The Portland daily press., 1882-01-25
AN INTERNAL MACHINE.
Further Particulars of the Explosion in
Lewiston.

The Lew iston Journal of yesterday gives adj
ditional particulars regarding the explosion in
Mr.. Maynard W. COTS kitchen, reported in
yesterdays PREsS Speaking of the store, it
says that one or two whole covers were the
largest pieces of the kitchen stove that could
be found. The walls and ceiling were black
with smoke and SCOT, and spattered with Mrs.
Colts blood. The breakfast lay on the table
In the kitchen where the explosion took place.
The dishes were shattered and the food was
covered with SCOT Pieces of pie were blown
over the room and the fragments of iron were
mingled with the blackened crockery and vic
tuals that remained on the table. Pieces of
iron four inches long had been blown into the
plastering with such force that they still re-
main in the wall, as if driven in by hammer.
The walls and ceiling of the kitchen are full of
dents and gouges made by the flying pieces.
The lower sash of rear window in the same
room was blown entirely out. Fragments of
the stove were blown through an open DOR
into the front room and through the front win
dow into Lisbon street. The front room was
barely less damaged than the kitchen. A bed
stead therein was smashed, the panels of a
SAoSoo uoOk WOIO UioNOuJ bnO Walls WCAC uAoSn
ened, and there were great stains of blood all
over the room. Nearly everything in the
house is broken, or battered or begrimed, and
the cargets, rugs and clothing are scorched.
Some of the burning clothing was thrown out
of DOORS
Mrs. Goff's face, head and arms received the
most severe wounds. One side of her upper
jaw was blown off, and her lower jaw was in
jured. Her arm was terribly cut and the bone
was fractured. One eye is also injured.
Mr.. Golf believes that the same mscreant
who has two times previously placed loaded
fuel in his woodpile, is guilty of this crime.
In the former attempts, little damage has been
effected, besides injuring or spelling stoves and
giving his wife severe rights. She has been
accustomed to see the front of her stove shoot
off, with report, and the covers go dancing
about the room. And once or twice, the in
fernal machines have been found after the ex-
plosions, and proved TO be sticks of wood with
holes bored in the end filed with powder and
then plugged. The police have tried to appre-
bend the bastard, but have been unable to OBJ
tain conclusive evidence. A monster charge
of some powerful explosive was probably in
the wood which Mrs. Golf put in her stove
Monday morning. Mr.. Goff's wood shed is al
ways locked, and to accomplish this end, the
wretch must have forced the lock and mingled
his loaded stick with the other fuel. 1t is i'm
possible to tell when the charged stick of wood
was placed in Mr.. Goff's shed. 1t might have
been put there at any time since two weeks
ago. when Mr.. Golf purchased his last lot of
wood. He took the pains to go to Webster for
his wood in order to evade the very thing that
has happened. The lock on his woodshed door
could have been opened by any person with
skeleton key Mr.. Golf has received a number
of threatening letters, in which the writer said
that powder was cheap" and made similar
insinuations. But these letters are unsigned,
and there is no direct proof of their author
ship. Mr.. Golf also states that certain Lew
ened to blow him up, blow his brains out, etc.
rested by Officer Stone Monday forenoon on
suspicion, and was detained in the city mar
shal's office till afternoon. No substantial evil
dence could be found against him. He de-
clined to talk about the matter at all, except to
say that he knew nothing about it. The city
marshal allowed the man to go at 3 o'clock.
There has been no decision as to the kind of
explosive used by the fend who caused the
mischief. 1t is believed that charge of pow
der would not have caused so great destruction
and the absence of the least smell of powder
at the time of the explosion, or few minutes
after, is regarded proof that some other explo-
sive was used. An old miner suggested that
ntro-glycerine with fuse of powder was used.
In the afternoon Mrs. Golf was reported do
ing we'll, and the physicians are hopeful that
she will recover. The wounds, of themselves,
are not necessarily dangerous, but as Mrs. Golf
was about to be confined, the case is much more
serious.