The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-01-23
TELEGRAP TIC
ANOTHER.
Powder Works 60 Up I'm
Smoke,

by heavy explosion /; four others fol-
lowed at intervals Of few seconds, and
q dense column of smoke rising scIoss
the bay was sufficient evidence of another
added to the numerous powder works dis
asters that have occurred in this vicinity.
A brief telegram ssys the Giant Powder
establishment near West Berkeley sta
ton, four miles north of Oakland, was
blown up and q number Of persons
killed.
A Berkeley dispatch says it is now
known the number Of Chinese killed wss
not as great as at first reported. Not
over thirty are missing. The fire is still
raging, and more explosions are expected
The scene in the vicinity
is terrible; bodies can be seen lying near
the line Of fire, but the men dare not
rescue them for fear OF their o wn lives.
The assistant superintendent is missing,
and supposed to be killed. The superin-
tendent as not at the works at the time.
A workn an named Oscar Forgutfsky,
was pulled from the ruins soon after the
explosion, seriously hurt seven Chinese
have been taken from the debris, all
badly hurt. All houses within radius
OF half mile are completely shsttsred;
houses OF employees on the opposite side
the occupants thrown to the floor. The
sheds and barns were laid fat. The
buildings of the Judson Works, on the
side of the hill where the blasting pow
der was manufactured, were thrown
over and will probably have to be re-
built. The cause of the first explosion in
the mixing houEe is yet unknown; other
explosions followed in the space of two
minutes. All the buildings blown up
were on the bay side of the Mill, but the
fire crept rapidly around, and now 20
pm large magazine is in danger. No
attempt has been made to cheek the fire,
owing to the danger. Many workmen
escaped miraculously. To-day is the
first Sunday in many months that
the works we're running full blast,
and orders OF seventy tons we're
loaded on the wharf. A driver with a
wagon loa5 on the wharf jumped when
he heard the first explosion and escaped,
when the wagon load blew up. The
wharf is now burning. Hospitals were
lmprovised and physicians came from
Oakland and neighboriDg towns. This
is the most destructive explosion that has
ever occurred st these works. Should
the magazine explode all the houses in
Berkeley would BIZ damaged. An effort
will be made to subdue the flames and
avoid this danger. The total loss By
reason of the explosion will reach moi
less than 100000 The Giant Powder
works were damaged $50, GOO, acid works
Of Judson s. Co SAC, 600. 1t is iul Jos.
sible to ascertain the exact loss Of life
but it is estimated al thirty or forty
The first explosion q, Cured about
o'clock, in the uacRink house, il which
| about 200 pounds of powder were stored
1t is not known whether any one wa
killed by the first explosion or not. ~
soon as the packing house exploded 1
mum Der of Cinnamon employed Ill othe:
departments fed for their lives, ant
reached an open space when the mixinl
house exploded, killing most CT them il
their tracks. It is thought Ferdinand
Kemrf was killed by this explosion. Il
about minute one Of the smaller house
exploded, followed Immediately by tn
fourth explosion which doubtless killed
the surviving employees. A wOrkma
named August ForEofsRy was yer!
seriously injured. All other white mel
have been accounted for, aud the deat
are all Cinnamon. Thee are som
thirty or forty houses on the point
occupied by employees of tina powde
and acid works, and most of tn
windows were shattered, the door
and sides in many instances dashel
in by the force of the conclusions afte
each explosion The woodwork of tn
buildings caught FIRE and burned stesdil,
for seneral hours.
Efforts to prevent the flames rea- HIM
ths main magazine, contaiDg an i'm
mense quantity of powder, were happil
successful. The consequences woult
have been mos3 frightiul had The larg
magazine exploded. As one of the su
perintendents stated, enough powder wa
stored there to have destroyed ever
living thing on the peninsula The csus
of the first explosion remains mystery
This evening twelve bodies have bee
counted lying in the debris, and the cor
oner's Investigation tomorrow will prob
ably disclose more than double the nun
Der. A force of men is engaged to-nigh
extinguishing the fire and recovering tn
bodies.
San Francisco, 22-Oakland dis patel
The scene at the Giant Powder works
this morning, wss one of devastation AM
death. In tue semi-circulsr excavation
where the packing houses were locatei
the ground is covered with debris an
timbers. Huge rocks, thrown by th
violence of the series of explosions, az
pear on all sides. Lying on the groun
are the maugled bodies OF twenty on
Cinnamon. One Chinamsn, last nigh
was in the temporary hospital. 80 "a
as known at noon, one white man an
twenty two Cinnamon were killed. III
white man killed is Ferd
nand Kompf, assistant superintendent
He could have saved himself but n
manned to try to save the works Whe
the first explosion occurred he ran to Il
nitro glycsrine house, to turn en wstt
to exiinguish the fire. He was killed b
the explosion of the nitro glycerine nous
It is thought that eight or ten bodies d
in the ruins. Oscar Fsrgofsky, the on
white msa wounded, will probably r
cover. Thirteen wounded Cinnamon a.
lying in the quarters of the Chinese tt
greater number of those will recove
The cause Of the explosion still remain
mystery. Whether the powder 10 ever
one of the packing houses explode,
can't yet be told. They are all caved il
. | and filed with deb-is, The mapRzin