News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-05-18
NIHILIST METHODS.
The Plot Against Messrs. Wander.
bilt and Field in New York.

The story of Mccormick, the messen-
ger carrying the mails in which were
the internal machines designed for Van
| derbilt and Field, was simple. The
mails for five o'clock delivery at the up
town stations on the east side were car
ried to the City Hall elevated railroad
station in wagons. From the latter he
carried the mail bags on his shoulders
upstairs and deposited them upon the
front platform of the car that was to re-
ceive them. The bag containing the
explosive was among the batch nearest
the top and he flung them on tho plat
form just before stepping on it and
closing the gate. 1t was about min-
ute after this and when the train had
begun to move out of this station that
the explosion occurred. It was pretty
loud one. It startled him and deranged
the mail bags. A little smoke came up
with whiff and that was all.
When he reached the twenty-eighth
street station he carefully handled the
bags, and on bringing them to station
f he at once notified the man in charge
of the occurrence. The superintendent
(Mr. Moger) partly guessed the nature
of the explosion. He made the men
stand aside while the bag was emptied
and The exploded package rolled out.
The cause of the report was apparent.
The pow der canister, with the bottom
blown out, lay there. The letters in
the bag were nearly all discolored,
although none were burned. There
was big hole in the mail bag itself.
Then the address on the package and
the one on its fellow in the bag were
read, and so the plot was frustrated.
Later in the day Mr.. Pearson SUBJ
mitted the shattered box and powder
canister, the glass tube and bulb for
expert examination. They were sent
up town to Mr.. Fields house and there
examined by DIR. Doremus in the pres
sence of the Assistant Postmaster. It
required no analysis to determine the
nature of the mixtures and compounds
in the package. The liquid in the glass
bulb and glass tube were sulphuric
acid. The putty fastening the latter
to the box was mixed with chlorate of
potash and sugar. The contents of the
canister was not powder, but gun cotton,
which has four times the force of the
other explosive. DR.. Doremus explained
that when sulphuric acid comes in con-
tact with the chemicals in the putty it
creates flame, and this was to ignite
the gun cotton.
This scientific explanation made it easy
to understand the construction of the
internal machine and the way it was to
operate. The canisters were made to held
a pound of powder. One was almost full
ef gun ooLten. Tie other not quite as
much. They were3laid in bed of cot
ton in the pasteboerd boxes. One end
of each canister was perforated.
Through the hole fuse ran, connecting
the contents with the end of the box.
Here little bent tube of glass, which
had been used for some other purpose
was fastened to the pasteboard by a
layer of putty and the chemical mixture.
1t was full of sulphuric acid, and so was
little glass bulb Theoretically sealed
which was tucked in the cotton beside
it. Around both tube and bulb were
wound strips of ribbon, which, running
along the side of the canister, protruded
from the box and seemed to serve as
ribbon for opening it.
The operation of the contrivance was
simple. AS soon as the ribbon was
pulled, the glass tube and bulb we're
broken, and the sulphuric acid in them
running out mingled with the chlorate
of potash and sugar in the putty. This
would produce a fame which, igniting
the fuse, would presently reach the gun
cotton in the canister and explode it.
It was rude and seemed simple, but it
was quite effective. The idea, DR.. Do
remus explained, was not an original
one. Years ago, at the time of the
Crimean war, the same chemical COM
pounds were used to blow up mines
about Sebastopol. The mite in the
pasteboard box was fashioned after
giants that had overturned mountains.
The explosion on the train was now
made clear. When Messenger McCor-
mick had flung down the mail bags he
doubtless smashed the brittle glass re-
ceptacles. The suIphuric acid was lib
Grated, combustion ensued and the gun
cotton exploded at his feet in a minutes
space.