Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-02-13
A THRILLING ESCAPE.
A Wagon Containing Thirty Quarts
of NItrO-GIYcer1ne CapsIzed Four
Times Without an Explosion.
RradfOrd lPn.N Ern-


One of the most extraordinary escapes
from the terrible effects of a nitro glycerine
explosion that has yet been recorded in the
oil regions occurred few days ago. w. G..
and P. I. Kennedy have we'll In Berger
hollow, which it was intended to torpedo.
Harvey McHenry, a shooter for the Roberts
torpedo Company, started for the well,
having fifty quarts of glycerine on the
wagon. The explosive was so separated in
the wagon that thirty quarts were In one
part and twenty in another The wagon road
to be travelled through Berger hollow is a
very bad one, and was quite slippery at
the time, rendering it very difficult for the
horses to move along. At one place in the
road there is a stiff extension of the hill
around aud over which it was hard for
horses and wagon to pass. After reaching
the highest point on this little hill McHenry
thought he would take twenty qvarts of the
glYcerine off the wagon and subsequently,
return and convey 1t across the hollow to the
well. Mounting his seat on the wagon he
started down the decline of the hill. The
road was pitched at such sharp angle and
so slippery that the horses could not pre-
vert the wagon from sliding sidewise and
forward at frequent intervals. Suddenly the
pole snapped and the wagon ran against the
horses legs, frightening those animals so
that they became unmanageable. They
plunged forward and started down the hill
with the wagon at q rate of speed that made
McHenry's blood run cold. The wagon
cracked against tree, but fortunately the
terrible compound did not explode. Nc
Henry appreciated the peril to which he was
exposed. His nerves jumped and his heart
was in his mouth. He decided to leap from
the vehicle and save his life If possible, be-
cause he felt that sn explosion must GER
tsinly ensue. In springiDg from the wagon
he struck against the trunk of a tree, split
ting his knee cap and cutting long cash In
his back. He was powerless to move. A
few moments after he reached the ground
and when the frantic horses had gone but a
short distance, the wagon unset. Ia an in
stant cold perspiration broke out all over
his person, McH Anry said to a reporter, and
he commended his soul to God, feeling GER
tain that IN another moment he would be
blown to atoms. The extreme strain upon
his mind during that moment of agony and
suspense is inconceivable. He was not only
physically helpless, but his nervous system
was in such a state that he was like one
transhxed. Several moments passed and his
whole body seemed to grow as cold as ice
throughout as he awaited the detonation
which would prove his death knell. The
horses regained their feet and again dashed
forward, and the wagon was again capsized.
In the,frantic movements of the horses the
wagon, containing thirty quarts of glv-
cerine, was four times overturned. Incredi-
bic as it may appear the powerful compound
did not explode. After running some dis
tance the horses finally stopped, and some
gentlemen at we'll not far away who were
eye-witnesses of the thrilling sffair secured
the trembling brutes. AS result of his in
juries and the nervous reaction McHenry
was unable to move from the spot where he
fell at the foot of the tree. He was picked up
and carried to RiXfOrd by number of men,
where he received medical aid After sew
eral hours he recovered sufficiently to reach
Bradford on the evening train. The circum-
stances of the above remarkable adventure
are corroborated by six different gentlemen,
who were in Berger Hollow at the time the
event took place. Why the glycerine did
not explode cannot now be accounted for.
Mr.. McHenry's escape is certainly one of
the most extraordinary and thrilling that
has yet been recorded. He is one of the
coOlest-headed and most careful handlers of
glycerine in the business. The mishap was
one that could not be avoided, and Mr.. Nc
Henry has probably more cause to be thank
ful that he is alive than any other resident
of the oil region.