Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1882-11-27
PENNSYLVANIA.

Blown up with Dynnmite--A Quantity
OF the Explosive Intended for Fish Fail
Placed in Oyen-A Family and
Their Residence Destroyed.
P1TTsBURe, Nov. GA very peculiar acct
dent took place at Belleview, twelve miles
from here, last night. About quarter of a
mile below the coal mines of Gumbert Sc
Huey, on the Monongahela river is the home
of Adam Forsyth one of the employees, and
was blown to pieces under the following cir
cumstances:
About two weeks ago some miners en-
ployed in Walton's mines came to visit For
syth and during their stay they proposed to
go fishing. They did not care about the old
slow method of capturing one fish at time
with hook and line but told Forsyth they
knew a much better plan, which was to use
dynamite. The miners had some of the ex-
plosive material with them and used it quite
successfully, killing about five hundred
pounds Of fish. Some of the people living in
the neighborhood, who saw this wholesale
threatened to prosecute the men but, as
they were very poor, not hing was done.
Forsyth determining to do some fishing on
his own account with the new bait yesterday
morning went to the quarry of Mr.. Fleming,
on the Youghlogheny river and asked If he
could spare some dynamite.
Fleming let Forsyth have four sticks of
dynamite, weighing in all about a pound.
He saw that Forsyth was ignorant of the ma.
ture of the explosive and also of the manner
of handling it, and therefore told him that
the stuff was frozen and was useless in that
condition. He explained to Forsyth that if
the sticks of dynamite were placed near a fire
they would thaw out and be ready for use,
and also told him if proper care was given to
the thawing process there was no danger of
an explosion !; and Forsyth seemed to under
stand the directions given him.
About half past five o'clock he went home
and told his family about the dynamite, but
none of them were alarmed, as they, too,
were ignorant of its qualities. He took the
sticks of dynamite from his pocket and
placed them in the oven of the kitchen
stove, and then went off to the coal works.
A quarter of an hour later he heard q loud
report and in few minutes was told that
there had been an explosion at his house and
that all his family had been killed. Half
frantic at the news he ran to the house to
realize the terrible consequences of his ig-
norance and folly.
After Forsythe left the house his wife and
children sat down to supper at table near
the stove in which the dynamite was placed.
While they were talking, and just as the chill
| dren were laughing over some harmless joke,
| there was frightful noise, the stove was
blown into tiny fragments and the entire end
of the house, two story frame, wrecked,
| and the mother and her little ones were
| hurled in different directions.
The mother was seated with her back to
the stove and the two younger boys on her
side. The eldest had risen to get drink and
| being near the stove received the full force
of the explosion. He was thrown a distance
of twenty feet, where he was found, in q
| hole in the yard. He was horribly mangled
and died about two hours after the
occurrence. Mrs. Forsyth was cut
| and gashed in a most frightful manner.
She had been sitting close to the
stove and thirty pieces of iron struck her in
! different parts of the body. She cannot pos
| sibly recover. Robert Forsyth, seven years
| old, was terribly cut about the head and
body, while Willie, the youngest of the boys
escaped. with slight outs in his feet. Poo,
| Forsyth is almost crazy about the affair, AND
constantly exclaims that he is to blame TO,
| the disaster He attempted, to commit sui
eide, but was prevented.