charge small glass bulb with sulphuric acid and under it mixture of sugar and chlorate of tash, so when he bulb as trodden the glass would break and the acid would come in contact with the chlorat ot potash and sugar and thus fire the gunpowder.